September 2023 Monthly Recap

Talking Points

  • Inflation increased for a second straight month with CPI rising from 3.2% to 3.7%, above expectations of 3.6%

  • The labor market added 187,000 jobs, slightly above the expected 170,000, though unemployment rose to 3.8%

  • The NAHB Housing Marking Index fell from 50 to 45, its lowest level in five months as high mortgage rates hamper demand

  • The 10-year Treasury yield spiked higher from 4.09% to 4.59%, reaching fresh YTD highs on renewed Fed rate hike jitters 

  • Corporate bond credit spreads remained relatively tight, indicating markets pricing in a low probability of default risk

Market Health Indicator*

Market Data
market health indicator monthly index performance

*The Market Health Indicator is a monthly indicator created in September 2021 that is designed to measure market health on a scale of 0 - 100, analyzing various market segments such as economics, technicals, and volatility using data back to January of 2000. Higher scores indicate healthier market conditions.

  

Fun Facts

That's a lot of cheese...

  • While ocean water cover approximately 70% of Earth's surface, only 5% of the ocean has been explored and charted. 

  • Gustave Eiffel originally submitted his tower design to Barcelona, but they city turned it down for aesthetic reasons so he pitched the idea to Paris, France. 

  • October always ends on the same day of the week as February (it's a Tuesday this year).

  • There's an ant species that's unique to New York City. Biologists have named it the ManhattAnt.

Disney announced plans to spend $60 billion on its theme park and cruise businesses over the next decade, nearly doubling its investments in those avenues. 

Parks have been a reliable source of profit for the company, helping offset losses in its streaming division which is expected to remain a loss leader until late next year. 

Despite a drop-off in attendance, guests are reported to be spending 42% more at parks compared to 2019 as customers have been upgrading tickets and buying more merchandise. 

In addition to increasing its cruise line capacity, the company is looking to incorporate the intellectual property from more of its newer fils into the theme parks. 

Across its six park locations, Disney has over 1,000 acres of land available for development. 

To view the rest of the Market Update, click here.