Archives 2025

The states with the cheapest 30-year new purchase mortgage rates Thursday were New York, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, and Washington. The seven states registered averages between 6.73% and 6.80%.

Meanwhile, the states with Thursday’s most expensive 30-year new purchase mortgage rates were West Virginia, Alaska, North Dakota, Mississippi, Wyoming, and Rhode Island. These high-rate states registered refi averages between 6.95% and 7.01%.

Mortgage rates vary by the state where they originate. Different lenders operate in different regions, and rates can be influenced by state-level variations in credit score, average loan size, and regulations. Lenders also have varying risk management strategies that influence the rates they offer.

Since rates vary widely across lenders, it’s always smart to shop around for your best mortgage option and compare rates regularly, no matter the type of home loan you seek.

National Mortgage Rate Averages

Rates on 30-year new purchase mortgages have dropped every day this week, fully erasing last week’s two-day surge. Now averaging 6.87%, 30-year rates are down from mid-May, when the flagship average climbed to a one-year high of 7.15%.

In March, however, 30-year rates sank to 6.50%, their lowest average of 2025. And in September, 30-year rates plunged to a two-year low of 5.89%.

Artificial intelligence startup Scale AI said it received a “significant new investment” from Meta (META) that values the company at more than $29 billion and sees its chief executive join the tech titan.

CEO Alexandr Wang posted on X that he will leave his role at Scale to work on Meta’s AI efforts, while remaining on the startup’s board.

The move comes as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly been frustrated with the company’s level of AI progress. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Meta was pushing back the launch of its latest Llama 4 large language model amid concerns about whether enough improvements had been made compared to previous iterations.

To speed up development, Zuckerberg is reportedly working to build what has been referred to internally at Meta as a “superintelligence group” that will sit near him at Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. 

Shares of Meta are little changed in recent trading. The stock is up 18% for 2025.

If the GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is signed into law, car buyers could get some extra tax relief. The legislation currently allows taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 in auto loan interest. But the deduction comes with some big catches—and it’s unclear whether the bill, as is, will pass the Senate. 

How Big Is the Deduction, and Who Qualifies?

The “no tax on car loan interest” provision allows taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 of certain auto loan interest. It’s an “above-the-line” deduction, meaning you can use it even when taking the standard deduction. From the wording of the bill, it seems that the $10,000 limit is an overall limit, rather than a per-year limit.

Phasing Out

Beyond that, there’s a lot of fine print to navigate. For starters, the deduction is temporary, lasting only from tax year 2025 to tax year 2028. 

It also begins phasing out once a single taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $100,000 or when two joint taxpayers’ AGI exceeds $200,000. Specifically, the deduction gets reduced by $200 for each $1,000 of AGI over the appointed thresholds.

Domestic Cars Only

Most notably, while the deduction applies to many passenger vehicle types, including cars, vans, SUVs, pickup trucks, motorcycles, and ATVs, the vehicles must have been assembled in the U.S. 

“This tax deduction would tend to promote domestic car ownership,” said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. 

According to research from car leasing marketplace CarEdge, there are 117 new car and truck models with final assembly in the U.S., including popular Ford, General Motors, and Tesla vehicles.

Other Restrictions

You also can’t claim the deduction when financing a:

• Leased vehicle
• Fleet of vehicles  
• Commercial vehicle that’s not for personal use
• Vehicle with a salvage title
• Vehicle used for scrap or parts 
• Vehicle you previously purchased using a personal cash loan

It’s currently unclear whether or not the deduction applies to used auto loans in addition to new auto loans.

How Much Money Can You Save?

If you meet all the requirements, the deduction could save you some money.

Example A

Say, for instance, you borrow $30,000 at a 6.35% annual percentage rate (APR)—the average APR on new cars as of Q4 2024—to buy a 2024 Ford Escape over 60 months, and you pay about $1,019 in auto loan interest this year.   

Your AGI as a single filer starts at $70,000. If you simply took the standard deduction of $15,000, your taxable income would net out at $55,000, meaning you’d pay around $7,014 in taxes for 2025.

