Good Afternoon. On this day in 1908, Ford shipped the first Model T to a customer. Its promise wasn't only a new car; simpler production eventually made ownership attainable for more households.

Affordability is back in the driver's seat today. U.S. mortgage rates jumped as borrowing costs climbed, and British long-term bonds crossed a striking threshold. Yet demand hasn't stopped: consulting orders, factory surveys and Korean chip exports show businesses are still spending. The question is whether growth can outrun the cost of financing it.

—Rosie, Wyatt, Evan & Conor

🔥 What’s Hot: 🔥

🥶 What’s Not: 🥶

🔢 Big number: 7.28% — the average U.S. thirty-year fixed mortgage rate in Freddie Mac's latest weekly survey. It rose from 7.03% the week before, a meaningful affordability change for buyers who must finance most of a home purchase.

The latest mortgage survey delivered a jolt to buyers who were hoping the autumn market would offer cheaper financing. A quarter-point change in a week can reshape a household's monthly payment, particularly when the purchase price hasn't moved. It also makes sellers' hopes of a quick rebound harder to satisfy.

The news: Freddie Mac said the average thirty-year fixed rate rose to 7.28% from 7.03%, its highest level in nearly three years. The fifteen-year average reached 6.60%. The thirty-year rate has risen for six consecutive weeks, according to the Associated Press. Mortgage rates don't follow the Federal Reserve's policy rate one-for-one; bond yields and lenders' expectations about inflation also matter.

What’s next: Higher rates don't make every transaction impossible, but they force a tougher choice among price, down payment and location. Buyers should recalculate affordability with the actual loan quote, not a spring estimate. Watch whether rising borrowing costs slow listings and purchases or whether sellers respond with concessions before the year ends.

Source: Associated Press

AI may change how consulting work gets done, but Accenture's latest quarter shows large customers haven't stopped buying transformation projects. Investors had worried that automation would shrink the value of labor-heavy services. Today's report offers a counterpoint: clients are still committing to substantial contracts, even if the eventual profit from those contracts has to be earned.

The news: Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue reached $18.7 billion, up 6% in U.S. dollars and above management's prior range. New bookings were $22.2 billion, and the company reported a new high of 141 quarterly client bookings worth at least $100 million. Full-year revenue rose 5% in local currency to $74.2 billion. Management's fiscal 2027 local-currency revenue growth outlook is 3% to 6%.

Bottom line: Big bookings make the pipeline look healthier, but they aren't revenue already collected. Watch how much work becomes recurring, how efficiently Accenture delivers it, and whether AI tools widen margins rather than simply lowering the hours customers will pay for. The outlook still allows growth to slow from the latest quarter.

Source: Accenture Investor Relations

McCormick's reported sales jump looked dramatic, but most of it came from a newly added business. The more useful gauge for shoppers and investors is whether its existing brands can sell more without relying entirely on price increases. That distinction matters when freight and ingredients still cost more.

The news: Third-quarter net sales grew 17.4%, while organic sales increased 1.9%. The McCormick de Mexico acquisition accounted for 14.6 percentage points of growth. Gross margin expanded 190 basis points as pricing and productivity helped offset costs. Yet consumer-segment volume and mix declined 1.1%, and adjusted earnings per share rose only to $0.86 from $0.85. The company hasn't changed its full-year outlook.

Big picture: The acquisition gives McCormick more scale, but the modest organic result says the base business hasn't suddenly accelerated. Watch whether volume stabilizes after price increases and whether margin improvement holds without another acquisition boost. A larger sales figure isn't the same thing as stronger demand for each existing product.

Source: McCormick SEC Filing

American manufacturers reported another month of expansion, with new orders and hiring improving. That's encouraging for production plans, but the same survey warns that the inputs needed to fill those orders are getting dearer. A factory can be busy and still have a margin problem.

The news: The Institute for Supply Management's September manufacturing index was 54.5, little changed from 54.6 in August and above the fifty-point expansion line. New orders rose to 55.3 and the employment component to 52.7. The prices index jumped to 77.9 from 71.1, while the backlog index advanced to 56.4. Producers reported higher costs for metals, energy and electronic components.

