A record nobody asked for – The 10-year Treasury will notch its seventh straight month of rising yields, tying its longest streak of monthly rising yields since 1969. Streaks this long are rare; this is only the eighth time the 10-year’s yield has risen for at least six consecutive months since the 1960s. (Source: Bespoke Investment Group)

Movin’ on up –  As 10-year Treasury yields continue to hit multi-year highs and fears about additional Federal Reserve rate hikes mount, the MOVE Index, the bond market's fear index, hit its highest point since the Iran War began in March. Meanwhile, the stock market's equivalent, the VIX, has remained low, staying safely below its long-term average so far in 2026. (Source: Yahoo Finance, as of September 29)

Do you want the good news or bad news first? – Consumer spending rose in August at its fastest pace in a year, showing that Americans are still spending despite higher prices. They may not be happy about it, however: Consumer confidence dropped 7% to a 12-year low on concerns about high prices and the employment environment. (Sources: Bloomberg and US News and World Report)

It’s not all bad out there – The eurozone landed a surprise economic win, clocking its highest business activity in more than three years in September. Growth was positive in both manufacturing and service sectors, an unexpected positive as high energy costs continue to drive inflation and keep pushing the European Central Bank toward additional rate hikes. (Source: Reuters)

Call me when whimsy’s on clearance – "Funflation," the increased cost of fun, is on the rise. Spending on arts and crafts, in hobby shops, and in outdoor gear retailers grew 7.9% in August year over year. That’s double the growth of actual transactions, meaning consumers are not only making more hobby purchases overall, but also spending more on those hobbies. (Source: CNBC)

We're fine, we're all fine here now, thank you. How are you? – As the company seeks $30 billion in a new round of funding, OpenAI cancelled the release of its latest Astra model due to safety concerns. The new model was supposed to be more capable of completing challenging tasks without human assistance, but its behavior raised concerns during internal tests. The cancellation followed recent announcements that models attempted to hack government and UN websites. (Source: Bloomberg)

Rules and regs have entered the chat – The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan bill that would cap athlete compensation, limit transfers, and give college sports leaders antitrust protection to regulate the rapidly changing landscape. College sports has evolved into a multibillion-dollar business since the NCAA suspended its long-standing restrictions on athletes profiting from their name, image, and likeness in 2021. (Source: The Hill)

The Franklin Expedition would like a word – A group of 12 scientists is intentionally getting frozen and stranded in the Arctic Ocean for the next eight months. The Tara Polaris 1 project is the first of 10 planned expeditions to gather information about the biodiversity of the little-studied area. The experience could also help gather information about surviving in extreme conditions to prepare astronauts for future Mars missions. (Source: Science.org)

Flirting at the water cooler – LinkedIn has become the internet's accidental dating app—22% of workers have messaged a connection with romantic intent, and 1 in 8 have landed an actual relationship there. Profiles packed with real employers, schools, job history, and hundreds of mutual connections explain why singles trust LinkedIn over dating apps and even use it to vet matches met elsewhere. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Nike off, Mbappé On – French football superstar Kylian Mbappé will leave his long-time sponsor Nike to become the face of Swiss brand On’s new soccer division. He'll wear On's first soccer cleat, giving the Swiss company instant credibility, while dealing yet another blow to Nike, which recently fell out of the S&P 100 Index and has struggled to capture shoe-market buzz. (Source: ESPN)