The decisions that Ms Rousseff is taking this month will be a critical indicator of where her presidency is headed.

ECONOMIST: The president needs to do more to tackle the ��Brazil cost��

The Fed rests comfortably within the consensus on all these variables, but seems ahead of the crowd on new orders for non-defense capital goods, a critical indicator.

FORBES: Don't Fight The Fed, The Bull Market Ain't Dead

Pinpointing the turn in the housing market is a tough call, but it's the critical leading indicator for a bull market.

FORBES: It's The Risk Premium, Stupid!

Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa in their great book Academically Adrift have taken data from a respectable indicator of critical thinking and problem solving skills, the Collegiate Learning Assessment, as well as the National Survey of Student Engagement and have concluded, roughly, that typically students neither work very hard nor learn very much.

FORBES: The Three "I's" of Higher Ed Reform

First, developer critical mass is a leading indicator on what will mostly likely sell well.

FORBES: Developers' Interest is a Catalyst for the Amazon Kindle Fire