That isn't a "random listicle", it's a list of major macroeconomic indicators that are very well known. You're free to discover for yourself that housing start

That isn't a "random listicle", it's a list of major macroeconomic indicators that are very well known. You're free to discover for yourself that housing starts is among the major indicators used by the government and businesses in their determination of the health of the economy. You're dismissing other indicators, like GDP and unemployment, in favor of the one you personally feel is important; that's called cherry picking. When determining the health of the economy, you need to look at all major indicators. >But we're not trying to forecast global GDP This has exactly nothing to do with trying to forecast global GDP; that's not what these indicators are for.