Grumpy Editor

MORTGAGE RATES HIT 22-YEAR HIGH

 

Mortgage rates soared to a 22-year high last week, making it difficult for the housing market, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Interest rate on the average 30-year fixed mortgage reached 7.23 percent, based on Freddie Mac data.  That compared with 7.09 percent a week earlier.

 

The Wall Street Journal noted that “some borrowers are paying even higher rates.”

 

With the higher rates, applications for mortgages dropped to their lowest levels since 1995, reported the Mortgage Bankers Association.

 

Existing home home sales in July fell for the fourth time in five months.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

FISH BLAMED FOR POWER OUTAGE.  A fish, apparently dropped by a bird, landed on a power transformer, causing a power outage in Sayreville,  New Jersey.

 

ANOTHER NORTH KOREA LAUNCH FIZZLES.  North Korea’s second attempt to launch a spy satellite failed when the final stage of the rocket failed due to an error in the emergency blasting system.

 

AUG. 24 CITED AS SICK DAY.  An analytics firm finds Aug. 24 is the most common day for employees to call in sick.  Reason?  Pehaps it’s linked to the upcoming Labor Day.

 

SWANK HOTEL OFFERS PLUSH TREATMENT FOR DOGS.  The Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C., debuted its Pawsidential Suite package on Saturday.  It offers visiting dogs and owners a signature suite and enjoy a variety of plush extras during a two-night stay. 

 

MICHICAN MAN SAYS HE FOUND RAT’S FOOT IN SOUP.  A Michigan man is suing Olive Garden, alleging that he found a rat’s foot in a bite of minestrone soup at he chain’s Warren, Mich. location.  The suit alleges that an Olive Garden employee denied that a rat’s foot could have been in the soup and commented, “That’s funny. We don’t even put meat in minestrone.”

 

NAP CAN BOOST MEMORY.  Napping isn’t just for babies, notes WebMD, citing studies that show an afternoon nap is great for adults and pointing out a short nap in the mid-afternoon can boost memory, improve job performance, lift your mood, make you more alert and ease stress.

 

U.S. TO TRAIN UKRAINIAN PILOTS.  The U.S. will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.  It will start at an Air National Guard base in October, says the Pentagon.

 

LOSS OF ANTARCTICA ICE AFFECTS PENGUIN CHICKS.  Researchers say loss of ice in one region of the Antarctica last year affected emperor penguin chicks.  They did not survive in four colonies. 

GLOBAL WEALTH DECLINES, SAY ECONOMISTS

For the first time since 2008, economists say global wealth declined, falling 2.4 percent, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Americans were hit hardest as stocks and bonds declined in value.  However, that was partly offset by rising house prices and other assets.

 

This resulted in about 1.7 million American adults are no longer millionaires.

 

Another 17,260 people drop out of the ultra-high-net-worth category, meaning they are no longer worth $100 million or more.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

MORE WEAPONS FOR NORTH KOREA.  Never quiet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calls for an increase in weapons production as the U.S. and South Korea strengthen military cooperation. Last week he toured munitions factories and ordered a major increase in production of missiles and other weapons.

 

CLASSIC CAR HAS HIGH ASKING PRICE FOR AUCTION.  Sotheby’s this fall in New York will auction a red 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO with an asking price of $60 million.

 

OPERA NEWS TO CEASE PUBLICATION.  Opera News, an 87-year-old publication focused on the Metropolitan Opera and spotlighting the art form, prints its final issue in November.

 

GRAY WOLVES APPEAR.  A new pack of gray wolves is spotted in California’s Sierra Nevada, several hundred miles away from any other known population of the endangered species, say wildlife officials.

 

COCOA COSTS SOAR.  Hershey and Mondelez and other chocolate makers face tougher trading conditions over the next year as they seek to pass on soaring cocoa costs to consumers who are cutting back.

 

AUTHORS DISLIKE AI.  For a vast number of book writers, artificial intelligence is a threat to their livelihood.  More than 10,000 writers endorsed an open letter from the Authors Guild, urging AI companies not to use copyrighted work without permission or compensation.

 

AMERICANS SLEEP ATOP EIFFEL TOWER.  Two American tourists are found sleeping off a heavy night in the upper part of Paris' Eiffel Tower.  Security guards found them in the early morning before the 9 a.m. opening.

