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Monthly Money Digest || Economy
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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 IndicatorsHOUSING 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 housing starts: overall, housing starts were up 7.2% over December, but single-family home starts actually fell by 2.8%. New permits also declined in January. (report) CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX: Consumer sentiment towards the economy slightly increased in February, before the Iran War broke out, so it will be interesting to see the report in April. Overall, consumer confidence has been down and on a downward trend. (report) YIELD CURVE: The yield curve is another key indicator for the economy’s direction. Right now, it’s positive—which is generally a good sign. However, the yield curve can invert within a matter of weeks or months, and—barring a few exceptions—an inverted curve is often followed by a recession about 12 months later. Outdoor Life | Clip of the Month: Follow Us On Sources: https://www.slickcharts.com/sp500/returns/ytd , https://www.slickcharts.com/nasdaq100/returns/ytd |
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Hello, BlackBird community! Market NASDAQ COMPOSITE ytd: 12.10% DOW ytd: 9.84% Sugar ytd: 17.07% Lumber ytd: -2.41% (quoted as of 10/21/26 ) Understanding Major Indexes and Lesser-Known Indexes. Read Here Leading Economic Indicators HOUSING STARTS: U.S. housing starts fell 5.2% in September to an annualized rate of 1.22 million homes, down 7.4% from a year earlier. Building permits were nearly unchanged, while completed homes increased 2.2%. The takeaway? Construction activity appears to be...
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;...
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...