Daily Rundown
September 30, 2026
Chart of the Day
Number of the Day
1.7
The spread between the share of consumer confidence survey respondents characterizing jobs as “plentiful” and “hard to get” in September, down from 4.2 percentage points in the prior month and the smallest since early 2021
Quote of the Day
“For full-year 2027, we are already half booked, with both occupancy and pricing at record levels. Demand remains broad-based, including very healthy demand for our peak summer European deployments.”
Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein
Tuesday’s Highlights
Consumer confidence (September) fell by 6.7 points to 81.9, the lowest since 2014.
Job openings (August) declined by 256,000 to a five-month low 7.1 million.
The Case-Shiller home price index (July) rose by 0.3 percent on the month and 1.9 percent YoY.
The Dallas Fed services index (September) slipped to -1.8 from a prior 4.2.
Carnival passenger cruise days (June-August) ticked up by 1.5 percent year-over-year.
Quick Commentary
While the labor market looks to have been in an upturn in recent weeks, the renewed pullback in job openings and the ongoing slide in sentiment around job availability both suggest that the improvement to this point has been relatively modest. Consumers are still spending, however, as this morning’s consumption data is likely to show that the summer ended on a solid note. It is also a good bet to show another low personal saving rate, setting up a significant slowdown once the jobless rate moves more sustainably to the upside.
Today’s Highlights
Personal income
Personal spending
PCE price indices
GDP
ADP employment
Mortgage applications
Daily Trivia
What tech mascot was inspired by a Finnish software engineer’s trip to the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra in the early 1990s?
(Tuesday’s Question: What team name was Utah’s NHL franchise unable to adopt when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that it risked consumer confusion with an existing outdoor products brand? Answer: Yeti)