Author: News Room

Mortgage rates dipped a bit this week, still holding steady around the mid-6% range while demand remains weak in the housing market. Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage ticked down to 6.46% this week from 6.49% last week. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 7.23% a year ago. “Although mortgage rates have stayed relatively flat over the past couple of weeks, softer incoming economic data suggest rates will gently slope downward through the end of the year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Earlier…

The IRS is asking for comments about a new way to save for retirement. The super-charged saver’s match builds on the existing saver’s credit and has been described as “an important opportunity to improve the long-term financial security for millions of low- to moderate-income Americans.” Under the plan, beginning in 2027, qualifying individuals making annual contributions of up to $2,000 to certain retirement plans will be eligible to receive up to $1,000 in a saver’s match contribution from the Treasury each year. The Saver’s Match is made possible by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. Background SECURE 2.0 Act is…

She asked Trump about childcare. Why she says his answer means he’s ‘not fit to be president’ CNN’s Jake Tapper interviews Reshma Saujani, who asked former President Donald Trump about his ideas for addressing the cost of childcare in the US at an event for the Economic Club of New York. Read the full article here

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Equities myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.US stocks suffered their worst week in more than a year, as weak economic data and cautious commentary from central bankers added to investor concerns over a possible economic slowdown.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 dropped 1.7 per cent on Friday, bringing its loss for the week to 4.2 per cent — its worst weekly drop since March 2023.Large tech stocks were particularly badly hit, and the tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite had its sharpest weekly fall since January 2022, dropping 5.8 per cent, including a 2.6…

NEW YORK (September 6) — The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced 142,000 new jobs this morning, according to the Establishment Survey, a collection of job creation data from businesses. The number is well below the 165,000 consensus estimate. June and July jobs creation figures were also revised down by 61,000 and 25,000 new jobs, respectively, bringing the average non-farms jobs creation figure for the last three months to a less-than-robust 116,000 new jobs. The BLS’s Household Survey, which polls the number of people taking jobs, and is viewed as eliminating workers taking more than one job, printed higher at…

Former President Donald Trump plans to ban mortgages for undocumented immigrants, he said in a speech at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday. Trump claimed the measure would help address housing affordability because a “flood” of people entering the country illegally are pushing up housing costs, but undocumented immigrants only make up a tiny portion of the mortgage market. In 2023, only 5,000 to 6,000 mortgages were made to holders of Individual Tax Identification numbers, according to a recent Urban Institute report. Those who are not legally authorized to work in the US obtain ITINs to file taxes, since…

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Stocks keep sliding: September is proving to be the rough month we thought it would be. A bruising first week of trading continued Friday after the weaker-than-expected August jobs report kept alive questions about the health of the U.S. economy. The S & P 500 is down about 1.7% Friday and on pace for its fourth consecutive day of declines. Still, it’s worth keeping in mind that the index is still…

Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not appear on ballots in North Carolina and Michigan, appeals courts ruled in two separate decisions Friday.Election authorities in the two swing states previously decided that Kennedy’s name would remain on their ballots, rejecting his request to withdraw from the race.Friday’s rulings are good news for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. In North Carolina and Michigan, Trump polls better in a two-way race against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris than in a six-candidate race, according to polling averages from RealClearPolling.When Kennedy suspended his long-shot campaign and threw his support behind Trump on…

A federal judge in Georgia has temporarily blocked President Biden’s administration from implementing its plan to waive federal student loans for almost 30 million borrowers. U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall issued the order on Thursday, ruling that the states currently suing the administration over the plan have established a case likely to prove the Department of Education does not have the authority to implement the loan forgiveness. “Plaintiffs show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits given the rule’s lack of statutory authority,” the judge wrote, according to Reuters. GOP-LED STATES SUE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER STUDENT DEBT RELIEF PLAN…

Mortgage rates are down again this week, but remain too high to spark any significant movement in the housing market as the affordability crisis remains set in. Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.35% this week from 6.46% last week. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 7.18% a year ago. “Mortgage rates fell again this week due to expectations of a Fed rate cut,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Rates are expected to continue their decline and while potential homebuyers are…