Economy

Inflation creeps higher in August, amid looming rate cut

Key Insight: Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August, doubling July’s 0.2% increase, indicating inflation is rising but remains moderate. Supporting Data: The inflation numbers come after the U.S. economy reported only 22,000 jobs in August, the weakest gain since the pandemic recovery, while unemployment ticked up to 4.3%. Forward Look: The data likely does not […]

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Mortgage Rates Just Saw Their Biggest Drop in a Year

You’ve been waiting for what feels like forever for mortgage rates to finally budge. And last week, they did – in a big way. On Friday, September 5th, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to the lowest level since October 2024. It was the biggest one-day decline in over a year. What Sparked the

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Regional real estate pockets are showing stress in 2Q

Some mortgage delinquency data raised concerns, but Cotality’s Q2 report also showed a positive sign: late loans aren’t progressing to more serious stages. The total delinquency rate rose on a quarter-to-quarter basis for the period ended June 30, trending higher after a drop-off for the period ended March 31, the Loan Performance Indictors report said.

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Deliver guy worker employment

Economy adds anemic 22,000 jobs in August

Bloomberg News WASHINGTON — The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 22,000 jobs in August, an anemic growth rate that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates during their next meeting later this month. BLS reported that the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.3%, while the

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Mortgage rates sink with FOMC cuts on the horizon

Mortgage rates reached another 11-month low this past week, as markets are pricing in an expected short-term rate cut from the Federal Open Market Committee later this month. This follows a week where one long-term Treasury rate showed serious volatility. The 30-year Treasury bond posted a yield just shy of 5% during trading on Sept.

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Alberto

Fed’s Musalem: ‘Accountable’ central bank independence is key

Alberto Musalem, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.Bloomberg News WASHINGTON — A member of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting committee emphasized the importance of the central bank’s independence amid a looming challenge from the Trump administration. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto G. Musalem, speaking at an event at the

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a graph of a number of people

What Mortgage Delinquencies Tell Us About the Future of Foreclosures

You may be seeing headlines about how foreclosures are rising. And if that makes you nervous that we’re headed for another crash, here’s what you should know.  According to ATTOM, during the housing crash, over nine million people went through some sort of distressed sale (2007-2011). Last year, there were just over 300,000. So, even

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Mortgage rates hit 10-month low as Powell hints at Fed cut

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell’s apparent pivot, widely seen as telegraphing a short-term rate cut in September, helped drive mortgage rates. However, the decline on the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was a mere 2 basis points, to 6.56% as of Aug.

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Higher mortgage rates slow refi application volume

Mortgage application volume declined for the second week in a row, as a small rise in rates put a damper on refinance activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. The Market Composite Index decreased by 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the period ended Aug. 15. The refinance component was down by 3%, although versus

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