About

Velox Macro is an independent site that explains U.S. economic data and market moves in plain English. The numbers that move markets, such as the VIX, Treasury yields, inflation, jobs, and the largest U.S. stocks, get plenty of headlines but little explanation. We try to answer the question most readers actually have: what does this number mean, and how does it compare with the past?

The site is written for individual investors and anyone learning how markets work. We explain what the data shows, not what to buy or sell. We are not affiliated with any broker, fund, or data provider.

What We Publish

Each post is tied to one specific U.S. market close, so every price in it comes from the same session.

• VIX: weekly, based on Monday’s close
• 10-year Treasury yield: weekly, based on Tuesday’s close
• CPI and unemployment: after each new monthly CPI or jobs release
• Weekly macro report: the full week through Friday’s close, including how SPY compared with QQQ and how the four mega-cap stocks (Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla) performed

Each linked topic also has a guide that explains the indicator in depth and keeps an archive of our past readings, so you can see how the numbers have changed over time.

Where the Data Comes From

• Market prices come from Yahoo Finance: SPY, QQQ, Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Tesla, the VIX, the 10-year Treasury yield index (^TNX), the U.S. Dollar Index, and WTI crude oil futures.
• Economic data comes from FRED, the economic database of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: the daily effective federal funds rate (DFF), Treasury yields across maturities (such as DGS2, DGS10, and DGS30), the 10-year TIPS real yield (DFII10), 10-year breakeven inflation (T10YIE), the 30-year mortgage rate from Freddie Mac (MORTGAGE30US), the Consumer Price Index (CPIAUCSL), and the unemployment rate (UNRATE).

How We Check the Numbers

Data is collected automatically from the sources above. Before a post is published, every figure in it is checked against that source data for the session named in the post.

• Only what was known that day. A post uses the data that was public on its session date. If a post goes up late, it still does not include figures released after that date.
• Comparisons with the past. Statements such as “highest close since 2002” are calculated from the full price history up to that session, not from later data.
• Revisions. Government agencies sometimes revise economic data after it is first published. Our posts show the value that was available at the time, so a figure may differ slightly from what FRED shows today.

How to Read Our Numbers

• Closing prices. Stock and ETF figures use the regular U.S. session close for the date named in each post. The VIX, Treasury yields, the dollar index, and oil use their daily close, and our tables list the as-of date for each indicator.
• Daily and weekly changes. The daily change compares a close with the previous session’s close. The weekly change compares it with the close five trading sessions earlier, so a week with a market holiday still covers five sessions.
• Treasury yield changes. In our tables, changes in ^TNX are shown as a percent of the yield, the same way as stock moves. A 2% rise from a 5.00% yield is 10 basis points, not two percentage points. In the text, we usually describe yield moves in basis points (one basis point is 0.01 percentage point).
• Monthly economic data. CPI and the unemployment rate are monthly and released with a lag. FRED dates each reading to the first day of the month it covers, so a figure dated August 1 is August data published in September. The federal funds rate in our tables is the daily rate, so it reflects Fed decisions within days.
• CPI is an index level. Our tables show the CPI index itself, and the notes give the inflation rate, which is the percent change in that index from a year earlier. Our CPI guide shows how to calculate it.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix it. When a correction changes a fact, such as a number or a statement about what happened, we add a short note at the end of the post saying what was changed and when. Typos and formatting fixes are made without a note. If you spot an error, please tell us through our Contact page.

Not Investment Advice

Velox Macro is operated for informational and educational purposes only. We are not a registered investment advisor, broker, or financial institution, and nothing on this site is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Market data can contain errors. Please read our Financial Disclaimer before relying on anything you read here.

Contact

Questions and corrections are welcome. You can reach us through our Contact page.