Weekly Market Note

Week of May 18–22, 2026

May 22, 2026 Main Management Research

This week’s round-up of economic releases and market insights.

No video walkthrough was recorded for this week — the full note is available below.

In summary

FOMC Minutes revealed a more hawkish tone relative to prior meetings — appropriate given rising inflation and a resilient labor market. Markets are pricing 0–1 cuts for the rest of the year, and the 30-year Treasury yield has moved back to levels not seen since 2007.
Q1 2026 eCommerce Sales accelerated to +2.75% Q/Q, the best since Q1 2023, while Total Retail Sales posted a solid +1.49% Q/Q gain — both at new all-time highs in dollar terms.
Pending Home Sales came in slightly above forecasts in April but remain near historically low levels.
Building Permits and Housing Starts were mixed in April but continue to imply resilient demand despite elevated mortgage rates and prices.
The final May reading for Michigan Consumer Sentiment was revised down markedly to a new record low.
Global flash PMIs were more down than up, but the U.S. hit a multi-year high on the manufacturing side.