A free, step-by-step series on macro analysis for portfolio investors. Learn to read FRED data, the yield curve, central-bank meetings, the economic calendar, and the World Monitor — and turn a macro view into a clean overlay on a real portfolio.
Macro is intimidating because there\u2019s too much of it. The skill is isolating the handful of variables that actually matter — and revisiting them on a schedule.
FRED, BLS, BEA, central banks
Macro starts with primary-source data. The guides walk you through FRED, BLS, BEA and central-bank publications so you can pull and read the numbers yourself.
Yield curve, real rates, liquidity
A handful of variables do most of the work — the yield curve, real rates, the dollar, and global liquidity. The intermediate guides isolate each one.
Macro dashboard & portfolio overlay
Macro only works when it’s a repeatable workflow. The advanced guides build a macro dashboard and a clean way to overlay a macro view on a real portfolio.
Twelve focused guides — from yield-curve basics to a full macro dashboard. Sorted by skill level and reading time.
What is macro analysis?
Top-down · Big picture
A primer on macro investing — why growth, inflation, rates, and liquidity drive every asset class, and where to start as a top-down investor.
Read the yield curve
2s10s · 3m10y · Inversions
How to read the U.S. Treasury yield curve, what an inversion actually means, and why it has historically led recessions by 6–18 months.
Use FRED in 5 minutes
Federal Reserve Economic Data
Walk through FRED — the free Federal Reserve database. Pull a series, build a chart, and add it to your macro dashboard.
Use the Economic Calendar
CPI · NFP · FOMC · ECB
Walk through the OmniFolio Economic Calendar — filter by impact, country, and event type to see exactly which prints will move the tape this week.
CPI & PCE inflation playbook
Headline vs core · Surprise
How to read a CPI or PCE release in real time — headline vs core, supercore, three-month annualized, and the typical rates and FX reaction.
NFP & jobs-day playbook
Payrolls · Wages · Revisions
A jobs-day playbook — payrolls, unemployment, wages, revisions, household survey — and how each one tends to move rates and equities.
Trade an FOMC decision
Statement · SEP · Presser
How an FOMC day actually unfolds — statement at 2:00, SEP dot plot, Powell’s presser at 2:30 — and why the presser usually moves more than the statement.
ECB, BoE, BoJ & the cross-currents
Global central banks · FX
How non-Fed central banks affect U.S. assets through FX and rate-differential channels — a practical framework for cross-asset macro.
Use the World Monitor
Global tape · One screen
Walk through the World Monitor — global indices, FX, commodities, rates, and headlines on one live screen. Built for macro situational awareness.
Real rates & the dollar
TIPS yields · DXY
Why real (inflation-adjusted) yields are the variable that actually matters — and how they tie to the dollar, gold, and risk assets.
Build a macro dashboard
Growth · Inflation · Liquidity
A repeatable macro dashboard template — growth, inflation, liquidity, and risk appetite — using FRED, the calendar, and World Monitor.
Layer macro on a portfolio
Risk-on / risk-off overlay
A repeatable workflow for translating a macro view into portfolio adjustments — without overtrading and without abandoning your core allocation.
All examples cite primary sources — FRED, BLS, BEA, Census, and central-bank publications. Educational content only.
Pre-sequenced playlists for macro analysis — pick a track and read straight through.
Beginner: Macro from scratch
~30 min · 4 guides
Beginner: Read the economic calendar
~25 min · 3 guides
Intermediate: CPI & jobs-day playbooks
~30 min · 2 guides
Intermediate: Central-bank week
~30 min · 2 guides
Intermediate: Real rates, dollar, gold
~25 min · 2 guides
Advanced: Macro dashboard & portfolio overlay
~45 min · 4 guides
After working through this category, the standard macro questions stop feeling intimidating.
Built on official statistical-agency data, wired into the platform, and strictly educational.
Every example cites FRED, BLS, BEA, Census, EIA, or a central-bank publication directly — never a scrape, never a paywalled second-hand source.
Each guide ends with a working link into the OmniFolio tool that runs the workflow — Market Intelligence, World Monitor, and the Economic Calendar.
These are research workflows for top-down macro analysis. Nothing here is a recommendation to trade or to take a particular macro view.
Free to read. From the yield curve to a full macro dashboard — every guide is built on real OmniFolio tools.