From the Desk

Recent Economic Commentary

Brandon Casey, Member Strategies - 1/14/2026

U.S. stocks are lower Wednesday morning as investors digest multiple economic releases and bank earnings. Investors also continue to monitor comments from the president about geopolitical concerns and the criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell. All three major averages were lower on Tuesday and are lower on the week after reaching record highs on Monday.

Looking at economic data today, the Producer Price Index rose 0.2% in the delayed November report and was up 3.0% over the last year, up form 2.8% the previous month. Core prices were up 0.2% for the month and 3.5% over the last year, up from 3.4% the previous month. It was the highest annual core reading since March.

Retail sales increased 0.6% in the delayed November report, surpassing expectations of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales were up 0.5%, above expectations of 0.3%. The control group of sales, which most closely resembles the consumer spending component of GDP, was unexpectedly up 0.4%, versus expectations of falling 0.1%.

Existing home sales increase 5.1% in December to an annual rate of 4.35 million, higher than expected. For all of 2025, there were 4.06 million homes sold, unchanged from 2024. The median sales price was $405,400, up 0.4% over the last year.

Lastly, MBA mortgage applications jumped 28.5% last week. The refinance index was up 40% and purchase applications rose 16%. The report also showed that the average interest rate of a conforming 30-year mortgage fell seven basis points to 6.18%.