Hi Al,
The extent one uses macroeconomics data depends on what type of trading you do.
For example, if you are looking to 'scalp' a few ticks here and there, it may not make much sense to understand current macroeconomic trends. Similarly, if you day-trade, i.e. open and close positions within the same trading session, fundamentals knowledge may help relatively little.
Of course you may still need to be aware of certain market moving events. For example, even if you are day-trading, trading 6E or ZN the day when NFP data are released may very well impact your trading significantly.
If you are planning to hold your trade for longer periods of time then fundamentals tend to have a larger impact, depending on the market/instrument traded.
As everything in trading, it depends on the context.
Personally I use mostly Bloomberg and Reuters and then I use tradingeconomics.com to perform longer-term analysis.