The 30-year fixed hit 7.07 percent Thursday and 7.12 percent Friday, the highest level in more than fourteen months, driven by surging bond yields and expectations of a Fed hike at the September 15-16 meeting. Mortgage applications fell 2.7 percent for the week ending September 4, and refinancing slowed to its weakest pace since May 2025. The odd silver lining: Redfin calls this the strongest buyer's market on record, with sellers outnumbering buyers by 58 percent.
The University of Michigan's preliminary September sentiment index dropped to 47.8 from 51.7 in August, a four-month low, with households pointing squarely at prices. Annual inflation held at 3.4 percent while core eased to 2.4 percent, and gas averaged nearly $4.30 a gallon with diesel topping $6 for the first time ever. CME FedWatch now puts the odds of a quarter-point hike at roughly 85 percent.
State financial officers from 19 states are pressing the Trump administration to overhaul how Washington handles lost retirement benefits, with more than a billion dollars in checks owed to Americans currently stranded in federal limbo. The treasurers want state unclaimed-property programs given a bigger role in reuniting people with their money. One state treasurer described the funds as effectively "lost in the ether."
The administration faces a major court test over its practice of installing US attorneys without Senate confirmation, a maneuver that has drawn challenges from defendants arguing their prosecutions are therefore invalid. The outcome could unsettle cases in multiple districts and reshape how quickly any president can staff federal prosecutor offices. Separately, President Trump called on the Smithsonian to install two George Washington statues and mount an exhibit running through the 300th anniversary of Washington's birth.
Speaking Saturday, the president predicted the conflict with Iran wraps "very soon, probably right after the midterms," accusing Tehran of dragging things out to complicate the November election. Iran's rial hit a record low of 2.3 million to the dollar, and taxi and truck drivers have gone on strike over gasoline rationing, with some unable to work a third of each month. CENTCOM says its blockade has redirected 100 commercial vessels in 60 days, with over 50,000 US service members now deployed across the region.
A drone strike knocked out a key route for Saudi oil exports on the East-West pipeline, and Trump said Iran was "probably" behind it. Iraq traced the launch to its own Maysan province and closed border crossings with Iran in response, while Bahrain condemned the attack as a violation of international law. Oil pushed above $107 a barrel and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.922 percent, matching post-pandemic highs.
Putin said any European deployment to Ukraine would constitute "a war with Russia," responding to Macron's coalition of 26 countries pledging a postwar "reassurance force." Russia launched nearly 500 attack drones since Saturday morning, killing at least eight and wounding dozens, with strikes increasingly aimed at Ukraine's economy: warehouses, gas stations, pharmaceutical plants. Kyiv says it is preparing for trilateral talks to resume in October.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is standing up a United States Space Academy, mandated by an executive order signed August 28 at Johnson Space Center. Isaacman says it will operate more like the Merchant Marine Academy than the Air Force Academy, feeding graduates directly into the commercial space industry rather than solely the military. It arrives alongside NASA's plan for three unmanned lunar base missions before year's end.
Lake Mead dropped to 1,040.50 feet above sea level, below the previous record low set in July 2022, and Lake Powell is under 22 percent full and about 29 feet lower than a year ago. It's the 26th year of drought in the Colorado River Basin, made worse by the lowest snowpack ever observed last winter. Hoover Dam powers nearly 8 million people and sits just 27 feet above power pool.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin introduced a bill Thursday lowering the standard for revoking city-issued press credentials from "clear and convincing evidence" to a "preponderance of the evidence." The trigger: three Luigi Mangione supporters who obtained legitimate press passes and turned up at his trial hearings in May to publicly cheer for the accused assassin. "These fangirls, who are not journalists, are showing up at the trial with press credentials," Menin said.
