Define/identify each of the following:

• business cycle:

• composite index of leading economic indicators:

• depression:

• expansion:

• leading economic indicator:

• peak:

• recession:

• trough:

Answer each of the following:

1. What are the two main phases of a business cycle?
2. What are thought to be the causes of business cycles?
3. How are business cycles forecast?
4. What impact did the Great Depression have on the United States?
5. Assume that business inventories are falling, the average number of hours worked per week is going up, and there is an increase in the number of new building permits. What would these indicators say about the economy, and why?