However, if you took the above-the-line auto loan interest rate deduction, your AGI before taking the standard deduction becomes $68,981. Now, taking the standard deduction, you’d pay around $6,790, a net savings of $224.

Example B

You can save much more if you have a high-interest auto loan, or if the deduction enables you to drop into a lower tax bracket.

For instance, say that due to poor credit, you’re paying a 15.75% APR on a 60-month $40,000 loan on a Tesla Model 3. In this scenario, you’d pay $3,609 in interest in 2025. 

You file jointly, make $199,000 in combined income, take the standard deduction of $30,000, and pay $27,008 in income tax. If you first deduct your auto loan interest, you’d pay $26,214, for a savings of almost $800.

“With car prices and loan interest rates higher than usual, a $10,000 tax break could tip the scales for buyers on the fence,” said Paul Miller, managing partner and certified public accountant (CPA) at Miller & Company, LLC.

Objections to the Bill—Will It Pass?

Any savings are currently theoretical. While the budget bill passed the House in late May, it has yet to pass the Senate, and some GOP senators have expressed concerns about the package. For instance, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky wants to strip out a provision that raises the debt ceiling, while Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri opposes deep cuts to Medicaid benefits. 

However, the tax deduction on auto loan interest was a key Trump campaign, and, thus far, there’s been no widespread criticism of the deduction’s inclusion in the budget legislation.

“It is probably fairly likely to remain in the final bill,” Luscombe said. “The main risk that it would appear to face is from the overall concern about adding to the deficit. That concern could result in searching for provisions to reduce [the] cost of the bill if enough revenue offsets or cost cuts cannot be found.”

If the Senate changes the bill, it must go back to the House for approval before hitting Trump’s desk for his signature. The president has urged Republican Congress members to complete this process by July 4. 

Below you’ll find featured rates available from our partners, followed by details from our ranking of the best CDs available nationwide.

4.60% for 9 Months or 4.50% Until March 2027

Today’s best CD rate in the country comes from Newtek Bank, which is paying 4.60% on a 9-month term, extending your rate lock into 2026. It’s one of four CDs that have joined top APY slots in the past 10 days. The other three are a 6-month offer from Rising Bank guaranteeing 4.51%, a 4.45% 12-month CD unveiled earlier this week by T Bank, and the PenAir certificate mentioned below that leads in the 2-year term.

Beyond the 4.60% national leader, a slew of institutions are offering 4.50%: from PonceBankDirect for 3 months, to Abound Credit Union for 10 months, and even a 21-month offer from PenAir Credit Union. PenAir’s CD would guarantee your rate all the way until March 2027.

The full article continues below these offers from our partners.

Don’t Forget Easy-Access Emergency Money in Retirement

You’ve probably heard how important it is to have an emergency fund: It can help in unexpected situations, such as emergency medical bills, home repairs, and other financial emergencies. If you’re able to set aside money in case these sudden costs arise, it can keep you from going into debt or taking funds from retirement accounts or other sources better kept intact for other purposes.

While some experts suggest saving three to six months’ worth of expenses, your financial situation and goals will determine the ideal amount to aim for.

“It can feel very daunting to build up to a three- to six-month emergency reserve, but even putting aside $25 a month is a start,” said Danika Waddell, a partner at Xena Financial Planning in Seattle. “You can always add to it with a bonus, tax refund, or cash gift.” 

Have you considered setting aside an emergency fund for retirement? It’s still important to have accessible cash, just like when you were younger. Here’s why: “Those same unexpected expenses happen whether or not you are employed,” Waddell said. “If your money is tied up in investments (or you receive it as a monthly payment via pension or Social Security), you might still be caught off guard by a major car repair or damage to your home.”

5 Smart Options for Your Retirement Emergency Fund

The best scenario is to have easy access to your emergency fund when you need it, but earn interest on it while it’s sitting unused.

