Current Events in September 2025

• Mortgage rates drop to 6.26%, boosting affordability.

• Refinancing surges, now nearly 60% of mortgage applications.

• Fed cut expectations, weak job market drive rate declines.

Home affordability improved again this week. Freddie Mac reports its Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.26% this week.

“Mortgage rates decreased yet again this week, prompting many homeowners to refinance. In fact, the share of mortgage applications that were refinances reached nearly 60%, the highest since January 2022,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. 

In fact, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications increased 29.7% last week from one week earlier. Most of those were applications to refinance existing mortgages.

The Refinance Index increased 58% from the previous week and was 70% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3% from one week earlier. 

“Indicative of the weakening job market, and in anticipation of a rate cut from the Federal Reserve, mortgage rates last week dropped to their lowest level since last October, with the 30-year fixed rate declining to 6.39%, said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist. 

“Homeowners responded swiftly, with refinance application volume jumping almost 60% compared to the prior week.” 

Fratantoni said homeowners with larger loans jumped first, as the average loan size on refinances reached its highest level in the 35-year history of our survey. 

Latest rates

The 30-year FRM averaged 6.26% as of September 18, 2025, down from last week when it averaged 6.35%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.09%.

The 15-year FRM averaged 5.41%, down from last week when it averaged 5.50%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.15%.

• FTC and seven states allege Ticketmaster conspired with brokers to inflate ticket prices.

• Lawsuit claims deceptive pricing, fake purchase limits, and billions in hidden fees.

• Trump administration calls the action a “monumental step” toward protecting fans.

The Federal Trade Commission and seven states filed a sweeping lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, accusing the companies of coordinating with ticket brokers to illegally drive up the cost of live event tickets.

According to the complaint, Ticketmaster allowed brokers to harvest millions of dollars’ worth of tickets from the primary market, then profited when those tickets were resold on its own platform at inflated prices. The practice, regulators say, forced consumers to pay substantially more than face value for concerts, sports, and other events.

FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said the lawsuit follows President Donald Trump’s March executive order directing federal agencies to protect consumers from ticketing abuses. “American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us,” Ferguson said. “It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician’s show.”

Alleged deceptive practices

The FTC complaint outlines a series of alleged violations, including:

• Bait-and-switch pricing: Ticketmaster advertised artificially low ticket prices that excluded mandatory fees—sometimes totaling 44% of the base price—that were added only at checkout. Regulators say the company collected $16.4 billion in such fees from 2019 through 2024.

• Fake purchase limits: Although Ticketmaster claimed to impose strict limits on how many tickets consumers could buy, brokers allegedly bypassed those rules using thousands of fake accounts and proxy servers. Internal reviews showed just five brokers controlling more than 246,000 tickets across nearly 2,600 events.

• Collusion with brokers: Ticketmaster allegedly turned a “blind eye” to abuses because inflated resale prices boosted its profits. The company even provided brokers with tools like its TradeDesk software to help manage mass ticket resales.

The FTC also cited internal company documents showing Ticketmaster declined to implement stronger anti-fraud measures—such as third-party ID verification—because such steps would reduce revenue.

Market Dominance

Ticketmaster controls as much as 80% of ticketing at major U.S. concert venues and has steadily expanded into the resale market. Between 2019 and 2024, consumers spent more than $82.6 billion buying tickets through the company.

Publicly, Ticketmaster has claimed to oppose broker practices that undermine ordinary fans. But in private, regulators say, executives admitted the company benefited from brokers’ ability to manipulate ticket availability and pricing.

The lawsuit accuses Ticketmaster and Live Nation of violating the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. Regulators are seeking civil penalties and additional monetary relief. If successful, the case could reshape how tickets are sold for concerts, sporting events, and other live entertainment in the U.S.

• Over nearly six to ten years, individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes who had metabolic (bariatric) surgery showed significantly lower risks of death, heart events, kidney disease, and eye damage than those treated with GLP-1 drugs.

• Surgery led to greater weight loss and better long-term blood sugar control; it also reduced the need for medications for diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

• The study is observational, not randomized, and did not include every GLP-1 drug (especially some newer and highly effective ones), so its findings point to important differences but don’t settle all questions.

For people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, treatments often come down to two major options: medications — especially GLP-1 receptor agonists — and surgical interventions such as gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy. 

GLP-1 medicines have made headlines for helping with weight loss and blood sugar control, while metabolic surgery has been known for its often dramatic effects. 

But until recently, few large studies had directly compared long-term outcomes, especially for major health problems like heart disease, kidney failure, eye damage, and even overall survival. 

Researchers from Cleveland Clinic set out to explore exactly that. The results: bariatric surgery may be more beneficial. 

