Dolly Parton, who passed away on Wednesday, was perhaps the most beloved American. Really, look at her favorability rating compared to other prominent figures from this April 2026 YouGov Survey.
We may never see another American achieve this level of favorability.
The economic news and data this week were a little less favorable, with fairly uninspiring updates on inflation, spending, income, saving, some housing stats, and more.
Monday
TSA Checkpoint Travel Numbers
Air travel remains in bad shape according to TSA gate check numbers.
Oil Stuff
Gas prices inched up to $4.22/gallon, which is $0.95/gallon higher than at the same time last year.
As we wrote last week, diesel prices, which are up to $5.65/gallon, are still the bigger story here. There’s a good chance diesel surges above its previous all-time high ($5.78/gallon in June 2022) over the next few weeks.
Tuesday
New Home Sales
Sales of newly built homes fell sharply in July, down more than 10% from June. While new home sales have slowed a little during 2026, they’ve also been remarkably stable—and unspectacular—over the past decade (with the exception of the pandemic boom).
Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index
Consumers lost economic confidence in August, though they felt much better about current conditions and much worse about the future. As you can see below, the expectations part of the index is remarkably low by historical standards.
S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index
Home prices rose just 1.5% between June 2025 and June 2026. That’s good from a home-buying affordability standpoint, but virtually everyone would be happier if rates were lower and home prices were rising faster.