Here are five options to consider that can help you do both: 

• High-yield savings account: With a high-yield savings account, you can withdraw cash easily while earning more interest than you would with a traditional savings account. More than a dozen of today’s best savings accounts pay 4.31% to 4.50% APY.
• Money market accounts: Money market accounts offer features of both a checking and savings account. They allow check writing and can offer interest rates better than or on par with those of regular savings accounts. Eleven options in our ranking of the best money market accounts offer 4.00% to 4.37% APY right now.
• Short-term CDs: Certificates of deposit (CDs) offer guaranteed rates for the length of the CD’s term–usually 3 months to 5 years. However, you’ll face an early withdrawal penalty if you cash in the CD before it matures. Today’s highest-rate CDs pay 4.50% to 4.60% APY on terms of 3 to 21 months.
• Brokerage money market funds and cash management accounts: Money market funds are mutual funds that invest in short-term, low-risk options, while cash management accounts (CMAs) combine checking, savings, and sometimes investment features. Both are offered by brokerage firms and robo-advisors, with the top rates currently in the upper 3% to lower 4% range.
• Short-term Treasurys: Treasury bills are U.S. government debt obligations that offer a guaranteed rate of return. Short-term T-bills generally have a maturity of 1 year or less and currently pay 4.09% to 4.48% APY.

A combination of these options may be your best bet for an emergency fund that lets you balance accessibility and your earning potential. High-yield savings accounts and money market accounts offer easy access to cash, while short-term CDs and Treasury bills provide higher, more stable returns and are a good fit if you don’t need the funds right away. Brokerage money market funds or cash management accounts help you diversify, though their rates can fluctuate.

Wherever you put your funds, prioritizing setting some aside for emergencies in retirement is key. “The vast majority of Americans don’t have an emergency fund, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth having one,” she said. “Every little bit helps and can prevent a crisis.” 

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that’s below $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.

Major U.S. equities indexes moved lower after Israel conducted attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear program and military leadership, prompting a retaliation from Tehran and exacerbating the tense geopolitical environment in the Middle East and across the globe.

The S&P 500 lost 1.1% in the week’s final trading session. The Dow ended the day 1.8% lower, while the Nasdaq was down 1.3%. Read Investopedia’s full daily markets coverage here.

Shares of payment processors moved lower after a report in The Wall Street Journal indicated that Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN) are considering issuing their own stablecoins, a move that could help the retail giants sidestep the interchange fees charged by credit-card providers. Shares of business payment solutions provider Corpay (CPAY) dropped 7.7%, falling the most of any S&P 500 stock, while shares of PayPal (PYPL), Visa (V), and Mastercard (MA) also declined.

Analysts at Citi downgraded Sherwin-Williams (SHW) stock to “neutral” from “buy,” indicating that the persistence of high mortgage rates and softness in the housing market could weigh on the paint distributor’s performance in the near term. Sherwin-Williams shares slipped 5.7%.

Shares of Adobe (ADBE) were down 5.3%. Although the provider of software for creating and editing digital media posted better-than-expected sales and profits for its fiscal second quarter, several analysts raised concerns about Adobe’s progress with its artificial intelligence products, pointing to potential competitive pressure and disruption in the AI space.

Oracle (ORCL) shares surged 7.7% on Friday, securing the S&P 500’s top performance for a second straight day and extending an all-time high posted in the prior session. The march higher for the stock came after the enterprise software giant exceeded sales and profit estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter and guided for revenue growth driven by its booming cloud infrastructure business.

Shares of companies with exposure to biofuel production gained ground after the Trump administration proposed to increase the amount of biofuel that oil refiners must blend into diesel and gasoline over the next two years. Shares of fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings (CF), which is engaged in projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of biofuel production, gained 6.5%.  Shares of grain processors Bunge Global (BG) and Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) were up 5.7% and 4.7%, respectively.

Crude oil futures prices jumped as concerns spread about possible supply impacts from the escalating conflict in the Middle East, even as Iranian officials said the country’s oil storage and refining facilities remain operational following Israel’s strikes. The rising price of the commodity helped lift oil and gas stocks. Shares of refiner Haliburton (HAL) gained 5.5%, while shares of exploration and production firm APA Corp. (APA) were up 5.3%.

