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Best 18-month CD rates for September 2026: Earn up to 4.35% APY

Best 1-year CD rates for September 2026: Lock in up to 4.15% APY

This is the End and a New Beginning

I've been thinking about this for some time.After 21 years of writing this blog almost daily, I've decided to stop writing the daily updates on the blog.However, the economic data "IV" is still in my arm, and I'll be writing a weekly economic summary at the end of each week (via…

Sunday Night Futures

Weekend: • Schedule for Week of January 11, 2026 Monday: • No major economic releases scheduled. From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures S&P 500 futures are down 16 and DOW futures are down 104 (fair value). Oil prices were up over the last week with WTI futures at…

Hotels: Occupancy Rate Increased 4.4% Year-over-year

Hotel occupancy was weak in 2025.   It is difficult to tell early in the year because travel is always weak in early January.  From STR: U.S. hotel results for week ending 3 JanuaryThe U.S. hotel industry reported positive year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStar’s latest…

Real Estate Newsletter Articles this Week:Housing Starts Decreased to 1.246 million Annual Rate

At the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter this week: Click on graph for larger image. • Housing Starts Decreased to 1.246 million Annual Rate in October • The "Home ATM" Mostly Closed in Q3 • 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in December • Asking Rents Decline Year-over-year…

Schedule for Week of January 11, 2026

The key reports this week are December CPI, Existing Home Sales and November Retail Sales. Also, New Home Sales for September and October will be released. For manufacturing, the December Industrial Production report and the January New York and Philly Fed manufacturing surveys…

The "Home ATM" Mostly Closed in Q3

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: The "Home ATM" Mostly Closed in Q3 A brief excerpt: During the housing bubble, many homeowners borrowed heavily against their perceived home equity - jokingly calling it the “Home ATM” - and this contributed to the subsequent…

Fed's Flow of Funds: Household Net Worth Increased $6.1 Trillion in Q3

The Federal Reserve released the Q3 2025 Flow of Funds report today: Financial Accounts of the United States. The net worth of households and nonprofits rose to $181.6 trillion during the third quarter of 2025. The value of directly and indirectly held corporate equities…

Best 6-month CD rates for September 2026: Earn up to 4.15% APY

Newsletter: Housing Starts Decreased to 1.246 million Annual Rate in October

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Housing Starts Decreased to 1.246 million Annual Rate in October A brief excerpt: Note: The Census Bureau is still catching up. They released Start data for September and October today, but we are still missing November data.…

Housing Starts Decreased to 1.246 million Annual Rate in October

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions Housing Starts: Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000. This is 4.6 percent below the revised September estimate of 1,306,000 and is 7.8 percent below the October…

Comments on December Employment Report

The headline jobs number in the December employment report was slightly below expectations, however October and November were revised down by 76,000. The unemployment rate decreased to 4.4%.Earlier: December Employment Report: 50 thousand Jobs, 4.4% Unemployment RatePrime (25 to…

December Employment Report: 50 thousand Jobs, 4.4% Unemployment Rate

From the BLS: Employment Situation Both total nonfarm payroll employment (+50,000) and the unemployment rate (4.4 percent) changed little in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places,…

Friday: Employment Report, Housing Starts, Flow of Funds

Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. Friday: • At 8:30 AM ET,: Employment Report for December.   The consensus is for 55,000 jobs added, and for the unemployment rate to decline to 4.5%. • At 10:00 AM: Housing Starts for September…

December Employment Preview

On Friday at 8:30 AM ET, the BLS will release the employment report for December. The consensus is for 55,000 jobs added, and for the unemployment rate to decrease to 4.5%. There were 64,000 jobs added in November, and the unemployment rate was at 4.6%. From Goldman Sachs: We…

Wholesale Used Car Prices Increased Slightly in December; Up 0.4% Year-over-year

From Manheim Consulting today: Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index: December 2025 TrendsThe Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) rose to 205.5, reflecting a 0.4% increase for wholesale used-vehicle prices (adjusted for mix, mileage, and seasonality) compared to December 2024.…

Trade Deficit Decreased to $29.4 Billion in October

The Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported: The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $29.4 billion in October, down $18.8 billion from $48.1 billion in September, revised. October…

Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 208,000

The DOL reported: In the week ending January 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 208,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 199,000 to 200,000. The 4-week moving…

Thursday: Trade Deficit, Unemployment Claims

Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. Thursday: • At 8:30 A ET, Trade Balance report for November from the Census Bureau. The consensus is the trade deficit to be $59.4 billion.  The U.S. trade deficit was at $52.8 billion in…

8 best places to keep your cash in 2026

1st Look at Local Housing Markets in December

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in December A brief excerpt: Last year (2025) might have seen the lowest number of existing home sales since 1995. It will be close! Even if sales beat 2024 sales, these will be the two…

ISM® Services Index Increased to 54.4% in December

(Posted with permission). The ISM® Services index was at 54.4%, up from 52.6% the previous month. The employment index increased to 52.0%, up from 48.9%. Note: Above 50 indicates expansion, below 50 in contraction. From the Institute for Supply Management: Services PMI® at 54.4%…

BLS: Job Openings Declined to 7.1 million in November

From the BLS: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary The number of job openings was little changed at 7.1 million in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires were little changed and total separations were unchanged at 5.1 million each.…

ADP: Private Employment Increased 41,000 in December

From ADP: ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 41,000 Jobs in December; Annual Pay was Up 4.4%“Small establishments recovered from November job losses with positive end-of-year hiring, even as large employers pulled back,” said Dr. Nela…

MBA: Mortgage Applications Decreased Over a Two-Week Period

From the MBA: MMortgage Applications Decreased Over a Two-Week Period in Latest MBA Weekly SurveyMortgage applications decreased 9.7 percent from two weeks earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week…

Wednesday: ADP Employment, Job Openings, ISM Services

Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. Wednesday: • At 7:00 AM ET, The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index. This will be two weeks of data. • At 8:15 AM, The ADP…

Light Vehicle Sales Increased to 16.0 Million SAAR in December

The BEA reported that light vehicle sales were at 16.0 million in December on a seasonally adjusted annual basis (SAAR). This was up 1.9% from the sales rate in November, and down 4.9% from December 2024. Click on graph for larger image. This graph shows light vehicle sales…

Heavy Truck Sales Collapsed in Q4; Down 32.5% Year-over-year in December

This graph shows heavy truck sales since 1967 using data from the BEA. The dashed line is the December 2025 seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) of 311 thousand. Note: "Heavy trucks - trucks more than 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight." Click on graph for larger image.…

Weekly survey of mortgage lenders with the lowest rates: Little relief since July