Three major economic gauges are suddenly marching in the right direction, giving President Biden's campaign a sunny opening after months of gloom.

• Why it matters: Biden can talk all he wants about the big-picture benefits of Bidenomics. People weren't feeling it, dragging down his polls.

Yesterday was one of the happier days for the White House in some time:

1. Record stocks: The S&P 500 and Dow industrials set new highs, confirming we're in a full-on, horns-out, snorting bull market. The S&P 500 closed nearly 1% higher than the previous record, on Jan. 3, 2022. (Go deeper with Axios' Matt Phillips)
2. Strongest consumer sentiment in years: A University of Michigan index that tracks consumer sentiment (graph above) has surged more than 28% since November. Since the late 1970s, the only other period of such a rapid two-month turnabout came in March 1991, after the U.S. victory in the first Gulf War. (Go deeper with the prolific Matt Phillips)
3. Inflation sinking: Economists say high inflation has mostly been vanquished. Retail figures this week showed jolly holiday spending that exceeded optimistic forecasts, and signaled Americans are confident enough to keep spending. (Go deeper with Axios' Courtenay Brown)

💬 When I asked Ron Klain, Biden's former chief of staff, about these numbers, he referenced a report from Davos by the N.Y. Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin, saying global business leaders privately expect Donald Trump would win a rematch with Biden.

• "I think the whining titans in Davos are definitely behind the curve," Klain texted. "People always underestimate Joe Biden and they've done it again!"

🔎 Between the lines: These three measures are all pretty related, Axios business editor Kate Marino tells me:

• Inflation coming down convincingly helps lift the stock market — and both of those help lift consumer sentiment.

🥊 Reality check: Trump doesn't need a bad economy to win, as we saw in 2016.

• Your perception of the economy used to influence your political leanings. Nowadays, Americans' political leanings determine how they perceive the economy.

🪞 Flashback Axios' Felix Salmon can take a bow for his pieces on Jan. 3 and Jan. 17 pointing out that Americans are getting more optimistic — and have reason to be.

🔮 What's next: "This is the hopeful scenario for Biden," David Axelrod, former President Obama's political architect, told me. "Voter sentiment generally lags economic statistics. There are still 10 months until the election. Attitudes on the economy may yet shift in Biden's direction by the time Americans cast their ballots."

• Axe added: "Can you imagine how Trump would be crowing if he had these stats?"

I asked if Biden should do more of that. "No. I don't think behaving like Trump beats Trump," Axelrod replied. "Better to let people know that you're focused on them and not yourself. On making progress rather than grabbing credit."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told NBC's Dasha Burns, after finishing a distant second in Iowa on Monday, that he had "people come up to me saying: 'I love ya, man! I'm gonna do Trump this time and d0 you next time.'"

• Why it matters: It's one of several signs DeSantis is "building an off-ramp" from '24 and casting his eyes to '28, the N.Y. Times' Nick Nehamas notes.

Ouch! Sen. Tim Scott — a Republican from, um, South Carolina, where Nikki Haley was governor — endorsed Donald Trump last night after a day of buildup.

• Why it matters: Both Trump and Haley called Scott this week, seeking his backing, Axios' Alex Thompson scooped.

The intrigue: Haley, who appointed Scott to the Senate when she was governor in 2013, didn't call Scott in the month after he dropped out, as Politico reported.

• Go deeper.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), the longshot challenging President Biden for the Democratic nomination, is sharpening his attacks before Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, Axios' Alex Thompson reports.

• Why it matters: Even if Phillips chokes, his increasingly pointed attacks will be fodder for Republicans to hit Biden in a general election.

Phillips, 55, told Axios that it would be "impossible" for Biden to do the job for four more years.

• Biden would turn 85 in the third year of another term.

What's happening: Biden is skipping New Hampshire in an effort to spotlight the next contest, South Carolina. So a group of Democrats and independents is urging a Biden write-in (yard sign above) to make sure he doesn't come close to losing to nearly two dozen challengers on the ballot.

• Phillips is running a TV ad across the Granite State comparing Biden to Bigfoot. "I'm something of an expert on elusive creatures," a man dressed as Sasquatch says.

Between the lines: Phillips has been lowering expectations for his performance in New Hampshire despite investing most of his time and money in the state.

• Polls have shown Biden dominant in the state's primary even though he isn't on the ballot. Phillips says he'll continue his campaign regardless of Tuesday night's results.

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Single women own more homes than single men — and overall homeownership is now majority female.

• Why it matters: Sixty years ago, women couldn't get a credit card or a mortgage without a male cosigner. Now, the share of single women homeowners eclipses that of single men, Axios' Brianna Crane reports.

Solo women mortgage applicants made up 18% of the market in 2023 — a share that's slowly grown since mortgage platform Maxwell started tracking applicants' gender and marital status in 2021.

• 1 in 3 women with partners bought alone because they were in a stronger financial position to do so, Maxwell's annual Single Women Home Buyer Report found.

Single women own an average of roughly 13% of the owner-occupied homes across the 50 states, versus 10.2% among single men, according to a LendingTree analysis of census data.

• Delaware, Louisiana and Mississippi have the highest shares of single women homeowners.
• Alaska, North Dakota and South Dakota are the only states where single men own a larger share of homes than women.

🧠 What's happening: We're seeing a rise in the number of women homeowners — and a strong shift toward women-led households, Urban Institute researcher Jung Hyun Choi tells Axios.

• In 1990, less than a third of total households (married and single) were headed by females. In 2021, the majority (51%) of households reported being female-headed.
• In married households, 43% claimed to be female-headed in 2021, compared to just 8% in 1990.

Reality check: In most age groups, women outnumber men. "This is more a reflection of strength in numbers than economic vitality," Pew researcher Richard Fry tells Axios.

• Interactive version of this map, with state-by-state data.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is raising billions to set up a network of chip factories to manufacture semiconductors, Bloomberg reports:

• "Altman has had conversations with several large potential investors in the hopes of raising the vast sums needed for chip fabrication plants, or fabs, as they're known colloquially."

Why it matters: Forecasts show the production of AI-related chips falling short of soaring demand, which could inhibit the technology's spread.

Thousands of anti-abortion activists rallied on the snow-covered National Mall for the 51st annual March for Life.

• Why it matters: The rally, which is the second since Roe v. Wade was overturned, comes as Republicans wrestle with next steps after losing a series of ballot measures, Axios' Sareen Habeshian reports.

More photos.

Sephora, once a beauty refuge for grown-ups, has become increasingly dominated by tween girls spending adult-sized sums of money.

• Why it matters: Girls between the ages of 10 and 13 have become an economic force far beyond the Stanley cup craze, Axios' Felix Salmon reports in Axios Markets Weekend.

The brands popular with the tween demographic have historically been relatively cheap, as befits their lower purchasing power. Thanks in part to TikTok, that's now changing — especially when it comes to beauty products.

• "We are a little young," one tween admits to Axios. "Honestly? I don't even need makeup. I just love applying it. I love my skincare routine."

Any given evening, she says, she's likely to use a face wash, a facial scrub, a lip exfoliant, a hydrating serum, a moisturizer, a highlighting serum, an eyelash serum and a lip mask.

• Some of those products will come from relatively affordable brands like CeraVe. But many will be from Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe, Laneige and other high-end labels.
• "Sometimes I use Kosas facial spray," the tween added. "It smells really good. I don't really know what it does, but it probably doesn't need to do anything."

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Axios AM reader Neil Contess shares this snow photo from Addison Street in Philadelphia's Center City.

• He took it with his iPhone around 6:15 last night, and converted it to black and white.