Investors got a report from the Conference Board showing its index of Leading Economic Indicators rose 0.2% in September, the smallest gain in seven months, after increasing 0.8% in August.  Anecdotal evidence suggests that bottlenecks are not easing, and survey evidence indicates that many businesses anticipate disruptions to last throughout 2022.

The median home price jumped to $352,800 last month, a 13.3% increase from September last year. The rise in prices continued to weigh on first-time buyers, who accounted for 28% of all sales last month. That’s the lowest level since July 2015.  Homes purchased in cash rose 23% in September from the previous month. Individual investors, who account for many cash sales, accounted for 13% of all home sales last month.

The Federal Reserve announced sweeping new rules for its top officials Thursday, banning trading in individual stocks and bonds.  Those new rules come on the heels of a swelling ethics controversy over whether central bank officials should be able to trade while their policies can, and often do, move markets.  Officials will be restricted primarily to owning mutual funds, which they will have to hold for a year and will need permission to buy or sell.