“Even with today’s best medicines, metabolic surgery offers unique and lasting benefits for people with obesity and diabetes,” researcher Ali Aminian, M.D., director of Cleveland Clinic’s Bariatric & Metabolic Institute said in a news release. 

“The benefits we observed went beyond weight loss. Surgery was linked to fewer heart problems, less kidney disease, and even lower rates of diabetes-related eye damage.”

The study

The study, called the M6 study (short for Macrovascular and Microvascular Morbidity and Mortality after Metabolic Surgery versus Medicines), followed 3,932 adults who had both obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Of those, 1,657 underwent metabolic surgery (gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy), while 2,275 were treated with GLP-1 receptor agonist drug, including medications like liraglutide, dulaglutide, exenatide, semaglutide, and tirzepatide. 

Researchers used statistical methods to balance out differences between the two groups at the start — things like age, gender, and health status — so that the comparison would be fairer. They looked over a median follow-up of about 5.9 years for many outcomes, and also projected up to 10 years for cumulative results. 

Key outcomes measured included:

• Death from any cause

• Major adverse cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke, heart failure)

• Nephropathy (serious kidney disease)

• Retinopathy (diabetes-related damage to the eyes)

• Measures of weight loss and blood sugar control (HbA1c)

The results

Here’s how the two approaches compared over time:

• Mortality: After 10 years, about 9.0% of the surgery group had died (from any cause), versus 12.4% in the GLP-1 treatment group. This translated to a ~32% lower risk of death for the surgery group. 

• Heart events (cardiovascular outcomes): Surgery was linked to about 35% lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events than GLP-1 drugs.

• Kidney disease: The surgery group had a ~47% lower risk of serious kidney disease than the GLP-1 group.

• Eye damage (retinopathy): Risk was ~54% lower for those who had surgery. 

• Weight loss and blood sugar control: Over 10 years, surgery patients lost on average 21.6% of their body weight, compared with 6.8% for those on GLP-1 meds. Blood sugar (measured by HbA1c) dropped more in the surgery group (−0.86%) vs the GLP-1 group (−0.23%).

• Medications needed: The surgery group required fewer prescriptions over time for diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
  

“Even in the era of these powerful new drugs to treat obesity and diabetes, metabolic surgery may provide additional benefits, including a survival advantage,” researcher Steven Nissen, M.D., said in the news release.

• A Federal Reserve rate cut lowers borrowing costs across the economy, influencing credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans.
  

• The Fed decides whether to cut rates based on inflation, employment trends, and overall economic stability.
  

• Consumers may not see immediate relief, but over time lower rates ripple through to household budgets and business investment.
  

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee began a two-day meeting in Washington on Tuesday, where it is widely expected to announce the first cut in 2025 of the federal funds interest rate.

President Trump has pushed for a “big” cut, but policymakers have not tipped their hand. No matter what the committee decides, it will have an effect on consumers.

When the Fed cuts the federal funds interest rate, the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans, it sets off a chain reaction across the U.S. financial system. While consumers don’t borrow at this specific rate, the decision influences nearly every type of borrowing cost, from mortgages and auto loans to credit cards and student loans.

Credit card rates, which are tied closely to banks’ prime lending rates, often fall soon after a Fed rate cut. This can provide modest relief for households carrying balances. 

Mortgage rates, especially those for adjustable-rate loans, tend to follow suit, though fixed-rate mortgages are influenced by broader bond market trends as well. 

Auto loans, personal loans, and home equity lines of credit also generally become cheaper when the Fed eases borrowing costs, potentially making large purchases or refinancing more attractive.

Savers could earn less

Savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs), however, move in the opposite direction. Consumers who rely on interest income may see their returns shrink as banks lower deposit rates to reflect cheaper borrowing conditions.

The Fed does not take rate cuts lightly. The central bank’s dual mandate is to promote maximum employment and stable prices. When inflation runs above its 2% target, policymakers are reluctant to cut rates because easier borrowing could fuel further price pressures. 

Conversely, when unemployment rises, economic growth slows, or financial markets show signs of strain, the Fed may reduce rates to stimulate borrowing, investment, and consumer spending.

Other factors include global economic conditions, geopolitical risks, and credit market stability. For instance, if international tensions or financial shocks threaten U.S. growth, the Fed may cut rates as a precaution to keep money flowing through the economy.

Timing and consumer expectations

Rate cuts don’t translate instantly into lower monthly bills. Credit card APRs may fall within a billing cycle or two, while mortgage and auto loan impacts can take weeks to filter through. 

Still, the broader signal – that borrowing is becoming cheaper – encourages both consumers and businesses to spend and invest, which is exactly what the Fed aims to achieve during periods of slowing growth.

While consumers won’t feel the effects overnight, a Fed rate cut gradually reduces the cost of borrowing across the economy, offering relief to indebted households and support for continued economic expansion.