Two sets of labor statistics data, released this week, point to a divergence between the job-openings rate and the total number of employees on nonfarm payrolls. And that divergence may well serve as a leading indicator for the labor market as a whole.

Although retail sales -- share prices -- have rallied back to 2007 highs, retail real estate prices remain depressed. Investors beware: A deeper look at the reasons behind that split suggest harder times ahead for major, publicly held retailing companies.

A recent Fed working paper happily points out that even as other sources of municipal tax revenue have plummeted, property taxes have held fairly steady, and the authors expect that to continue. Unfortunately, their optimistic prediction ignores the bigger picture.

In Saturday's New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson profiled economist Ian Shepherdson, who's taking a more bullish stance. Namely, he sees the U.S. potentially following Sweden's example of a sharp comeback after financial disaster. Here's why that's a bad call.

Large-cap technology shares have been among the market's best performers. Will the recent momentum feed on itself, or has this breathtaking bull run set the stage for a correction of some sort? Here's the case for the latter.

The Swiss franc has been a top currency over the past six months, outpacing the dollar by 8.9% and the euro by 7.8%, thanks to shaky conditions in Europe. But some signs suggest the Swiss currency is due for a correction.

Europe's shakiest economies managed to ride out a sovereign debt crisis this spring with a lot of help from their more stable neighbors and the major central banks. But new data suggests we may soon see a replay of the debt default crisis.

Statistics published this week by the Federal Reserve suggest the outlook for the U.S. economy remains bright. However, if you compare them side-by-side, the statistics paint a less encouraging picture that suggests tough times ahead.

The yawning gap -- the largest since tracking began in 1992 -- between these two measures is telling us something. And chances are it's saying consumers know better than the economic indicators what's really going on in the U.S. economy.

When the ISM's manufacturing reading is combined with its services reading, a different -- and far less positive -- picture of the U.S. economy emerges.