The Federal Reserve is likely to stick to its “wait-and-see” mantra next week, setting it on a collision course with the president.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold its key interest rate steady when the central bank’s policy committee meets Wednesday, possibly provoking more wrath from President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly demand the Fed, which is not under direct control of the White House, cut its benchmark interest rate by an entire percentage point.

Financial markets late Friday were pricing in just a 3% chance of a rate cut this month, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on Fed funds futures trading data.

Fed Weighing the Impact of Tariffs

In recent weeks, Fed officials have said they’re reluctant to lower interest rates from their current elevated levels because they’re concerned Trump’s tariffs will reignite the high inflation that has fallen to within shooting distance of the Fed’s target of a 2% annual rate, after surging in the post-pandemic era. For his part, Trump has frequently browbeaten the Fed for not having cut rates this year, going so far as to call Fed Chair Jerome Powell a “numbskull”.

A lower fed funds rate could boost the economy and encourage job creation, but it could also take some of the downward pressure off inflation.

Fed officials have been under a communications “blackout” over the past week in advance of the meeting, but before they went silent, members of the Federal Open Market Committee said they wanted to see how the economy responded to Trump’s tariffs before making any policy moves.

The tariffs pose a dual threat to the Fed’s dual mandate to keep inflation low and employment high: not only could the import taxes push up prices, but they could hurt the economy, potentially pushing up unemployment. If inflation proves the greater threat, the Fed could keep interest rates higher for longer, or alternatively, could cut rates to rescue the economy if the job market starts to crumble.

Recent Data Support Idea of Standing Pat

Recent economic data has showed the job market holding steady and inflation staying cool, giving the Fed more reason to bide its time, economists said.

“No FOMC official has been advocating for a change in policy, so the decision to hold should be easy,” Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase, said in a commentary.

The fed funds rate is the Fed’s main tool for carrying out monetary policy and influencing the economy. The rate affects interest rates at which banks lend money to one another, which influences how much interest they charge for car loans, credit cards, and other debt.

The Fed cut the rate to near zero to support the economy with easy money during the pandemic, and cranked it up to a two-decade high starting in 2022 to counteract a surge of inflation, holding it there until late 2024. Last year, the Fed began cutting rates because inflation was cooling, but has kept the rate flat since December after Trump’s election shook up the economic outlook.

Shares of JBS posted a slight gain Friday in their New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) debut after years of complications for the Brazilian meatpacking giant to trade in U.S. public markets.

JBS shares, which have the ticker symbol “JBS,” opened at $13.65 on the New York Stock Exchange and closed just slightly higher at $13.87, after climbing to $14.58 earlier in the session. The shares are dual listed with Brazil’s B3 exchange.

JBS, which is majority owner of U.S. poultry firm Pilgrim’s Pride (PPC), is the world’s largest meatpacker, with 2024 revenue of $77.18 billion and net income of $1.96 billion, according to a prospectus filed in April with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Both American meat producers and environmentalists had opposed JBS’ attempts to list in the country “because of concerns about corruption settlements, accusations of Amazon deforestation and its growing market share in the United States,” The New York Times reported last year.

However, CNBC reported that after President Donald Trump was re-elected last November, Pilgrim’s Pride donated $5 million to his inauguration committee, and the SEC subsequently approved its request to list on the NYSE.

This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent share price values.

Today is Friday the 13th, a day that’s been considered an “unlucky” day for centuries in Western culture.

Now, a lot of folks may get a little jumpy on Friday the 13th. And the reality is, whether we’re talking about broken mirrors or black cats, it’s easy to see the folly in our own superstitions.

Because the truth is, they’re mostly harmless.

But I’ll tell you one thing. There’s a far more dangerous superstition haunting Wall Street. And it’s emanating from inside the halls of the Federal Reserve.

I like to call it the Inflation Bogeyman.

See, a bogeyman is a mythical creature meant to frighten someone, usually children. Different versions of it have been around in various cultures, but they usually appear when a kid has misbehaved. The idea is to target a specific unwanted act or behavior and then scare the kid into acting right.

