The University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment fell 11% from March to April to 50.8 and is now lower than it was at any point during the 2007-2009 Great Recession
Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index dropped to an annual rate of 2.4% last month, but the impact of tariffs probably won't start showing up in the data until May
Heightened fears of a trade war and recession have investors convinced the Fed will start cutting rates again in June, a sentiment that gives mortgage rates more room to come down
Sweeping plan imposes higher duties on 'worst offenders' and is in addition to 25% tariff on foreign automobiles slated to take effect April 3, president says at White House press conference
Central bank dials back Treasury rolloffs but is not ready to cut short-term interest rates, as Fed policymakers indicate they're more worried about inflation than they were in December
Republicans are less worried about the future than Democrats and Independents, but 'consumers from all 3 political affiliations are in agreement that the outlook has weakened since February'
Homebuyers have responded to a pullback in mortgage rates from January highs, but tariffs on imported goods could keep inflation elevated and halt the downward trend in rates
Mortgage rates eased Friday as investors took stock of new data showing employers added 151,000 workers to their payrolls in February and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%
After moving in the wrong direction for 3 months, annual inflation cooled to 2.5% in January. But the biggest drop in consumer spending since 2021 has 1 model predicting a shrinking economy
There's rising anxiety among investors and consumers about the potential impacts of a trade war, surveys show, with stock prices and bond yields retreating as March 4 deadline looms
Trump calls for lower interest rates after release of January CPI report. Powell says Fed is in no hurry to cut rates, and bond market investors who fund mortgages are taking him at his word
Trump wants the central bank to lower rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell says he's not spoken to the President, and that 'we don't need to be in a hurry to adjust the policy stance'
Investors bid up shares of mortgage lenders and real estate companies after 'relatively benign' CPI report ends speculation that inflation worries might force the Fed to raise rates this year
Investors who fund most home loans are now convinced that the Federal Reserve won't cut rates again until June after employers add 256K jobs and unemployment falls to 4.1%
With mortgage rates back to where they were last summer, purchase applications are coming in at the slowest pace since February 2024, Mortgage Bankers Association lender survey finds