Daily Rundown

April 29, 2026

Chart of the Day

Number of the Day

13.0 - The share of consumer confidence survey respondents planning to buy a car in the next six months, the highest since December 2024

Quote of the Day

"Some firms may be brilliant, but I guarantee you not all 1,000 of them are. So in my view, because of that and the underwriting standards, we haven't had a credit recession in so long, so when we have one, it will be worse than people think." - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon

Tuesday's Highlights

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index (April) ticked up to a four-month high 92.8 from a prior 92.2.

The Case-Shiller home price index (February) was unchanged on the month and up by 0.9 percent year-over-year.

Visa network spending volume (Q1) rose by 10.6 percent year-over-year, the fastest pace in 16 quarters.

Quick Commentary

Why has the Conference Board's consumer confidence index edged higher in recent months even as the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index has slumped to a record low? The inconsistency owes in large part to the former survey's stronger focus on the labor market and the latter's closer tie to the inflation rate. And while price pressures have picked up again this year, the labor market has at the same time shown some signs of stabilization. Spending, in turn, has held up well, thanks also to a hearty tax refund season. There are still sizeable risks going forward, but the prevailing backdrop, tenuous as it is, is enough to keep both consumption and the broader economy pointed upward for the near-term future.

Today's Highlights

FOMC meeting

Housing starts

Trade balance

Durable goods orders

Mortgage applications

Daily Trivia

What company's on-campus museum includes a 30-pound silicon ingot, a bunny suit, and an interactive exhibit on Moore's Law?

(Tuesday's Question: What concept originated when a printer working on a new type of publication in 1883 ran out of white paper? Answer: The yellow pages)