 

HARRISON FORD TRIBUTE.  A new snake species — tachmenoides harrisonford — in containing the name of actor Harrison Ford, is intended to be a fun play on Indiana Jones’ hatred for scaly creatures. 

NOAA SEES ABOVE NORMAL HURRICANE SEASON

While the disaster focus in media has been on Maui, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season will be above normal, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Elevated ocean temperature this year can fuel more hurricanes.

 

NOAA expects 14 to 21 named storms this year, of which six to 11 will expand into hurricanes — with winds 74 miles per hour or more.

 

Two to five storms this year are expected to become major hurricanes.

 

NOAA says there is a 60 percent chance of an above-normal season.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

FED MULLS INTEREST RATES.  The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will release minutes from its July meeting when policymakers raised interest rates to the highest l;evel in 22 years.  Those minutes will likely provide some insight into whether the central bank will hike rates again next month. The Fed has raised rates 11 times since it began its inflation fight in March, 2022. 

 

BEAR ESCAPES FROM PLANE.  A bear being transported on an Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad to Dubai causes an unexpected delay after it escapes from a crate in the cargo hold.

 

SHARKS ACTIVE IN LONG ISLAND.  Three possible shark sightings are observed in Long Island, N.Y. a day after a 65-year old woman is hospitalized after a shark bite on her left thigh at Rockaway Beach in Queens, the first shark attack at that location in 70 years.

 

NORTH KOREA BUSY AGAIN.  As the U.S. and South Korea prepare for a large-scale military exercise, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un orders his military to sharpen its war plans.

 

MAJOR PUBLISHER SOLD.  Publisher Simon & Schuster is sold to private equity firm KKR, months after a federal judge blocked its purchase by publisher Penquin Random House.

 

NOAA SEES MORE WEATHER DISASTERS.  While it’s only August, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the U.S. reached a record 15 different weather disasters this year.  Those disasters caused at least $1 billion in damage, adds NOAA.

 

WORLD'S OCEANS REACH WARMEST TEMPERATURES ON RECORD

Climate change experts say the world’s oceans have reached the warmest temperatures ever recorded, notes Grumpy Editor.

Average daily global sea surface temperature beat a 2016 record last week, say climate change observers.

Oceans are a vital climate regulator as they soak up heat, driving weather patterns and producing half of Earth's oxygen.  Higher water temperatures disturb marine species like fish and whales as they move in search of cooler waters.

Some predatory animals including sharks can become aggressive as they get confused in hotter temperatures, note the experts.

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

CONFIDENCE IN MILITARY EBBS.  Confidence in the military reaches its lowest point in 26 years, prolonging a steady decline in public opinion dating to 2018, finds a Gallup poll conducted in June.  The drop is part of a greater trend of decreasing trust Americans have for nearly all of the country’s institutions.

 

ADDITIONAL JOBS FORECAST EBBS.  U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs last month, less than the 200,000 economists were expecting and below the 209,000 created in June.  The unemployment rate dipped to 3.5 percent and average hourly earnings rose 4.4 percent. 

STORES LOCKING UP ITEMS.  Stores like Target, Walmart, Dollar General and Home Depot are locking up products to curb shoplifters. Missing inventory was talked about more during this previous quarter’s earnings call than any quarter on record, according to Bloomberg.

 

WORLD'S OLDEST MAN DIES.  The world's oldest man dies at 127 in Brazil.  Jose Paulino Gomes leaves seven children, 25 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren.

BANK ROBBERY SUSPECT FALLS FROM CEILING.  In Huron, Ohio, a bank robbery suspect’s escape around 2 a.m. is thwarted when he falls from the ceiling of a drive-thru into a recycling bin where police were waiting for him and took him into custody.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBER'S REMAINS FOUND.  The remains of a German mountain climber who disappeared while crossing a glacier near the Matterhorn mountain nearly 40 years ago is discovered in melting ice by two climbers hiking along the Theodul Glacier in Zermatt, Valais, southern Switzerland.

BLACK BEAR SPLASHES IN SWIMMING POOL.  Burbank, California police department is called to find a black bear splashing around and escaping the heat in a backyard swimming pool before it scales over a nearby wall and climbs up a tree.