Kalshi and Polymarket sell sports bets as financial contracts. Twenty US states are in court to call them gambling.

The rest of the day

14 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   US mortgage rates pass 7%

   The average rate on a 30-year fixed US mortgage reached 7.07% on 10 September, the highest since May 2025, according to Mortgage News Daily. [17] Freddie Mac, a US government-backed mortgage company, put that week's average lower, at 6.76%. [17] The Wall Street Journal links the rise to the Middle East war and high energy prices. [17] The US central bank held its rate at 3.5% to 3.75% in July, and many experts expect a quarter-point rise at its next meeting, the first since July 2023. [18][17]

   Why it matters — On a $350,000 loan, the gap between a 5.98% rate and a 6.63% rate is more than $53,000 of interest over 30 years. [17] A rise reaches people buying or refinancing now. People already on a fixed rate keep theirs.

2. 03

   UK inflation back up to 2.9%

   UK inflation rose to 2.9% in the year to July, up from 2.6% the month before, which the national statistics office put down to energy costs. [18] The Bank of England, the UK's central bank, has held its main rate at 3.75% at each of its five decisions so far in 2026. [18] The average new two-year fixed mortgage cost 5.62% on 30 July, up from 4.83% at the start of March, Moneyfacts says. [18] The Bank of England expects about 1.3 million UK homeowners to face higher payments by the end of 2028 because of the war. [19]

   Why it matters — About 87% of UK mortgage holders are on fixed deals, so a higher rate reaches them when their deal ends. [18] About 800,000 fixed deals at 3% or less are expected to end every year until the end of 2027. [18]

3. 04

   7.4 million UK families go without

   The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a UK anti-poverty charity, has surveyed low-income families since 2021. [23] Its summer 2026 survey found 62% could not afford at least one essential in the last six months, about 7.4 million families and the most it has recorded. [23] About 4.5 million are behind on at least one bill or debt repayment. [23] About 1.3 million used loan sharks, payday lenders, doorstep lenders or pawnbrokers to pay for essentials in May, a number that is rising again. [23]

   Why it matters — The number going without has grown fastest among groups that used to be less likely to: people who own their home outright, childless households and people over 65. [23] One number fell: families unable to keep their home warm dropped by more than half a million in two years, to 2.4 million in May. [23]

4. 05

   UK energy bills rise again in October

   Energy prices for millions of UK households will rise by nearly 4% in October. [24] Cornwall Insight, an energy consultancy, forecasts a further 9% rise in January. [24] Suppliers estimate unpaid energy bills and charges at about 6bn pounds, and expect 7bn pounds by the end of the year. [24] Andy Burnham, the new UK prime minister, announced that VAT will come off household electricity bills for a time from 1 October. [23] The price of gas has risen 8%, more than the electricity saving. [24]

   Why it matters — Customers who pay every three months instead of by monthly direct debit already pay about 150 pounds a year towards other people's energy debts. [24] The Joseph Rowntree Foundation says the VAT cut gives its largest cash savings to higher-income households. [23]

5. 06

   13% of US card accounts fall far behind

   The Bank of England looked at US household debt in its July report on risks to the financial system. [29] About 13% of US credit card accounts were more than 90 days behind in the first three months of 2026, a share that has risen quickly. [29] The share still behind but not yet written off by lenders was about 4% at the end of 2025, near its long-run average. [29] The US central bank said in May that card and car loan delinquencies stay high compared with the past decade. [31]

   Why it matters — The Wall Street Journal describes a hospital manager earning $194,000 whose $572 minimum payment barely touched a $15,000 balance at 26% interest. [30] Most US household debt is still owed by borrowers with strong credit scores, the US central bank says. [31]

6. 07

   Three million US cars repossessed

   Companies that track repossessions estimate that lenders took back more than 3 million US cars in 2025, NPR's Planet Money reports. [27] That is about as many as during the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. [27] Last autumn, 6.6% of subprime borrowers, people with weak credit scores, were at least two months behind on car payments. [27] Federal Reserve economists found 3.88% of US car loan balances at least 30 days late in the third quarter of 2025, the highest in 15 years. [28]

   Why it matters — Record car prices and rising costs for repairs and insurance have stacked up on car owners. [36] In most US states a lender does not have to warn a borrower before it takes the car. [36]

7. 08

   Car lots that lend the money grow fast

   Buy Here Pay Here dealers sell used cars and lend buyers the money themselves, often to people with poor credit or no credit history. [25] A US Federal Reserve study published in May found their loan balances grew 214% since 2018, against 34% for other car lending. [25] They charge higher rates, often set weekly payments and repossess cars more often than other lenders. [25] The study found more than $2 billion in loan commitments to these dealers from the largest US banks. [25]

