How do we know where the economy is heading today?

What is the present situation of the economy, and in which direction is it heading? What is the present rate of economic growth? National accounts and other economic statistics offer information on the economic situation, but they are published with a considerable delay. Information on the GDP of the present quarter does not arrive until several months later. Even so, many economic decisions require the support of real-time information. Short-term forecast models, so-called nowcasting models, enable evaluation of the state of the economy before official statistics are completed.