The Weekly Flyer: Monday, October 13th 2025
- Alex A Tapia, AIF
- Oct 13, 2025
- 4 min read
The Markets
Filling the data void.
Ancient Greek Philosopher Aristotle theorized that nature abhors a void and fills it. Anyone who has ever cleared a garden patch and delayed planting understands the idea. Before long, the empty ground is teeming with opportunistic plants.
The government shutdown created a data void. Usually, the government delivers robust economic data that analysts and investors rely on to better understand where the American economy has been, where it is now, and where it may be going. It’s information the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) relies on to determine whether a rate cut or increase is necessary, reported Megan Leonhardt of Barron’s.
One critical piece of data that has been delayed because of the shutdown is the September 2025 unemployment report. With government data unavailable, Wall Street is turning to alternative sources of information—and those sources are telling different stories. For example, we’ve read that in September U.S. employment:
Rebounded. A top financial firm reported “that the economy added about 80,000 jobs in September, showing a rebound from sluggish labor-market growth during the four preceding months,” according to Matt Grossman of Dow Jones via Barron’s.
Remained steady. The Chicago Federal Reserve’s Real-Time Unemployment Rate Forecast indicated that the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3 percent for September.
Slowed. A global investment company reported, “…data from our portfolio suggest that the collapse in U.S. payroll employment growth continued in September, with monthly gains falling from an average of over 200,000 at the start of the year to just 15,000 over the past three months.”
Shrank. A top payroll processor found that “private employers shed 32,000 jobs in September.” It’s a finding that would be at odds with economists’ pre-shutdown forecasts, reported Leonhardt.
The breakeven employment rate, which is the number of new jobs that must be created to keep the employment rate steady, is 32,000 to 82,000, according to the calculations of St. Louis Fed economists Alexander Bick and Victoria Gregory.
Another critical piece of data is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures how prices change from month to month. The October CPI is particularly important because it is used to calculate cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients. The Social Security Administration is legally required to publish its annual cost-of-living increase for 2026 before November 1, reported Emily Peck of Axios. That’s why the Bureau of Labor Statistics began recalling employees last week The September CPI will be late, but it will be available in October.
Last Friday, major U.S. stock indexes pulled back sharply after trade tensions reignited between the United States and China, reported Connor Smith of Barron’s. Yields on most maturities of U.S. Treasuries moved lower on Friday.
Data as of 10/10/25 | 1-Week | YTD | 1-Year | 3-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year |
Standard & Poor's 500 Index | -2.4% | 11.4% | 13.4% | 22.0% | 13.1% | 12.5% |
Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index | -1.5 | 22.9 | 15.8 | 17.2 | 6.6 | 5.0 |
10-year Treasury Note (yield only) | 4.1 | N/A | 4.1 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 2.1 |
Gold (per ounce) | 2.3 | 52.2 | 51.2 | 33.33 | 15.6 | 13.1 |
Bloomberg Commodity Index | -1.2 | 5.4 | 3.5 | -3.6 | 7.4 | 1.5 |
S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, Bloomberg Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance; MarketWatch; djindexes.com; U.S. Treasury; London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not applicable.
A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN. Housing is expensive. Buying a home is out of reach for many Americans because “home prices are historically high relative to incomes”, reported Peyton Whitney of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. In 2024, the price of a median single-family home was five times the median household income. (Affordability of homes varies by region.)
Renting isn’t cheap either. The Economist analyzed the affordability of American cities for renters who prefer to live alone. They used “…the rule that a tenant should spend no more than 30 [percent] of their gross income on rent. Using rental prices gathered by…an online property platform, we calculated the salary needed to afford a typical studio apartment in each city.”
Based on median rental prices for August 2025, the publication found the most affordable cities in the United States included:
Wichita, Kansas
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Lincoln, Nebraska
The report found that some previously unaffordable cities have become affordable, including Knoxville, Tennessee; Denver, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; and Norfolk, Virginia.
