Diesel near its record high, plus a weak jobs report

Good morning. Today: diesel near its record high, a weak jobs report, worried shoppers, stricter SBA loans, an AI phone answerer and a bakery that sells its leftovers.

The news, in plain English

Diesel is near its record high, and gas just had a record September

AAA says diesel averaged $6.37 a gallon on Friday, close to the record of $6.53 set September 22 and $2.67 more than a year ago. Regular gas averaged $4.33 in September, the highest for any September on record. On Friday, the G7 agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from reserves over four months. Michael Lynch of the Energy Policy Research Foundation said that could cut U.S. diesel about 25 to 50 cents a gallon after a few weeks, but nothing is certain.

What it means for you: Diesel moves most of what you buy, so you may see supplier fuel surcharges, and your own deliveries and service calls cost more.

One thing to do: Pull the last two months of supplier invoices, look for new fuel surcharges, and book service calls and deliveries in the same area on the same day.

Sources: AAA, AAA gas prices, figures as of October 2, UPI, BNN Bloomberg

Read the full story

Hiring nearly stalled in September, with 29,000 jobs added

Employers added 29,000 jobs in September, and unemployment ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. Economists had expected 84,000, Quartz reported. July and August were revised down by a combined 60,000 jobs, and average hourly pay was up 3.0% from a year earlier. Investors read the weak report as a sign the Fed, which raised rates on September 16, will hold steady at its October 27 to 28 meeting.

What it means for you: You may get more applicants for open roles, but your customers may feel less sure about their paychecks. The Fed’s last move was a hike, so don’t plan on cheaper loans yet.

One thing to do: If you still need a hire you have put off, post the job now and compare the number and quality of applicants with your last posting.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2026 jobs report, Quartz via Yahoo Finance, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve meeting calendar

Consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since 2014

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell 6.7 points to 81.9 in September. That is the lowest since April 2014, according to NAHB, the home builders’ group. Survey comments about prices, especially gas and oil, hit new highs. Restaurants, take-out and personal care still top people’s plans for services, but overall planned spending on services pulled back again, and beyond the top categories people favored “cheap thrills and necessities.”

What it means for you: Customers still plan to spend on meals out and personal care, but they plan to spend less on services overall, so price will matter more.

One thing to do: Add or promote one lower-priced option, such as a value meal, a basic service package or a bundle.

Sources: The Conference Board, NAHB Eye on Housing

SBA loans to buy a business got stricter on October 1

New SBA rules cover loan applications received on or after October 1. For 7(a) loans to buy a business or buy out a partner, the business’s past earnings must now cover loan payments 1.25 times over ($1.25 for every $1 of loan payments), up from 1.15, and lenders can’t rely on projections to get there. Most purchases of $3 million or more also need an outside review of the business’s earnings. Smaller deals got some relief: 7(a) Small and SBA Express loans can now be used to buy a business, and at $350,000 or less the lender can value the business itself.

What it means for you: Buying a business, buying out a partner or selling to a buyer with an SBA 7(a) loan now has to work on past earnings, not hoped-for growth.

One thing to do: If an SBA loan is in your plans, ask your lender which new rules apply and gather the business’s last two to three years of tax returns and financial statements.

Sources: SBA, Grow America, Matthews

AI and tech you can use

Rosie: an AI receptionist that answers when you can’t

Rosie is an AI phone answering service. It picks up your business line day or night, takes the caller’s name and what they need, and sends you a summary.

What it costs, as of October 2, 2026 (Rosie pricing):

Professional, $49 a month: 250 minutes, and it can text callers a link to book.
Scale, $149 a month: 1,000 minutes, plus booking right on your calendar and passing live calls to you or your staff.
Growth, $299 a month: 2,000 minutes.

There is a 7-day free trial, and paying yearly gets you two months free. Read the fine print: Rosie’s terms say that if you go over your monthly minutes, it moves you to a higher plan, and you stay there until you switch back yourself. The trial also turns into a paid plan unless you cancel before it ends.

Who it’s for: owners who can’t grab the phone mid-job, like plumbers, cleaners, salons and repair shops.

Try it this week: Start the trial today and set your phone to forward only the calls you don’t answer, so Rosie covers your weekend and after-hours calls. Read every summary. On day six, count the real customers it caught and check your minutes, since going over 250 moves you to the $149 plan. If it isn’t worth it, cancel.

A South Florida bakery sells its leftovers instead of throwing them out

Vicky Bakery is a Cuban bakery chain that started in Miami in 1972. NBC Miami reported in January 2026 that its Bird Road store had been selling end-of-day leftovers through the Too Good To Go app since the previous August.

What they did:

Listed what gets thrown out at closing. CEO George Barriere told NBC Miami that leftover croquetas, pastelitos and empanadas get thrown out every night.
Joined Too Good To Go, an app where businesses sell unsold food as discounted surprise bags.
Priced each bag far below shelf price: in January, $5.99 for $18.99 worth of food.
Let customers book a bag in the app and collect it near closing.

The result: Barriere told NBC Miami that, by January, the store had brought in about $6,500 from food that would otherwise have been thrown away. That figure is self-reported, and the story doesn’t say if it is before or after the app’s fees. In July 2024, Modern Retail reported the app took $1.79 per meal sold plus an $89 yearly fee. By our math, if $6,500 is before fees, that 2024 rate would take roughly 30% of it.

Copy it this week: Starting tonight, for five closing nights, write down what you throw out and what it would sell for. If the waste is steady, check Too Good To Go’s current terms, price a bag at about a third of shelf value, and run the fee math before you sign up.

Sources: NBC Miami, Modern Retail, Vicky Bakery

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The Axso team