I bring this up because, for months, the Fed has been fighting this mythical creature. Warning of its return. Blaming tariffs. Forecasting surges in prices. Hesitating to act while growth slows and markets grow restless.

But here’s the truth nobody inside the Fed seems willing to admit.

This Inflation Bogeyman isn’t real, folks. And those who have been waiting for it to materialize are unfortunately mistaken.

We saw more evidence of that this week in the form of two key inflation reports: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI).

So, in today’s Market 360, I’ll review the details of these reports and explain what’s really going on. I’ll also give my take on why the Fed has a lot of explaining to do at its meeting next week.

But while most folks are paying attention to the Fed, there’s something else taking place behind the scenes. In fact, this could be one of the most transformative policies in U.S. history.

If my research is correct, this new government fund stands to make a lot of wealth for early investors… and I’ll share how with you today.

The Real Inflation Data Tells a Very Different Story

This week, two critical inflation reports struck another blow to the Fed’s narrative.

The CPI showed headline inflation rose just 2.4% year over year, barely above April’s 2.3%. Month over month, prices increased 0.1%. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy costs, climbed only 2.8% annually – again, below expectations.

This latest CPI reading was below economists’ expectations for the fourth straight month. In other words, these guys can’t hit the broad side of a barn.

Rather than anticipating inflation from the tariffs, the folks at the Fed would be better off by simply looking at the chart below, which shows the reality of the situation…

Digging further into the data:

• Food costs rose 0.3%,
• Energy costs dipped 1%,
• Gasoline plunged 2.6%,
• Vehicle prices dropped 0.3% for new cars and 0.5% for used,
• Apparel fell 0.4%,
• Services rose 0.2%,
• And shelter costs (owners’ equivalent rent) ticked up 0.3%. This continues to be the primary inflation catalyst.

Turning to the PPI report, it showed a modest rise, but it was still below expectations.

After two straight months of decline, the PPI rose 0.1% in May, down from the 0.2% increase in April and below expectations for a 0.2% rise. Year over year, the PPI went up 2.6%.

Core PPI, which excludes food, energy and trade margins, also increased 0.1% last month and is up 2.7% in the past year. Economists expected core PPI to rise 0.2%.

If we look further into the report, wholesale service costs rose only 0.1%, and wholesale goods prices were up 0.2%.

What Has to Happen Next

The bottom line is that the data is clear. Inflation continues to fall and defy the expectations of the so-called “experts”. That’s great news, folks.

And this Inflation Bogeyman that they’re so afraid of still hasn’t shown up.

The fact is, they’re anticipating Trump’s tariffs will drive prices higher, but most of those tariffs are still at the 10% baseline. On top of that, a strong U.S. dollar is offsetting much of the impact.

The Fed needs to stop watching for phantom inflation and start looking at the actual data.

The Beige Book says it all. Nine out of twelve Fed districts reported either no growth or outright contraction. And nearly every district is reporting elevated uncertainty that’s already putting the brakes on business and consumer activity.

To be honest, the fact that they’re ignoring the economic data is shocking. The right move would be to cut rates at the next meeting. Even if they don’t cut, any guidance hinting at cuts could spark a relief rally.

My Main Focus Right Now

Now, here’s where things get really interesting for investors like us…

While the Fed keeps debating inflation, another force is already reshaping America’s economy. And it’s happening quietly – outside the headlines most investors are watching.

Specifically, I’m talking about Executive Order 14196.

This little-known order, straight from the desk of the President of the United States, promises to unlock the hidden wealth inside of America – and channel that directly into a select group of companies.

Investors who position themselves early could ride the next wave of growth in this little-watched corner of the market.

That’s why I put together a special briefing explaining how this fund works, where the biggest opportunities are, and how investors can profit as the capital starts flowing into these sectors.

I’ll also tell you how you can gain access to my top three picks that are being fast-tracked to success, thanks to this Executive Order.

Click here to get the details and watch my full briefing now.

Sincerely,

Louis Navellier

Editor, Market 360