What’s next: A fuller order book doesn't guarantee a smooth delivery schedule. Watch whether component shortages and higher input costs lead to longer waits or new customer price increases. The important comparison will be companies' ability to convert orders into cash without letting inventory or working capital absorb the gains.

Source: Institute for Supply Management

Acuity's lighting franchise and its technology for intelligent buildings did not grow at the same speed. The difference makes today's earnings more revealing than the overall sales increase: customers appear to be spending more on connected-space systems even as conventional lighting demand remains softer.

The news: Fiscal fourth-quarter sales rose 2.9% to about $1.2 billion. Acuity Brands Lighting sales slipped 0.4% to $958.7 million, while Acuity Intelligent Spaces grew 16.6% to $297.6 million. Adjusted operating margin for the whole company edged up 10 basis points to 18.7%; adjusted earnings per share increased 11% to $5.77. Management hasn't completed the annual audit, so the figures remain preliminary.

Bottom line: The higher-growth unit offers a path beyond replacement lighting, but Acuity still depends heavily on the slower legacy business. Watch whether the connected-space segment keeps adding profitable revenue and whether commercial construction demand recovers. The small adjusted margin gain suggests growth alone hasn't yet transformed overall profitability.

Source: Acuity Investor Relations

Long-term British government bonds sold off sharply today, pushing their yield beyond a level not seen since the late 1990s. The rise followed another jump in U.S. Treasury yields, showing how quickly global financing costs can travel across borders. Households and businesses won't feel the full consequences until loans and investment plans reset.

The news: The thirty-year UK gilt yield touched 6.029%, its highest since January 1998, according to LSEG data reported by Reuters. The ten-year yield reached 5.509%, a high since July 2007. Bond yields move opposite prices, so the move means existing long-dated bonds lost value as investors demanded more compensation for holding them. They aren't fixed rates for every borrower.

What’s next: One intraday peak isn't a permanent borrowing rate for every borrower. Still, if yields stay elevated, refinancing government debt and funding long-lived projects becomes more costly. Watch upcoming UK debt sales and inflation news to see whether this is a short shock or a lasting repricing of long-term risk.

Source: Reuters

South Korea's September export surge shows the scale of spending behind AI infrastructure. Demand for memory chips, not a general improvement in every industry, drove much of the record. That concentration is a strength while data-center orders hold up and a vulnerability if the cycle turns.

The news: The trade ministry reported record monthly exports of $120.9 billion, up 83.5% from a year earlier. Semiconductor shipments reached $60.3 billion, rising 262.8% as memory volumes and contract prices increased. Non-chip exports grew 23%. Auto exports by value fell 5.5%, partly because the Chuseok holiday shifted in the comparison year, though daily auto exports rose. The gains weren't uniform.

Big picture: These figures point to a powerful chip cycle, but a year-over-year surge can exaggerate how broadly businesses are benefiting. Watch order growth outside semiconductors and whether chip prices stay firm as suppliers expand capacity. A record export month doesn't by itself prove that Korea's domestic consumers are sharing equally in the boom.

Source: Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources

Japan's central-bank survey gave a mixed picture of business confidence. Large manufacturers became more positive, while large service-sector firms turned slightly less upbeat. That split is useful for judging whether higher import and energy costs are reaching the broader economy evenly.

The news: In the Bank of Japan's September Tankan, the business-conditions index for large manufacturers rose to 24 from 22 in June. The corresponding large nonmanufacturing measure eased to 35 from 37. The index is the share of firms saying conditions are favorable minus the share saying they are unfavorable, not a measure of output growth. The survey gathered responses through September 30.

Bottom line: Better factory sentiment doesn't erase pressure on restaurants, retailers and other service providers. Watch whether companies' next-quarter forecasts narrow the gap and whether import costs keep weighing on consumer-facing businesses. The Bank of Japan will need to weigh a resilient industrial sector against those uneven conditions as it considers policy.

Source: Bank of Japan

Q: Why are elevator jokes so good?

A: They work on many levels.

Discount points: upfront mortgage fees paid to lower a loan's interest rate. One point typically costs one percent of the loan amount.

In a sentence: With mortgage rates rising, a buyer shouldn't pay discount points without comparing the cost with monthly savings and the likely time in the home.

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