Daily Rundown

March 11, 2026

Chart of the Day

Number of the Day

34.0 - First-time buyers as a share of existing home purchasers in February, up from 31.0 percent in the prior month and the highest percentage since June 2020

Quote of the Day

"The demand for cloud computing for AI training and inferencing continues to grow faster than supply." - From Oracle's quarterly earnings release

Tuesday's Highlights

Existing home sales (February) rose by 1.7 percent to an annualized 4.1 million. The median price was $398,000, up 0.3 percent year-over-year.

The small business optimism index (February) fell to 98.8 from a prior 99.3. Economic expectations, sales expectations, and hiring plans were all lower.

Quick Commentary

The continued downtrend in the small business capex index is an indication that the robust investment spending of late has been highly concentrated and will be at risk for a sharp reversal once demand from the handful of companies currently leading the way peaks. For now, the AI boom remains very much intact, keeping the near-term growth outlook relatively stable despite softness in much of the rest of the economy.

Today's Highlights

CPI

Mortgage applications

Daily Trivia

What actor's name was used for the Dodd-Frank rule banning commodities trading based on misappropriated, nonpublic government information?

(Tuesday's Question: What low-budget film's unexpected success propelled Artisan Entertainment to a $140 million Nasdaq IPO filing in early 2000? Answer: The Blair Witch Project)