The purpose of this assignment is to help you to better understand a series of macroeconomic variables. These concepts will sink in if you actively explore the current value, the meaning of the current value, and the trend for a given macroeconomic variable. You can only learn so much by hearing me talk about it or reading about it in the textbook or in the class material. It is time to explore and enhance your personal understanding of these variables. The estimated time commitment is 4-6 hours. Then (and only then), go to YCharts and look up the historical trend of these metrics. In Y-Charts, type the name of the indicator in the search bar. Start with "US" for each American indicator. You typically want the MoM (month-over-month) version of the metric. For example, If you are looking for the monthly retail sales, then you need to type "US Retail and Food Services Sales MoM" in the search bar. If you just type "US Retail" then you should be able to find this one very easily in the pulldown menu that pops up. For each variable, you should look at the 10-year graph and discuss the trend that you see