Arbor Data Science

The team at Arbor Data Science provides daily commentary and data-driven analysis for institutional clients of Arbor Research & Trading.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

401(k) plans held $10.8 trillion at the end of Q2 2026, accounting for approximately 72% of all employer-based defined contribution assets. Mutual funds held $6.2 trillion, or 58%, of 401(k) assets.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Japan held $1.07 trillion worth of U.S. Treasuries as of August 2026, which was the most of any country. It has held the most Treasuries each month since June 2019. Also, for the first time, the United Kingdom held at least $1.00 trillion worth of U.S. Treasuries.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Business bankruptcy filings totaled 26,941 in the 12 months ended 6/30/2026, up 16.9% year-over-year. Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 consistently accounted for more than 90% of business bankruptcy filings from 2021 through 2026.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Muni bond issuance in 2026 remains elevated compared to previous years, with $466 billion worth of muni bonds issued year-to-date, up 9% year-over-year and up 34% relative to 2021.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

In 2025, the global average price of a smartphone was $455. IDC, a company that reports on the tech economy, projects that this average price will rise to $581 in 2026 and $622 by 2027.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Google search interest in GLP-1s continues to grow. Zepbound was approved for chronic weight management by the FDA in November of 2023. Search interest in GLP-1s surpassed both “working out” and “dieting” in the spring months of 2026 and has held its lead into the fall months.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Looking back to 2012… 1% of new ETFs were leveraged... Fast forward to 2026 – 31.21% of new ETFs use leverage to amplify returns.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

After the CRE market value peak in mid-2022, most properties experienced a decline in private market value. The exception, however, was malls. Since the 2022 peak, private market values for malls continued to edge higher, appreciating 5% from 2022 to 2026.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Data center power demand is projected to reach approximately 194 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, over four times the 47.3 GW demanded by data centers in 2025. A majority of that power demand is expected to stem from the PJM interconnection, the largest power grid operator in the U.S.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

As of Q2 2026, U.S. households had a total net worth of $185.65 trillion, which was an all-time high. Approximately $60 trillion of this net worth belonged to the top 1%. Total net worth increased by 7.24% on a QoQ basis, which was the largest QoQ growth from Q1 1988 to Q2 2026.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

A piece of the puzzle that should not be overlooked – soft data vs hard data. There is a lesson here – pay attention to what the economy is doing, and not always how people feel about it.

@SamuelRines: Macro Strategist at WisdomTree and contributor to Arbor Data Science

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

19.33% of pending home sales in the San Antonio metro area were cancelled in August 2026. Below are the 20 metros with the highest cancellation rates of the 50 most-populated metro areas.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Equities have historically maintained the largest allocation in family office portfolios, averaging approximately 30% over the last six years. Asset class distribution remained stable over this period, with cash experiencing the sharpest contraction.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

In fact, there are 15 colleges that now cost over $100,000 per year

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

The cost to attend college has increased significantly over the past several decades. For the 1979-1980 school year, the average one-year tuition and fees was $3,230. For the 2025-2026 school year, that average was at $45,000, an approximate increase of 1,300%.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Google search interest in “Higher-End Retailers” has climbed in tandem with “In-Store Deals” — underscoring a K-shaped consumer economy where deal-seeking and luxury demand move in lockstep

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

For FY 2026, through July 2026, net interest expense was the third largest Treasury outlay. It trailed only Social Security, at $1.348 trillion, and Medicare, at $955 billion.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

In July 2026, the three-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted supply of new houses for sale was 9.13 months and the 12-month moving average was 8.80 months. Previously, 8 months or more of housing supply occurred only during recessions.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Credit card debt in the U.S. has continued to rise, reaching $1.26 trillion in Q2 2026. While the most recent reading is marginally down from the 23-year peak of $1.28 trillion in Q4 2025, it remains well above the 23-year quarterly average of $0.82 trillion.

[Arbor Data Science @DataArbor]

Younger generations are more likely to view prediction markets as an investment tool rather than pure gambling. One-fourth of respondents in both the 18-34 and 35-44 age ranges viewed prediction markets as investing, notably higher than older age groups.