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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 IndicatorsADVANCED 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 positive takeaway is that spending is still positive, with sales up 4.9% from a year ago, showing consumers are pulling back, but not down and out. NEW CLAIMS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT:Jobless claims rose slightly last week to 211,000, but the bigger story is the monthly trend: the four-week average remains near 204,000, showing layoffs have stayed consistently low. That suggests the labor market is still stable, even with small week-to-week fluctuations. What's the reason for following leading economic indicators? Read Here Financial Quote or Tip "The best inheritance you can leave your children is a few minutes of your time each day." - Warren Buffett Outdoor Life | Clip of the Month: Kayaking...the best or worst idea? Follow Us On Sources: https://www2.census.gov/retail/releases/historical/marts/adv2602.pdf , https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf , https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OPA/newsreleases/ui-claims/20260727.pdf , https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/index/COMP# , https://www.slickcharts.com/sp500/returns/ytd , https://www.slickcharts.com/currency/BTC/returns |
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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...