Tuesday's Scoop: Floating☀️

Hey friend - welcome back to your daily scoops on the economy and companies impacting your life.

Here’s what you need to know today to inform your work, spending, and investments:

1. Slow hiring has weighed on Americans’ confidence.

2. China’s trying to stimulate its stagnant economy.

3. Home prices have stopped climbing.

Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
^{Relatively low, but up from record lows}

Americans’ confidence in the economy took a hit this month as hiring slowed. The Conference Board reported its Consumer Confidence Index dropped by the most in three years in September. Worries about job availability increased, with more people saying jobs were harder to find. Perceptions of the hiring market were the lowest since March 2021. However, there was a rise in homebuying intentions as mortgage rates fell to their lowest in over 18 months. People seem more willing to spend on big purchases and travel. Overall, confidence is still roughly within the same range as the past two years, and lack of hiring is the top concern.

China’s trying to jumpstart its stagnant economy. China's central bank rolled out its most aggressive stimulus package since the pandemic, aiming to boost a slowing economy and address problems with declining prices. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced reductions in borrowing costs and bank reserve requirements, aiming to spur more lending and spending, especially in the struggling property market. China also lowered mortgage rates and downpayment requirements. This is one of the most significant moves China has made to stimulate more spending, but economists aren’t sure it will be enough to restore the world’s second-largest economy to its former growth trajectory.

30yr Mortgage Rate: 6.2%
^{That’s down from 7.3% a year ago. (MBA)}
Median Home Price: $416,700
^{That’s up from $404K a year ago. (NAR)}

Home prices aren’t surging anymore. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported only a 0.1% monthly increase in single-family home prices in July, up only 4.5% over the past year, the smallest annual gain since June 2023. Although nationwide home price growth has slowed, some regions, like the Pacific and New England, are still surging. Declining mortgage costs, with rates now at over 1.5-year lows, may improve affordability, but a significant drop in home prices is unlikely due to limited supply. More existing homeowners must bring their homes to market to improve supply.

The Market: ⬆️+0.3%
S&P 500: 5,732.93
1Mo: +2% | 1Yr: +32% | 5Yr: +94%

The market drifted to another new record high on Tuesday as investors carried the momentum of the past week. The economy seems to be doing perfectly fine, inflation appears to be under control, and policymakers have started making it cheaper to borrow.