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Mortgage rates hit 6% for the first time since 2008. The British pound hits a 37-year low. Biden signs EO blocking Chinese investment in US tech, S&P 500 futures drop. Apple was revealed to be the most shorted stock in the US, and more financial news.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed above 6 percent for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, according to federal data released on Thursday, The Hill reported.
The average mortgage rate on a 30-year home loan was 6.02 percent on Thursday, according to Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates climbed 0.13 percentage points over last week’s mark and 3.16 percentage points above levels a year ago. This is the first time mortgage rates have risen above six percent since the week of November 20, 2008.
The British pound fell to its lowest mark in 37 years on Friday, dropping below $1.14. The slump comes after the Office for National Statistics stated retail sales in August dropped 1.6% month-over-month, marking the biggest decline since December 2021, and declining significantly more than economists had expected, CNN reported.
“I think the UK is in recession already,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
The fall comes as the US dollar is now near its strongest level in nearly two decades against other top currencies amid another anticipated significant rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Thursday that expanded the duties of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to block the foreign acquisition of firms. The move is aimed at preventing adversarial countries, especially China, from gaining insight into “microelectronics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and biomanufacturing, quantum computing, advanced clean energy, and climate adaptation technologies,” according to the order. It was the first time the executive branch explicitly tied CFIUS activities to the national security priorities of the Biden administration, which include supply-chain resilience, data protection, and cybersecurity, the Daily Caller reported.
S&P 500 futures fell on Thursday after FedEx withdrew its financial forecast, adding to concerns of a slowing global economy, as the company’s stocks tumbled 16 percent late in the day. FedEx withdrew its financial forecast, stating its fiscal first-quarter results were hit by global volume softness, and it expected further deterioration of business conditions, US News reported.
S&P 500 e-mini futures fell 0.6%. Nasdaq futures dropped 0.7% on the news. Other delivery companies also fell in the news, including UPS dropping 5.7%, Amazon fell 1.8%, and Target dipped nearly 2 percent.
Apple Inc. now has the designation as the most shorted stock in the US, overtaking Tesla, according to data from S3 Partners. As of Thursday, Apple had short interest totaling $18.44 billion, versus $17.44 billion for Tesla. Investing.com writes: “While the total dollar value for Apple is higher, the short interest as a percentage of the float is just 0.70% for Apple, while it stands at 1.8% for Tesla.”
Bed Bath & Beyond announced it will be closing roughly 150 stores. It released a list of retail outlets it will be shuttering as the company works to stabilize its finances and reverse declining sales, CNBC reported. The company will also lay off employees but has secured over $500 million in new financing. At least 50 US stores will be closed by the end of 2022.
