Mortgage Interest Rates Review
Home Buyers Return to Risky Loan Type
주택구입자, 더 위험한 융자쪽으로
WSJ 11/3/25(Mon)
- The unaffordable housing market is causing a growing number of home buyers to take on a type of riskier loan to cut their borrowing costs.
- They are opting for adjustable- rate mortgages, or ARMs. These loans initially offer cheaper borrowing rates compared with a fixed-rate mortgage. But ARMs reset, usually after three to 10 years, which can saddle borrowers with higher monthly payments if mortgage rates have risen over that time.
- That isn’t the only risk: Borrowers who want to refinance when rates drop might not qualify if they have had a job loss or another change in their financial situation.
- About 10% of purchase mortgage applications were for ARMs in the week ended Oct. 3, the highest rate since 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. In early 2021, when mortgage rates were near historic lows, less than 3% of purchase applications were for ARMs.
Share of ARM purchaser
Home-Price Rise Slows Down
주택가격, 오름세가 계속감소
WSJ 10/29/25(Wed)
- U.S. home prices rose at a slower annual pace in August, as still-high mortgage rates crimped demand.
- The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 1.5% in the 12 months through August, down from 1.6% from a year earlier in July, and reaching the slowest annual increase in more than two years.
- Among 20 big cities surveyed, New York again posted the highest annual gain at 6.1%. On a month-to-month comparison, 19 of the 20 cities saw price declines, with only Chicago gaining, the survey said. Markets that saw the sharpest pandemicera gains now register the largest corrections.
Surging Power Costs Squeeze Customers.
전기값 상승으로 소비자 압박…
WSJ 11/4/25(Tue)
- Big power bills are overlapping with rising food prices and inflation that remains persistently above the Federal Reserve’s target. Fall weather lightens electric bills as people stop using air conditioning, but a cold winter could hike bills again for those who rely on electric heat systems.
- Retail power prices in New Jersey were up 19% in August from a year earlier, the latest state-by-state data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show, on the leading edge of a 6% nationwide increase in the same time frame.
- There are several driving forces, including a rapidly growing number of data centers pumping up demand in some regions. The slow addition of new power generators, retirement of old plants and costly grid upgrades are also playing a role.
Average price of electricity by sector
Consumer Outlook Dims
소비자 심리 지수 밝지 않아…
WSJ 10/29/25(Wed)
- Consumers’ economic sentiment ticked lower in October amid renewed trade tensions and the extended government shutdown, according to a monthly survey from the Conference Board.
- The survey’s headline index declined to 94.6, from an upwardly revised 95.6 in September. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected a reading of 93.2.
- Forward-looking views darkened. The survey’s expectations index dropped to 71.5, down 2.9 points from September. The Conference Board says expectations readings below 80 signal a possible recession ahead.
- Anxiety about tariffs, politics and inflation were at the forefront of consumers’ minds, Conference Board economist Stephanie Guichard said. “Comments remained mostly negative overall, but less so than in previous months,” she said. “References to U.S. politics were up notably, with the ongoing government shutdown mentioned multiple times as a key concern.”
Consumer sentiment indexes
Starbucks Has Rival for Coffee’s Future.
스타벅스에게 미래의 적이...
WSJ 11/4/25(Tue)
- Ever since Howard Schultz transformed a small Seattle coffee retailer into a global powerhouse— now with just under 17,000 stores in the U.S. Despite dozens of smaller chains and thousands of independents,Starbucks and Dunkin’ still control about 85% of the U.S. coffee market measured by sales, according to Morgan Stanley.
- In the U.S., no brand captures that shift better thanDutch Bros,another Pacific Northwest chain. If you live on the East Coast you might not have heard of it, but chances are you soon will. Dutch Bros now has nearly 1,000 drive through shops mostly in the West and South, with a long-term goal of more than quadrupling that as it expands around the country. Founded in the 1990s by two brothers who left dairy farming to sell espresso from a pushcart in Grants Pass, Ore., its formula is simple: brightly flavored, highly customizable drinks served by upbeat “broistas” who try to remember your name and are probably on too much caffeine.
Top 10 coffee players in the U.S.
South Korea Cleared to Build Nuclear Submarine in U.S.
한국기술로 미국의 원자력 잠수함 건설 합의
WSJ 10/31/25(Fri)
- President Trump has given approval for South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine in the U.S., granting Seoul a coveted piece of hardware that could rattle China and North Korea.
- Trump said the submarine will be made at a shipyard in Philadelphia bought last year by South Korean’s Hanwha Ocean. Hanwha makes large naval submarines in South Korea, but this would be its first nuclear-powered sub.
- One of the major unresolved questions is where South Korea gets the nuclear fuel to power the submarine. An agreement between the U.S. and South Korea, revised in 2015, bars Seoul from enriching uranium and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel without Washington’s consent, because of concerns about Seoul’s building a nuclear program.
- Without such approval, South Korea would have to buy fuel. Granting the ability would also dramatically shorten the timeline for South Korea to produce a nuclear weapon.