Then, there are the cities that are affordable only if a renter earns a well-above-average income. The least affordable cities for renters hoping to live alone included:
New York City, New York
Miami, Florida
Jersey City, New Jersey
In addition, “Several of the newly prohibitive cities are in Texas…Last year, both Houston and Dallas were deemed affordable…This year, they fell below that threshold. In Austin, monthly studio rents are now $1,580, a 25 [percent] jump from 2024. This requires a salary of $63,200, more than $10,000 higher than the city’s median wage…Texas has experienced an influx of people in recent years. Many tech firms and other big companies have moved their offices to the state, drawn by low taxes and favorable regulation. Salaries have increased, but rents are rising faster,” reported The Economist.
WEEKLY FOCUS – THINK ABOUT IT
“The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”
–Maya Angelou, Memoirist and poet
Sources:
https://www.barrons.com/articles/shutdown-muddles-the-jobs-picture-for-economists-fed-48f547ce or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2025/10-13-25-Barrons-Shutdown-Muddles-The-Job-2.pdf
https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-100625/card/missing-september-economy-stats-seen-as-benign-4WjOev2GisJEdq7U5R3Z?mod=Searchresults or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2025/10-13-25-Barrons-Missing-September-Economy-3.pdf
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/10/shutdown-monthly-inflation-report-social-security or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2025/10-13-25-Axios-Why-The-Shutdown-Isnt-Stopping-8.pdf
https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-101025?modCode=hp_LEDE_C_LC or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2025/10-13-25-Barrons-NASDAQ-Sinks-3.6%25-9.pdf
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/09/30/where-can-americans-afford-to-live-solo-in-2025 or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2025/10-13-25-The-Economist-Where-Can-Americans-Afford-12.pdf
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I found this post genuinely thought-provoking, especially the way it highlights how markets can sometimes move in a completely different direction from what the underlying data suggests. The discussion around revised job figures and investor sentiment felt particularly relevant, because it shows how easily narratives can shift even when the fundamentals aren’t as strong as they appear. It also made me think about how dependent we are on timely and accurate data, and how disruptions can create confusion for both policymakers and investors. As someone exploring Economics Dissertation Topics, this kind of real-world perspective is incredibly useful in understanding how theory plays out in practice. It bridges that gap between textbook concepts and what’s actually happening in the economy right…
This breakdown of the "data void" really resonated with me — uncertainty at a macro level feels eerily similar to what students experience when key information is missing right before assessments. When conflicting signals exist everywhere, decision-making becomes overwhelming. I remember being in that exact spot during my finance module, drowning in unreliable data and deadlines piling up simultaneously. A friend actually joked, "just take my exam for me," and honestly, the stress made that sound tempting! But instead of giving up, I turned to New Assignment Help UK, which helped me structure my analysis around incomplete data confidently — much like how Wall Street is now leaning on alternative sources. This article is a great reminder that navigating uncertainty…
Great insights in this weekly update. I like how the article breaks down the recent market movements and explains the factors behind stock gains, interest rate changes, and shifting consumer sentiment in a very clear way. The section discussing the potential risks from high valuations and economic data revisions was particularly interesting and helpful for understanding the bigger picture. Content like this makes complex financial topics much easier to follow. As someone who reads a lot of analytical content while researching topics for students seeking assignment writing help uk, I really appreciate articles that present financial and economic developments in such a structured and informative way. Looking forward to reading more updates like this in the future.
This is a really eye-opening breakdown of how much economic decision-making depends on consistent, reliable data — and how quickly uncertainty spreads when that data disappears. The housing affordability section hit close to home too; it's wild to see cities like Houston and Dallas shifting from affordable to out of reach in just a year. It reminds me of how I felt navigating complex research during my studies — when key information was missing or conflicting, every conclusion felt shaky. I actually turned to an Assignment Writing Service UK at the time to help me structure my analysis properly, and it genuinely taught me how to work with incomplete data more confidently. Understanding macroeconomic indicators like CPI and unemployment rates…