What we’re reading (11/24)
“Mortgage Rates Fall For Fourth Week But Stay Above 7%” (CNN Business). “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to an average of 7.29% in the shortened week ending November 22, according to data from Freddie Mac released on Wednesday, a day earlier than normal due to the Thanksgiving holiday. That was down from 7.44% the week before. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 6.58%.”
“Voters See American Dream Slipping Out Of Reach, WSJ/NORC Poll Shows” (Wall Street Journal). “Only 36% of voters in a new Wall Street Journal/NORC survey said the American dream still holds true, substantially fewer than the 53% who said so in 2012 and 48% in 2016 in similar surveys of adults by another pollster. When a Wall Street Journal poll last year asked whether people who work hard were likely to get ahead in this country, some 68% said yes—nearly twice the share as in the new poll.”
“The Fight For The Soul Of A.I.” (New York Times). “As impressive as they all were [OpenAi employees], I remember telling myself: This isn’t going to last. I thought there was too much money floating around. These people may be earnest researchers, but whether they know it or not, they are still in a race to put out products, generate revenue and be first.”
“A Common, Illegal Tactic Retailers Use To Lure Consumers” (Washington Post). “It’s not hard to find a deal right now; the challenge is knowing whether it’s real. Retailers go into overdrive during the holiday season, flooding inboxes with roaring Black Friday discounts. But many markdowns are not what they seem, industry experts warn. Some sales for 30, 40 and 50 percent off are simply rollbacks, returning prices to their starting points — behavior that has gotten some retailers in legal trouble for violating consumer guidelines.”
“Rising Corporate Bankruptcies And Debt Defaults Are Another Headwind For The Economy, Experts Warn” (Business Insider). “There's a wave of corporate defaults and bankruptcies that could be coming as high interest rates batter US companies. Experts warn it could raise the odds of a recession as high interest rates take their toll on businesses and consumers alike. 516 companies have filed for bankruptcy as of the end of September, according to S&P Global. That number already surpasses the total number of bankruptcy filings recorded in 2021 and 2022.”
