YTD: 15.70%
1 Year: 10.56%
Dow Jones Industrial Average
YTD: 3.56%
1 Year: 1.55%
YTD: 33.55%
1 Year: 22.37%
YTD: -2.47%
1 Year: -9.52%
YTD: 26.08%
1 Year: 19.94%
*As of 10/31/2023
YTD: .56%
1 Year: 2.86%
*As of 10/31/2023
Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates saw the biggest one-week drop in over a year. Applications rose 2.5% last week compared to the previous week. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20% down payment decreased to 7.61% from 7.86%. The decrease in rates was driven by the US Treasury issuing bonds and the Fed declining to raise rates. Applications to refinance were also up 2% for the week but still nearly 7% lower than a year ago.
The Federal Reserve
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke on Thursday. “If it becomes appropriate to tighten policy further, we will not hesitate to do so,” Chairman Powell stated. “We will continue to move carefully, however, allowing us to address both the risk of being misled by a few good months of data and the risk of overtightening.” The Federal Reserve, paired with the US Treasury, has used quantitative tightening measures to get inflation down while trying to keep the economy from entering a large-scale recession. Inflation has come down significantly from the highs but remains well above 2%.
Internal Revenue Service
The IRS has announced several changes to tax brackets and deductions for 2024 to account for inflation. The standard deduction is now $29,200 for married filing couples and $14,600 for single filers. They boosted the 37% tax bracket for those making over $731,200 for joint filers and $609,530 for single.
