MOMatt Ott

1. Article · Aug 11, 2026 · Matt Ott

   Mortgage rates hit one-year high at 6.69% as home sales fall | Fortune (opens the original)

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   Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed again in July as record prices and the highest mortgage rates in a year prove to be an insurmountable hurdle for many prospective homebuyers. Existing home sales fell 1.7% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. That’s slightly above the 4.05 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. July sales, however, were up 0.7% compared with last yea

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2. Article · Jul 29, 2026 · Matt Ott

   A pound of ground beef now costs $6.82 — and that number is crushing consumer confidence | Fortune (opens the original)

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   Americans’ confidence in the economy fell this month as gas prices resumed their climb after the U.S. and Iran stepped up their fighting. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 90.8 in July from 92.2 in June. That’s essentially the same tepid range its been in since the beginning of the year. In late 2024 and early 2025 the readings were well above 100. Consumer attitudes had improved modestly in June as gas prices came down to around $3.70 a gallon from mor

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