Daily Rundown

June 16, 2026

Chart of the Day

Number of the Day

62.0 - The share of home builders using sales incentives in June, up from 61.0 percent in May and a 15th straight month at 60.0 percent or higher

Quote of the Day

"I'm pretty confident that (fuel costs) will remain high for a number of months. It will remain challenging from a cost perspective, from an inflation perspective." - Menzies Aviation CEO Philipp Joeinig

Monday's Highlights

Industrial production (May) inched up by 0.1 percent, as factory output flatlined after a big gain in April. 

The home builder sentiment index (June) fell by 2.0 points to 35.0. The index remains in the downtrend that began in 2020, when it peaked at 90.0.

The Empire State manufacturing index (June) moved lower by 13.9 points to 5.7. The employment metric improved while the new orders and shipments indices declined.

Quick Commentary

The pickup in manufacturing activity this year has been very much driven by the acceleration in information technology output, which is on track for its largest annual increase since 2010. Production outside of tech has perked up a bit, too, but is still growing at a tepid rate not far removed from the pace that has prevailed for the better part of this cycle. This is yet another sign that the AI boom is the linchpin for this expansion, which will very likely be at risk once the current capex frenzy inevitably subsides.

Today's Highlights

Housing starts

Import prices

Daily Trivia

What territory saw its economy shrink by more than 50 percent in 2020, as the pandemic decimated travel and forced casinos to close?

(Monday's Question: What piece of software was quietly retired by IBM in 2013, 30 years after it helped to kickstart the PC revolution as the first "killer app" of the era? Answer: Lotus 1-2-3)