Every weekend, I recap “news you can use” from the week — a handful of quotes from major (and often expensive) financial news sources — so you can stay up to date on the news that affects your money without spending a dime and in less than a minute.
Here’s an overview of what happened this week.
US Job Growth Falls Short of Forecasts as Firms Remain Cautious (Oct. 2, Bloomberg):
Nonfarm payrolls increased 29,000 last month, missing all estimates, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, partly reflecting a growing workforce.
The jobs report suggests the Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates in October, with some economists saying the data should be the “nail in the coffin” for a rate hike this month.
U.S. inflation rises and keeps pressure on Fed (Sept. 30, MarketWatch):
In August, the so-called PCE index rose 0.3%, the government said Wednesday. That matched the 0.3% forecast of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The yearly rate of inflation was unchanged at 3.4%, revised figures showed.
“While inflation is slightly cooler than previously thought, it remains well above the Fed’s 2% target, and hence we still expect the Fed to deliver another rate hike in their upcoming October meeting,” CIBC economist Helen Lao said in a note to clients.
US Mortgage Rates Increase to an Almost Three-Year High of 7.3% (Sept. 30, Bloomberg):
US mortgage rates climbed for a sixth straight week to an almost three-year high, thwarting would-be homebuyers.
Higher home-financing costs are spelling more difficulty for an already troubled housing market. The MBA purchase index, which measures loan applications, fell 4.3% to the lowest level since April 2025.
US Consumer Spending Jumps by Most in a Year Despite High Prices (Sept. 30, Bloomberg):
Inflation-adjusted personal spending climbed 0.6% in August from a month earlier, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data released on Wednesday. That was the biggest monthly jump since March 2025.
With the help of a stable job market and a growing stock market, consumers ramped up their spending for merchandise last month, pushing through high gasoline prices and rising costs across the economy.
US economy grew 2.2% in the second quarter, govt says, upgrading previous estimate (Sept. 30, ABC News):
Growth in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of a goods and services — decelerated from a 2.5% pace from January through March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The second-quarter growth number was an improvement on the department’s previous estimate of 1.5%.
Consumer spending — which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity — increased at a healthy 3.8% annual pace, up from 0.7% in the January-March period.
Middle East Oil Exports Rebound as Iran’s Chokehold on Hormuz Breaks Down (Sept. 29, Wall Street Journal):
Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February, oil data trackers say. Shipments via Hormuz and bypass routes were delivering just under 80% of their prewar regional flows as of last week, according to tracker Kpler.
With its own oil income dwindling and its neighbors finding workarounds, Iran might see renewed attacks as its best remaining means of applying pressure, even at the risk of American retaliation.
U.S. Consumer Confidence Fell in September Amid Elevated Oil Prices, Inflation Worries, Conference Board Says (Sept. 29, Wall Street Journal):
The research group said its consumer confidence index fell by 6.7 points to 81.9 in September from 88.6 in August. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected a higher reading of 89.
“References to prices, the high cost of goods and services, and oil and gas prices in particular, rose to new heights, reflecting September’s surge in fuel costs,” said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist, The Conference Board.
IRS Threatens Crackdown on Array of Wall Street Tax Dodges (Sept. 28, Bloomberg):
The notice detailed a list of tax trades similar to those deemed “potentially abusive” and “too good to be true” by Treasury officials at an industry seminar in July. These include hedge-fund strategies that use swaps and currency derivatives to generate ordinary losses that can offset income tax — transactions which are at the heart of products such as AQR Capital Management’s Delphi Plus fund.
The U.S. and China agree to $60 billion in tariff cuts on products like dolls and fireworks. Rare earths remain a sticking point. (Sept. 28, MarketWatch):
For Chinese products that are imported into the U.S., 77 types of goods have been put forward to score lower tariffs, including fireworks, plastic tableware, bed and table linens, certain appliances, inflatable balls for sports and toys such as dolls and puzzles.
The total value of these goods is $30 billion, matching the $30 billion worth of American goods that Beijing is proposing to have lower tariffs on, such as medical equipment and a range of agricultural products.
OpenAI abandons plan to release upcoming model as safety concerns escalate (Sept. 28, CNBC):
Earlier this month, OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra, which the company described as the product of “years of research and big bets.” Altman told CNBC at the time that Astra comes with a “new capability level” and would lead to “a boom of entrepreneurship, of creativity, of economic growth, of scientific discovery.”
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