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Mortgage rates higher for third straight week, with 30-year at 6.44%, market survey finds
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Approved, Fox Business, National

Mortgage rates higher for third straight week, with 30-year at 6.44%, market survey finds

By Breck Dumas  | Fox Business Mortgage rates continued their upward climb this week, further hindering demand in the housing market amid elevated rates and high home prices. Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage surged to 6.44% from last week's reading of 6.32%. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 7.63% a year ago. "The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased for the third consecutive week, moving closer to 6.5%," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.  READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
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St. Onge: Inflation rising is awkward for Chairman Powell, nightmare for Kamala Harris
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Approved, Commentary, National, The Daily Signal

St. Onge: Inflation rising is awkward for Chairman Powell, nightmare for Kamala Harris

By Peter St. Onge, Commentary | Daily Signal Inflation is rising again, and even Federal Reserve cheerleader Bloomberg is worried the Fed is losing the plot. Inflation rising is awkward for the Fed, given Chairman Jerome Powell already cut rates for the looming recession. In fact, he just did a jumbo half-point cut—which makes inflation go up. This is known as a policy error. And the Fed’s been making a lot these days. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.
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TGI Fridays closes a dozen stores across America in just one month
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Approved, Fox Business, National

TGI Fridays closes a dozen stores across America in just one month

By Kristen Altus  | Fox Business Your ability to enjoy a plate of loaded potato skins and $5 happy hour drinks is slowly dwindling, as TGI Fridays has closed 12 U.S. locations in the past month and shuttered 35 restaurants across the pond. According to the company’s location section on its website, multiple TGI Fridays locations in the Northeast closed last week, including in Clifton Park, Middletown and Poughkeepsie, New York; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Enfield, Connecticut; and Leesburg, Virginia. Additional closures from earlier this month took place in the Southeast and Midwest regions, in states like North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, as well as two locations in Minnesota. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
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Walgreens to close 1,200 stores as part of turnaround effort
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Approved, Fox Business, National

Walgreens to close 1,200 stores as part of turnaround effort

By Daniella Genovese  | Fox Business Walgreens plans to close at least 1,200 stores over the next three years as the pharmacy giant seeks to reduce costs and turn around operations under a new leader.  One of the largest drugstore chains in the country, Walgreens said about 500 stores are slated to close as early as fiscal year 2025. In June, the company had announced its intention to close a "significant" number of underperforming stores across the U.S. as it contended with profitability challenges and declining margins. But CEO Tim Wentworth, who took over in October 2023, didn't give an estimate at the time of how many stores would be affected. He noted that a "meaningful percent" of the underperforming locations would shutter.  READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
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Mortgage rates surge higher, further hurting demand
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Approved, Fox Business, National

Mortgage rates surge higher, further hurting demand

By Breck Dumas  | Fox Business Mortgage rates jumped markedly this week, sending demand down for a second straight week. Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage surged to 6.32% from last week's reading of 6.12%. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 7.57% a year ago. "Following the release of a stronger-than-expected September jobs report, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage saw the largest one-week increase since April," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.  READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
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Vance vindicated: Egg prices are up nearly 40% as food inflation surges again
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Approved, Breitbart, National

Vance vindicated: Egg prices are up nearly 40% as food inflation surges again

By John Carney  | Breitbart J.D. Vance was right: the price of eggs is soaring. The vice presidential hopeful made headlines last when he pointed to the rising price of eggs as evidence of the failed economic policies of the Biden-Harris administration. “Look at the prices here. Things are way too expensive, and they’re way too expensive because of Kamala Harris’ policies,” Vance said.“Eggs, when Kamala Harris took office, were short of $1.50 a dozen. Now, a dozen eggs will cost you around $4, thanks to Kamala Harris’ inflationary policies.” Critics attacked Vance, arguing that egg prices were not as high as he claimed. But Vance was more correct than his critics, who were relying on old data. READ THE FULL STORY AT BREITBART
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Natural Grocers says theft, safety issues behind closure of Colfax Avenue location in Denver
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Natural Grocers says theft, safety issues behind closure of Colfax Avenue location in Denver

By Tori Mason | CBS Colorado Natural Grocers will close its downtown Denver store at the corner of Colfax and Washington at the end of the month. The company says the decision was made after careful consideration of its operating challenges, including theft and safety issues. The store is located in a crime hotspot for the Denver Police Department. A Walmart further east on Colfax in Aurora also closed this year for issues related to crime. In a statement, Kemper Isely, Co-President of Natural Grocers, said: "We have been actively working to address the theft and safety issues impacting our store at Colfax and Washington for some time. Despite our investment in security and loss prevention strategies over the years, these factors have continued to challenge our ability t...
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UC-Colorado Springs economic expert weighs in on port strike impact
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Approved, CBS 11 KKTV, State

UC-Colorado Springs economic expert weighs in on port strike impact

By Blake Sammann | CBS 11 News As the dock workers strike at ports across the East and Gulf Coast, a Southern Colorado economist weighs on how it will affect local consumers. The strike involves up to 25,000 workers at 14 ports demanding better wages and job security. It’s expected to have an impact on the availability and prices of certain goods like imported fruit and cars. Bill Craighead, director of the UCCS Economic Forum, said he doesn’t think the strike will affect life for Southern Colorado consumers. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS 11 NEWS
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National concerns leave Colorado biz leaders less confident in late ’24
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Approved, BizWest, State

National concerns leave Colorado biz leaders less confident in late ’24

By Lucas High | BizWest Heading into the fourth quarter of 2024, Colorado business leaders are feeling less confident about the state of the economy. The University of Colorado Leeds Business Confidence Index for the final quarter of 2024 was down nearly four points from the preceding quarter, based largely on national-level issues such as next month’s presidential election and inflation.  The index figure heading into the fourth quarter was 46.7. An LBCI score — which is based on impressions of the state economy, national economy, industry sales, industry profits, industry hiring and capital expenditures — of 50 is neutral.  READ THE FULL STORY AT BIZWEST
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Donald Trump: My plan to Make America Affordable Again, and bring back the American Dream
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Approved, Commentary, National, Newsweek

Donald Trump: My plan to Make America Affordable Again, and bring back the American Dream

By Donald J. Trump, Commentary | Newsweek For years, Americans have watched as our country has been stripped of our jobs and stripped of our wealth. We've watched our companies get sold off to foreign countries. But with my plan for the American economy, this will stop immediately. When I am president, we will begin to take other countries' jobs and factories, bringing businesses and trillions of dollars back to the United States. Under my plan, American workers will no longer be worried about losing their jobs to foreign nations. Instead, foreign nations will be worried about losing their jobs to Americans. German car companies can become American car companies. We can beat China in electronic production. Manufacturers that have left us will come sprinting back to our shores. Her...
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