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9 stories from 3 sources

Housing stalls as higher rates squeeze buyers and households

Day’s Recap

Supporting Articles

7:04 PMFortune

Mortgage lending standards are so tight that homebuyers must have ‘pristine’ credit histories, study says, as sales head for 31-year low

Summary

Tighter mortgage standards have reduced delinquencies and defaults, but they have also made it harder for many Americans to qualify for a home loan. The resulting credit barriers are contributing to a housing market where existing-home sales have fallen to a 31-year low.

The central shift is that post-crisis risk controls now exclude a wider pool of otherwise

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Why it matters

A housing market can remain stagnant when affordability problems are compounded by strict access to credit.

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12:25 PMFortune

Housing market: Mortgage rates rise for third straight week to highest level since June 2025 while home sales fall for third month in a row

Summary

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.76% from 6.71% the previous week and stood above its 6.35% level a year earlier. Home sales declined for a third consecutive month as borrowing costs remained elevated.

Higher mortgage rates are extending the affordability squeeze and adding to the pressure on home

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Why it matters

The combination of rising financing costs and falling sales points to a housing market that is weakening without becoming meaningfully more affordable.

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7:00 AMFortune

A flawed system and one man’s hubris cost Meta shareholders $17 billion

Summary

Meta has agreed to a settlement that could cost shareholders $17 billion, while plaintiffs’ models estimate potential damages in the trillions. The case links the losses to weaknesses in the company’s governance and to executive decision-making.

The $17 billion figure may represent only an initial legal cost, not the full exposure.

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Why it matters

The case could turn a costly settlement into a broader test of corporate governance, director accountability, and shareholder remedies.

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8:49 AMCNBC

Inflation is outpacing wage growth again, squeezing Americans’ paychecks

Summary

Consumer prices rose 3.4% over the year in August, while wages increased 3.1%. That gap means workers' pay lost purchasing power after adjusting for inflation.

Prices are again rising faster than wages, cutting real income by roughly 0.3 percentage points

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Why it matters

The reversal threatens consumer spending and weakens the case that wage gains are fully offsetting higher living costs.

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Other Developments

A curated list of other prominent stories from this day.

1:18 PMFinancial Times

Larry Ellison cancels $7.5bn Oracle share sale

Summary

Larry Ellison abandoned plans to sell up to 50 million Oracle shares, worth as much as $7.5 billion, by the end of October. The decision came one day after the proposed sale was disclosed.

The rapid reversal removes a large prospective block of Oracle stock from the market and

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Why it matters

A planned insider sale became a market signal, making Ellison's future trading decisions more consequential for Oracle shareholders.

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2 stories · 2 sources

9:30 AMCNBC

College sticker prices keep rising. Why many schools are still under financial strain

Summary

Private colleges continue to raise published tuition prices, yet a growing number face financial distress. High sticker prices are not preventing pressure on their underlying finances.

Rising list prices are failing to resolve the gap between what colleges charge and what

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Why it matters

Tuition inflation is masking, rather than fixing, a worsening financial model for many colleges.

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9:20 AMCNBC

Buffett's confidence in troubled decade-old acquisition finally pays off

Summary

Warren Buffett once acknowledged that Berkshire Hathaway paid too much for Precision Castparts in 2016. Demand for the company's complex metal castings has now strengthened, improving the outlook for the acquisition.

Higher demand is turning a long-standing valuation mistake into a more defensible investment. The shift

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Why it matters

A deal once associated with overpayment is gaining support from a stronger industrial demand cycle.

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9:02 AMCNBC

Boeing and engineers' union reach tentative contract agreement

Summary

Boeing and the union representing its engineers reached a tentative contract agreement on Friday, according to union officials. The deal still requires the union's ratification before it becomes final.

The tentative agreement lowers the immediate risk of labor disruption in Boeing's engineering operations, but

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Why it matters

The agreement could remove one labor risk from Boeing's recovery, but the workforce still has the final say.

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