Meet the Street: Playing the (Financial) Numbers Game

Although investors clearly liked Friday's manufacturing and consumer spending numbers, it wasn't as easy to make sense of all the other statistics that were released last week. In particular, while GDP and existing home sales rose more than expected, consumer confidence and new home sales fell.

Peter R. Hartley Chairman, Economics Department, Rice University

Recent Meet the Streets

Fodor's Travel Publications Melisse Gelula

RBC Capital Markets Gerard Cassidy

West Financial Services Glen J. Buco

Gartner's Avivah Litan

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Dean Croushore

Morningstar's George Nichols

Which numbers should investors focus on in trying to gauge the economy's health? ...