The latest Baker Hughes U.S. rig count is 603, unchanged for the week. That’s 53 rigs higher than a year ago, an increase of 9.6%. Oil rigs: 460 versus 459 last week and 420 a year ago. Up 40 YoY. Gas rigs: 132 versus 133 last week and 121 a year ago. Up 11 YoY Miscellaneous rigs: Unchanged at 11

43% of U.S. hospitals are losing money on operations, up from roughly 33% before the pandemic, as rising costs and more unpaid care squeeze already-thin margins. The median operating margin fell to 1.8% in August 2026, down from 5.6% in June, according to Kaufman Hall data covering more than 1,300 hospitals.

Consumer sentiment held nearly unchanged this month, yet buying conditions for durables plunged 18% on higher rates and affordability worries. Year-ahead business conditions improved about 14% this month, yet they remain 16% below last October and overall sentiment is still down 10% from a year ago.

US growth stays strong, but inflation heats up. October flash PMI eased to 57.6 from 58.4, still signaling robust expansion. Manufacturing PMI hit a 53-month high of 56.0, while selling prices rose at the fastest pace since Aug. 2022. pmi.spglobal.com/Public/Home…

Retail rent increases slow to a crawl in third quarter Landlords struggle to push pricing higher even as nationwide store vacancy falls to 4.3% Retail vacancy fell to 4.3%, yet annual rent growth slowed to 1.6%. The constraint isn’t available space. It’s what a store can earn after paying rent.

Houston absorbed roughly 1.5 apartments for every unit delivered this year. Occupancy reached 91.2%, its highest since early 2022.

Texas job growth is slowing, but the Dallas Fed still forecasts a modest increase for 2026 despite September’s job losses. dallasfed.org/research/forec…

Houston lost 7,300 jobs in September, yet its annual job growth still ran at roughly three times the national pace.

Stocks mostly fell Thursday on renewed concerns about AI company spending, while oil prices jumped amid rising geopolitical tensions. • Nasdaq: -2.6% to 26,008.86 ( • S&P 500: -1.21% to 7,663.43 • Dow: +11.89 pts (+0.02%) to 52,867.98

Mortgage rates ease this week 📉 ▫️30-year fixed: 7.32% (was 7.40%) ▫️15-year fixed: 6.68% (was 6.71%) Both remain above year-ago levels

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US Was Flat in September at 99.6. ▫️Six-month trend: +0.6% vs. −1.1% prior ▫️Weaker consumer expectations offset gains ▫️Growth shifting toward business investment Conference Board GDP forecasts: 2.2% in 2026, 2.0% in 2027

U.S. initial jobless claims came in at 194,000, below the 200,000 forecast ▫️4-week avg: 197,750, down 1K ▫️Continuing: 1.728M, up 25K

Houston recorded 59,800 single-family home sales through August, essentially matching last year’s total, even as mortgage rates stayed elevated. Sales remain well below the unusually strong levels of 2021 and 2022, but the steady pace this year has coincided with the most choices buyers have seen in several years.

WEDNESDAY MARKET RECAP Stocks rose Wednesday as investors rotated back into technology on the latest SpaceX and Tesla developments. • Nasdaq: +1.05% to 26,702.86 • S&P 500: +0.58% to 7,757.17 • Dow: +360.21 pts (+0.69%) to 52,856.09

Metro Houston added 50,300 jobs in the 12 months ending July ’26, reaching 3.5 million total nonfarm jobs. That’s a sharp rebound from just 17,500 jobs added in all of ’25. 📈

September jobs snapshot: Texas led the U.S. in annual job gains, adding 154,300 (+1.1%). National unemployment held at 4.2%, with most states seeing little monthly change. Unemployment fell in five states: Maryland, New Hampshire, Florida, Nevada, and Pennsylvania and remained essentially unchanged in the other 45 states and Washington, D.C. No state recorded a statistically significant monthly increase.