Explanation should include

types of economic change (e.g., inflation, recession, expansion, depression, recovery)
ways these changes can affect the business environment (e.g., employment levels, consumer confidence)
ways these changes can affect the marketing environment (e.g., hiring, reduction in force, position elimination, reorganization/combining of job duties)
reasons that economic forecasting is important to a business (e.g., product/service planning, purchasing, budgeting).

Process/Skill Questions:

How might a tragedy or natural disaster change a nation’s economy? How might the political environment affect a nation's economy?
What are examples of such occurrences that have directly affected the U.S. economy and business environment? What were the effects?
How might a business prepare itself to address unexpected occurrences?
Why is economic forecasting important? Why should businesses conduct PEST (political, economic, social, and technological) analyses?
What are some of the key economic indicators? How is each important to a business?