The Conference Board's US leading indicator index failed to rise for the seventh straight month in November, slipping 0.4% to 99.0. This is rather unsurprising in light of the recession the economy is currently facing, and a breakdown of the index shows that weakness in the labor markets, housing sector, and stocks were primarily responsible for the decline. However, as we discussed yesterday, there is little that the Federal Reserve can do for the economy from a monetary policy perspective, and as a result, they have shifted their focus onto the financial markets.