Daily Rundown
October 21, 2026
Chart of the Day
Number of the Day
2001
The September pending existing home sales reading was the lowest in the history of the series, which dates back to 2001
Quote of the Day
“When you look at a lot of the consumer sentiment surveys, they really have become disaggregated from consumer behavior on the ground. And that’s evident in our average transaction price. It’s evident in our trim mix.”
General Motors CFO Paul Jacobson
Tuesday’s Highlights
Housing starts (September) fell by 5.2 percent to an annualized 1.2 million. Permits also fell.
Pending existing home sales (September) fell by 7.3 percent to a record low.
The Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing index (October) fell to -23.6 from a prior -22.0.
ADP employment (four weeks through 10/3) rose by an average of 18,500.
GM vehicle sales (Q3) fell by 9.7 percent year-over-year.
United revenue passenger miles (Q3) edged up by 0.7 percent year-over-year.
Quick Commentary
The housing data yesterday was unsurprisingly soft, but, with pending sales activity now weaker than even in the depths of 2008 and 2020, the downside from here is likely limited. Similarly, there is clearly little upside left in the leisure economy, even as it remains robust in absolute terms. United’s numbers yesterday jibed with those from Delta last week in showing resilient demand, but very little growth from the already booming activity levels of a year ago.
Today’s Highlight
Mortgage applications
Daily Trivia
What large financial institution, which was originally founded to serve immigrants in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, has been named for two different countries in its history?
(Tuesday’s Question: What ill-fated company’s COO, who is currently incarcerated in California, had a vanity license plate reading “DASKPTL”, a reference to the Karl Marx book Das Kapital? Answer: Theranos (Sunny Balwani))