The average rate on the standard 30-year fixed mortgage fell around a quarter percentage point to 6.47%, a low not seen since May 2023 and the sharpest weekly decline in around nine months.

People who leave cash uninvested in retirement accounts lose out on more than $172 billion a year in retirement wealth as a result.

A stock-market selloff intensified around the world, sending U.S. indexes sliding and volatility spiking to its highest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Americans in the past two years spent more of their income on food than they have in three decades.

Fed officials’ quarterly economic projections have penciled in an interest-rate outlook suggesting that, once they make their first move, they could cut rates by a quarter percentage point roughly once every quarter.

The U.S.’s S&P Global Flash Composite Purchasing Managers Index—which gauges activity in the country’s manufacturing and services sectors—rose to 55.0 in July from 54.8 in June, marking a 27-month high.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% last month—the first time it has crossed above 4% since 2021. That’s still low by historical measures, but it’s up from 3.4% early last year.

The small-cap index rose 1.7% this past week, extending its 2024 advance to 7.8%, while the S&P 500 dropped 2%.

Last year, private credit assets topped $2.1 trillion globally, most of this in the U.S.

The number of U.S. workers who quit their jobs in one month peaked at 3% in April 2022, prompting many employers to boost salaries, give more time off and offer flexible schedules in an attempt to retain talent. Since then the U.S. rate of quitting has drifted below prepandemic levels to 2.2%, where it has held steady so far this year.