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Mortgage rates have more than doubled over the last year — and could keep climbing
CBSN
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates inched up this week ahead of another expected rate increase by the Federal Reserve when it meets early next month.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the key 30-year rate ticked up this week to 6.94% from 6.92% last week. Last year at this time, the rate was 3.09%.
"The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continues to remain just shy of 7% and is adversely impacting the housing market in the form of declining demand," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a statement. "Additionally, homebuilder confidence has dropped to half what it was just six months ago and construction, particularly single-family residential construction, continues to slow down."
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Republican voters in Virginia's 5th Congressional District are going to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to hand another term to House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good or replace him with Virginia state Sen. John McGuire, a former Navy SEAL, in a race that has highlighted a divide within the Trump faction of the GOP.
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The oldest members of Generation X are turning 59 1/2 this month, the earliest age when workers can start withdrawing retirement assets without a penalty. But many Gen Xers are far from prepared for their golden years, with almost half saying it would take a "miracle" for them to be able to retire, according to a new Natixis study.
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A fleet of Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, left Havana's port on Monday after a five-day visit to Cuba following planned military drills in the Atlantic Ocean. The exercise has been seen by some as a show of strength by Moscow against the backdrop of tensions as U.S. and other Western nations support Kyiv in Russia's war on Ukraine.