Daily Rundown

August 28, 2026

Chart of the Day

Number of the Day

$140.1 billion

U.S. capital goods imports in July, up 11.3 percent on the month and 28.8 percent since the outset of the year

Quote of the Day

“Our core customers continue to be financially constrained, with a variety of factors impacting their budget. Most notably, higher and more volatile fuel prices have forced customers to further prioritize purchases with a focus on value and affordability.”

Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos

Thursday’s Highlights

Initial unemployment claims (week of 8/16) fell by 4,000 to 203,000.

The goods trade deficit (July) widened to a 16-month high $118.8 billion from a prior $101.4 billion.

Best Buy same-store sales (May-July) rose 4.1 percent year-over-year, best in 20 quarters.

Dollar General same-store sales (May-July) rose by 3.5 percent year-over-year.

Dollar Tree same-store sales (May-July) rose by 3.7 percent year-over-year.

Quick Commentary

This week has brought a modestly better set of labor market data, as confidence in job availability improved, ADP’s weekly payroll estimate ticked higher, and jobless claims turned in a second straight decline to remain near the lows of the cycle. Next week’s jobs report now appears likely to show at least some bounce back from the soft numbers in July. These are still marginal improvements, however, and are unlikely yet enough to appreciably change consumer behavior, which continues to be mixed amid the many crosscurrents.

Today’s Highlights

Kansas City Fed symposium

Consumer sentiment

Daily Trivia

What game show has inspired more than a dozen peer-reviewed papers in academic journals, including “A Probability Model for Strategic Bidding” and “To Spin or Not to Spin”?

(Thursday’s Question: Due to its lack of high-occupancy, multistory buildings, which U.S. state has only two sets of functioning escalators within its borders? Answer: Wyoming)

What game show has inspired more than a dozen peer-reviewed papers in academic journals, including “A Probability Model for Strategic Bidding” and “To Spin or Not to Spin”?

(Thursday’s Question: Due to its lack of high-occupancy, multistory buildings, which U.S. state has only two sets of functioning escalators within its borders? Answer: Wyoming)

What game show has inspired more than a dozen peer-reviewed papers in academic journals, including “A Probability Model for Strategic Bidding” and “To Spin or Not to Spin”?

(Thursday’s Question: Due to its lack of high-occupancy, multistory buildings, which U.S. state has only two sets of functioning escalators within its borders? Answer: Wyoming)