October's preliminary durable goods orders came in weaker than expected—dropping 2.2% month-over-month against forecasts of a 1.5% decline. The broader picture gets more interesting though. When you strip out transportation (the volatile component), orders actually edged up 0.2% instead of the anticipated 0.3% gain.

So here's what matters: the headline miss signals softening business investment momentum, which typically precedes Fed rate-cut hesitation or even reversal. Even the core reading's modest upside doesn't fully offset the headline weakness. This economic indicator sits at the intersection of everything crypto traders watch—manufacturing health, inflation trajectory, and central bank policy direction. When durable goods stumble, it usually means the Fed gets choosier about easing cycles, which reshapes risk asset demand across the board, including digital assets. Keep tabs on this series; it's one of the cleaner reads on where corporate confidence actually stands.