Two separate stories here: a legal win for California election officials, and a warning sign for the housing and construction industry.

• The Supreme Court refused to hear a Trump administration challenge trying to block around 20,000 mail-in ballots in California, letting the votes count.
• Lower federal courts had already rejected the same request, and a judge separately ordered Trump officials to stop threatening California election workers with prosecution.
• This is good news for California voters and election officials, bad news for the administration's push to challenge ballot counts.
• Separately, home construction spending had its worst monthly drop in six years, a bad sign for builders and the broader housing market.
• Office and other non-home construction spending ticked up only slightly, not enough to offset the housing slump, and there's a added worry that the Fed fighting inflation with higher rates could slow construction even further.

Outlook: Expect the ballot counting to proceed without further legal roadblocks, while weak construction spending adds pressure on the Fed's rate decisions.