Hello, BlackBird community! Market NASDAQ COMPOSITE YTD: 16.94% RUSSELL 2000 YTD: 16.15% GOLD YTD: 0.25% BITCOIN YTD: 0.17% (quoted as of 09/21/26 ) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Leading Economic Indicators HOUSING STARTS: New residential construction softened in August. Total housing starts declined 2.6% from July to an annualized rate of 1.275 million, while building permits fell 2.7%. The decline was largely driven by multifamily construction;...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hello, BlackBird community! Market S&P 500 YTD: 13.74% Canada S&P/TSX COMPOSITE YTD: 15.82% (quoted as of 8/14/26 ) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Leading Economic Indicators U.S. RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICE SALES: The latest Census Bureau report showed that U.S. retail and food service sales were down 0.6% from June but still 5.0% higher than July 2025. While spending slowed somewhat in July, consumers are still spending more than they were a year ago. The...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, BlackBird community! Market NASDAQ COMPOSITE YTD: 10.54% S&P 500 YTD: 8.65% From June 25' to June 26': Airline tickets are up 26.5% Used cars are down -1.8% Motor Vehicle repair is up 7% (quoted as of 7/22/26 ) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Leading Economic Indicators HOUSING STARTS: Housing starts rebounded in June following the large drop in May. While housing starts didn't quite bounce back to where they were in April, it is still a warm welcome. Up...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, BlackBird community! Market RUSSELL 2000 YTD: 19.46% S&P 500 YTD: 9.01% (quoted as of 6/17/26 ) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Leading Economic Indicators HOUSING STARTS: A sharp decline in housing starts from April to May may be an early warning for the broader market. With a 15.4% drop, this may be one of the most significant declines in recent years. With the war in Iran potentially nearing its end, we'll see whether this is a blip or a warning sign....
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, BlackBird community! Market NASDAQ COMPOSITE YTD: 12.8% S&P 500 YTD: 7.91% BITCOIN: -11.69% (quoted as of 5/19/26) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Leading Economic Indicators ADVANCED ESTIMATES OF RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES: U.S. retail sales growth cooled in April, rising just 0.5% after much stronger gains of 1.6% in March and 0.6% in February, signaling that consumer spending may be moderating. This is likely from the impact of the Iran war. The...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, BlackBird community! Market RUSSELL 2000 YTD: 1.53% S&P 500 YTD: 0.94% (quoted as of 4/13/2026) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Leading Economic Indicators NEW HOME SALES: New home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 587,000 in January, down 17.6% from December and 11.3% from a year ago. Median prices declined to $400,500, while average prices also fell a bit. A sharp pullback in both sales and a modest decrease in pricing to start the...
6 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, BlackBird community! Market NASDAQ 100 YTD: -1.86% S&P 500 YTD: -1.59% (quoted as of 3/17/26) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Leading Economic Indicators HOUSING STARTS: The US Census Bureau is a month behind on reporting due to the recent government shutdown, so the March report covers January instead of February. This delay makes it harder to use the data as a leading indicator, since more recent numbers are more valuable. Here’s how 2026 began for...
7 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, BlackBird community! Market RUSSELL 2000 YTD: 6.48% S&P 500 YTD: 0.68% (quoted as of 2/18/2026) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Over the last 12 months Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair: 4.9% Medical Care: 3.9% Food: 2.9% Private Industry Wages: 3.3% Leading Economic Indicators HOUSING STARTS: We are still recovering from the government shutdown. Yesterday, housing starts for December were released. Housing starts seasonally adjusted were up 6.2% from...
8 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, BlackBird community! Market RUSSELL 2000 YTD: 6.25% S&P 500 YTD: 1.77% (quoted as of 1/13/26 ) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Leading Economic Indicators CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX: Consumer confidence, as reported on December 23, dropped a couple of points since the November report. The index had peaked for the year in January. (report) NEW CLAIMS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT: Unemployment new claims were largely flat in December, and we have seen a slight decrease...
9 months ago • 1 min read