Autos and now housing worries
US interest rates have risen higher but by any historical measure, they're still very low.
Yet the evidence is starting to mount that US consumers are struggling to manage higher borrowing costs.
The auto industry has struggled this year. One of the reasons is fear of tariffs but it's tough to believe that tariff worriers are keeping Americans from buying cars, especially with the best economy in more than a decade. But that's exactly what happened and it's a big reason why automotive shares have been so weak.
Here's GM:
What's even more concerning is that interest rates also appear to be hammering the outlook for home builders. The XHB home builders ETF has fallen in 13 straight sessions and is at the lowest since April 2017.
The FT has a story today about the woes of the US housing market and one notable takeaway is that all the US housing gains have been in a select few cities while other are still at crisis-era levels. The idea is that there's a winner-take-all mentality in cities as well, with tech hubs and spots with strong industry doing well and others failing.
Another factor is student loans, which are keeping new buyers out of the market. Finally, crackdowns on foreign buyers are hurting some major centers, including New York.
US 30-year fixed mortgage:
