In a world saturated with financial news, it’s easy to feel like you’re hearing the same story on a loop. Inflation, the Fed’s next move, and the latest AI breakthrough are the big, obvious headlines that dominate the conversation. However, in my experience, a true picture of the economy doesn’t become clear without the fascinating subplots and curious details that hide in the margins.
It’s a bit like assembling a puzzle; the big headlines are the corner pieces that give you a general frame, but the real picture only emerges when you start fitting together the strange, seemingly random shapes from the middle. Here are ten of those odd-shaped pieces I’ve come across that have made me stop and go ‘hmm…’
Egg Prices Down 80%+. After topping $8/dozen in February following bird flu outbreaks, wholesale large USDA egg prices have fallen 82% to just over $1.50/dozen. The US currently has about 290 million table-laying hens compared to 340 million in January 2020. US consumers purchase nearly 100 billion eggs annually. (Source: USDA)
Cocoa Prices Down 50%+. Cocoa prices spiked to record highs at the end of 2024 due to weather and disease outbreaks in West Africa, which accounts for ~60% of global production. Since that peak, when media reports surfaced that manufacturers were reducing the amount of chocolate in ice cream and cookies, cocoa prices have fallen by 50%. (Source: ICE, ICCO)
Oil Glut. The International Energy Agency (IEA) now expects global crude oil supply to increase 3.0% in 2025 and 2.3% in 2026, with demand expected to grow less than 1% in both years. As a result, 2025 is expected to see an oil supply glut of 2.3%, increasing to 3.9% in 2026, both of which are records dating back to at least 1997. (Source: IEA)
Trump Market Redux. Stock market performance at this point in President Trump’s 1st and 2nd terms now looks remarkably similar. From Inauguration Day through October 29 in both 2017 and 2025, the S&P 500 was up roughly 14%, with Energy being the worst-performing sector and Technology the best during both periods. (Source: Bespoke)
5x ETFs. On 10/15, ETF issuer Volatility Shares filed to obtain approval for 27 single-stock and crypto ETFs that are 5x leveraged. The most amount of leverage in an ETF approved by the SEC thus far is 3x for sector, thematic, or regional ETFs, while the max leverage for single-stock ETFs is currently 2x. (Source: TheStreet.com)
Driving Into a Hole. 28.1% of all car trade-ins towards new-car purchases in Q3 had negative equity, the highest percentage since the 31.9% reading in Q1 2021. The average amount of money owed on trade-ins hit a record $6,905, and 24.7% of trade-ins with negative equity owed more than $10K, while another 8.3% were upside down by over $15K. (Source: Edmunds)
Stocks Over Homes. In 2024, the number of first-time homebuyers declined to 1.1 million, representing almost half of the historical average and the lowest rate in at least 20 years. The homeownership rate for Gen Z Americans stands at just 16%, but the percentage of 25-year-olds with an investment account is more than twice that, at 37%, and has increased from just 6% in 2015. (Source: WSJ)
Reality Sets in With Age. The percentage of working middle-class Americans who expect to retire before the age of 65 declines with age. While 47% of those in their 20s expect to retire before 65, that percentage declines to 35% for those in their 30s, 25% for those in their 40s, and just 26% for those in their 50s. (Source: Transamerica)
Betting is Bad for Society. Young adults bet on sports more than any other age group, but they’re also growing uneasy about it. While 31% of adults under 30 have bet on sports in the past year versus 22% of all adults, 47% of men under 30 now say legal sports betting is bad for society, more than double the 22% who said so in 2022. (Source: Pew Research)
$168M to not work? College football head coach buyouts are becoming the new norm, with payouts for coaches fired this year approaching an estimated $168M. Former LSU head coach Brian Kelly ($54M) and Penn State head coach James Franklin ($49M) are the two largest this year, totaling a staggering $103M. And all that money comes after subpar coaching outcomes, not too shabby. Interestingly, current LSU athletic director Scott Woodward is now the “owner” of the two largest buyouts in college football history, having hired both Kelly and Jimbo Fisher, who previously coached at Texas A&M, before receiving a $76M buyout in 2023. (Source: ESPN)
And there you have it, a whirlwind tour from the grocery aisle to the gridiron and the murky depths of auto loans. If there’s a common thread that ties these ten disparate facts together, it’s that the economy is never a simple, monolithic story. It’s a collection of contradictions: deflation in some commodities coexisting with speculative froth in others; younger generations embracing financial assets while shunning traditional ones; and industries where getting paid tens of millions of dollars is the reward for failure. It’s a healthy reminder that behind the big, simple headlines about the S&P 500 or GDP, there are almost infinite amounts of smaller, fascinating stories unfolding.
Markets / Economy
- It was a turbulent week in equity markets, as value stocks regained some momentum relative to their growth peers. The S&P finished the week up 0.1%, the Nasdaq was down -0.5%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 was down -1.8%.
- US private employers cut an average of 11,250 jobs per week during the four weeks ending October 25, 2025, indicating that the labor market lost momentum in the second half of the month compared with the first two weeks.
Stocks
- U.S. equities were in positive territory. Healthcare and Energy were the top performers, while Consumer Discretionary and Utilities lagged. Value stocks led growth stocks, and large caps beat small caps.
- International equities closed higher for the week. Developed markets fared better than emerging markets.
Bonds
- The 10-year Treasury bond yield increased five basis points to 4.15% during the week.
- Global bond markets were in negative territory this week.
- High-yield bonds led for the week, followed by government bonds and corporate bonds.
