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The Chicago Fed's National Financial Conditions Index. A weighted composite of 105 measures of risk, credit, and leverage across money markets, debt, equity, and shadow banking. Published weekly.

Why it matters: One number that summarizes how tight or loose financial conditions are across the full US financial system. More comprehensive than looking at any single indicator — it aggregates credit spreads, volatility, funding costs, and leverage data into a single z-score-style reading.

How to read it: Zero is "average" historical conditions. Positive values = tighter than average (stress); negative = looser than average (loose money, risk-on). Readings above +1 are meaningful stress; above +2 is crisis territory (2008, briefly 2020). Sustained negative readings are typical in easy-money eras.

Caveats: As a composite index, it lags sudden moves in any individual component. For real-time stress, watch HY spread; for weekly summary, watch NFCI.