   Why it matters — Borrowers with credit scores below 600 pay an average rate of about 20% a year on a car loan, Experian data shows. [26] Weekly payments give a borrower more chances to miss one. [25]

8. 09

   Legal sports betting and missed payments

   A New York Federal Reserve report found that in US states where sports betting is legal, missed payments on credit cards and car loans rose about 0.3% overall. [16] Among people who started betting after their state legalised it, serious delinquencies rose by more than 10%. [16] A separate 2025 study found a 10% rise in the likelihood of bankruptcy in states that allowed betting online. [16] Bettors more than doubled their spending, from under $500 a quarter in December 2019 to over $1,000 by June 2021. [16]

   Why it matters — Christopher Welsh, research director at a Maryland centre on problem gambling, says the calls it gets are now almost all about online sports betting. [16] Prediction markets now offer the same kind of sports bet in states where betting is still banned. [3]

9. 10

   Betting apps ban insider trades

   Kalshi and Polymarket, the two biggest prediction markets, added new trading bans on 23 March. [15] Kalshi barred political candidates from trading on their own races, and athletes from trading on their own sports. [15] Polymarket said users may not trade where they hold confidential information or can change the result. [15] Polymarket had been criticised after some users made large, well-timed bets before US military action in Iran and Venezuela. [15][8]

   Why it matters — The bans came the day two US senators proposed a bill to stop sports contracts on these platforms, and shares in the sportsbook DraftKings rose. [15][12] The bans are rules the companies wrote themselves. [15]

10. 11

    Australia's 5% deposit loans go to higher earners

    Australia's government guarantees home loans for first-time buyers who have saved only 5% of the price, so they avoid paying for lenders' mortgage insurance. [21] After Labor removed the income caps on 1 October, the scheme backed 39,704 loans by 30 April. [21] Of those, 13,979 went to buyers earning more than the old caps of A$125,000 for a single person or A$200,000 for a couple. [21] All first-time buyers together took out about 10,181 loans a month from October to March, less than 3% more than in the six months before. [21]

    Why it matters — Economist Saul Eslake says the scheme mostly helped people who would have bought anyway, and let them borrow more. [21] Prices of homes under the scheme's price caps rose much faster once it was expanded, property data firm Cotality found. [21]

11. 12

    Australian home prices turn down

    Australia's housing market has entered a downturn after the Reserve Bank, Australia's central bank, raised rates three times in a row. [22] The average new home loan rate is now above 6% a year. [22] First-home loan applications fell 13.4% in May from a year earlier, credit agency Equifax reported. [22] The May federal budget stopped investors who buy existing homes from deducting rental losses from their other income. Investor loans fell by a fifth from the budget to mid-June, the bank Westpac said. [22]

    Why it matters — Prices for the most expensive quarter of Sydney homes fell by about A$90,000 in three months. [22] A Brisbane buyers' agent says first-time buyers back off when prices fall. [22]

12. 13

    Bank of Canada holds at 2.25%

    The Bank of Canada, the country's central bank, kept its main rate at 2.25% on 2 September, its seventh hold in a row. [20] Variable mortgage rates in Canada have stayed around 3.4% as a result. [20] Full-time employment rose by about 193,000 from April to July, and inflation without petrol held at 2.2% for three months. [20] The Trump administration announced 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods on 22 August, due to start on 1 January 2027. [20]

    Why it matters — NerdWallet Canada says the tariffs put auto jobs in Ontario and factory jobs in Quebec at risk. [20] Those are the two provinces where home sales have held up best this year. [20]

13. 14

    Young adults take money advice from social media

    A 2025 Gallup poll found 42% of Americans aged 18 to 29 look for money advice on social media, nearly double the share of those aged 30 to 49. [32] Many of these finfluencers, people who post money tips online, have no financial qualifications. [32] Some are paid by credit card and fintech companies, and the sponsorship is not always easy to spot. [32] FINRA, which oversees US brokerage firms, found social media users rate their investing knowledge higher but score worse on a test. [33]

    Why it matters — Fidelity credits these influencers in part for a 73% rise in Gen Z contributions to Roth IRAs, a US retirement account, in the second quarter of 2026. [33] One stock picker told the Wall Street Journal he uses rage-bait lines to get views. [37]

14. 15

    401(k) plans opened to private assets

    A 401(k) is a US workplace retirement account. [34] In August 2025 President Trump ordered the US Labor Department to look again at letting these plans offer funds with private equity, private credit or crypto. [34] In March 2026 the department proposed a rule listing six things a plan manager should weigh: performance, fees, how easily it sells, valuation, benchmarks and complexity. [34] A manager who follows that process would be presumed prudent, which protects them from lawsuits. [34][35]

    Why it matters — Private assets are hard to sell quickly, hard to price and disclose less than listed shares, Brookings notes. [34] The rule protects the employer that picks the funds. The savings at risk belong to the workers. [34]