Daily Rundown

June 22, 2026

Chart of the Day

Number of the Day

2 - The current streak of consecutive monthly increases in the index of leading economic indicators, the first back-to-back gains since November and December 2021

Quote of the Day

"(The SpaceX IPO) created tremendous engagement with our clients and broadly with retail clients. Demand was off the charts, and that demand continues." - Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster

Thursday's Highlights

Initial unemployment claims (week of 6/7) fell by 4,000 to 226,000. The four-week moving average hit a six-month high.

The index of leading economic indicators (May) rose by 0.1 percent, a second straight increase, led by rising stock prices.

The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index (June) improved to 10.3 from a prior -0.4. New orders, shipments, and employment all grew strongly.

Quick Commentary

Jobless claims are back on the rise after trending lower for the better part of the past year. The upturn has been relatively modest to this point and it still leaves the series at an extremely low level by historical standards -note that claims spent the entirety of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s north of 250,000- but the recent numbers at least suggest that the labor market is not quite as sturdy as implied by the latest payroll data and that there remain underlying risks amid a generally positive data flow more broadly.

Daily Trivia

Established to study the effects of President McKinley's tariffs in the 1890s, what is the oldest continuously produced economic data series in the U.S.?

(Thursday's Question: What product was marketed upon its launch with a T-shirt that read "What a Long Strange Dip It's Been"? Answer: Cherry Garcia)