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.
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