(NEW YORK) — The stock market has been up and down this week amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and while we are likely to see more volatility in Wall Street in the days ahead, experts say the main effect of this crisis in the U.S. will be at the gas pump.
The national average price for gas is inching its way towards $4 a gallon. And, as ABC News’ Deirdre Bolton explains, “the effects could be even more wide ranging than just gas for your car.”
“The price of airline tickets may also go higher if carriers pass the extra cost of higher jet fuel onto passengers,” Bolton says. “Home heating prices are likely to rise, as well, as are food prices even from their current pandemic highs, since transporting food costs more as diesel for the trucks will be more expensive.”
(NEW YORK) — U.S. stock futures are down ahead of Thursday’s opening bell amid ongoing attacks on Ukraine by Russia.
As of 8:30 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 800 points.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil prices topped $100 a barrel on Thursday morning, sending gasoline prices to an average of $3.54 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
Russia, which announced early Thursday that military operations have begun in Ukraine, is the world’s third-largest oil producer.
(NEW YORK) — The housing market has been unforgiving to first-time buyers like Kirstin Harris.
“You have to be so competitive,” she told ABC News. “By the time we even like a house to put in an offer, it’s already gotten an offer that’s been accepted.”
Harris and her family are trying to purchase their first home in Virginia. But like many other buyers nationwide, she’s facing surging prices and bidding wars — fueled by strong demand and a lack of available homes.
“The new inventory that I’m seeing coming on has been increased by about $50,000,” she said.
In a cutthroat and pricey market, aspiring homeowners now face a new challenge: rising interest rates.
At its meeting next month, the Federal Reserve is set to increase borrowing costs by raising interest rates as part of an attempt to cool surging inflation.
“Basically, we have inflation because there’s too much demand in the economy for the available supply,” Brookings Institution senior fellow David Wessel told ABC News. “So the whole point of the Fed is to slow the increase in demand. They want fewer people to borrow and they want people who borrow to borrow less.”
Interest rates have already been rising in anticipation of the Fed’s announcement.
The rate on a 30-year-fixed mortgage spiked above 4 percent this month for the first time in nearly three years. According to consumer financial services company Bankrate, that means someone borrowing $300,000 to buy a home today is paying $143 more every month than in November, when rates were closer to 3 percent.
“It definitely makes it more unaffordable,” Washington, D.C.-based realtor Roger Taylor told ABC News.
Rates are still low by historical standards; a 30-year-fixed mortgage rate was near 5 percent in mid-2018.
But Taylor said first-time homebuyers already overwhelmed by sky-high home prices are trying to lock in a purchase now before rising rates increase up their monthly payments even more.
“We saw that a large number of people started giving us calls in January because of these rate increases,” he said, adding the typically-busy spring housing market “came early.”
Real estate brokerage Redfin reported 55 percent of homes that went under contract in the past month had an accepted offer within two weeks on the market. Taylor said many houses sell in a matter of hours.
“It’s insane,” he said. “Right now inventory is really low and competition is pretty high.”
The intense competition is only making it more difficult for a generation of first-time buyers to get a foothold in the housing market.
Thirty-four-year-old C.J. Reaves moved from Virginia to Georgia when the pandemic hit and his work as a digital live operator went remote, hoping to buy his first home.
“The homes have increased at least 30 to 50 thousand [dollars],” Reaves told ABC News. “I feel like to be comfortable and not live check to check, I think I’m going to move more in a cheaper area and so I can live comfortably.”
He’s now looking for a home in North Carolina.
“I was supposed to go see one home, and I thought that was going to be the home,” he said. “Literally it was gone by the time I sent it to my realtor.”
Reaves added he’s keeping a close watch on how rising rates could affect his monthly payments if he is able to put in an offer.
“You must be paying attention to interest rates, he said. “Or, you know, you could find yourself in a hole.”
(NEW YORK) — Wall Street is jittery as tensions continue to escalate between Russia and Ukraine.
On Tuesday, stocks were down, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 482.57 points lower, a decrease of 1.42%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also took a hit, falling 44.11 points and 166.55 points, respectively.
“People are feeling it in their 401(k)s and in their retirement savings,” says ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis.
But, she notes, consumers are also feeling the impact of the crisis overseas at the pump.
“[P]rices up overnight again, now $3.54 a gallon is the national average — up 20 cents over the last month,” Jarvis says. “And we were already dealing with inflation coming into this — that is why the market has been jittery for some time, and it continues to feel jittery and cautious.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell, stock futures were up across the board.
(NEW YORK) — Gas prices are continuing to soar with no relief in sight.
The national average price per gallon now stands at $3.53, the highest it’s been since 2014, and experts expect that number to keep going up.
So what can you do to save some money the next time you need to fill up your tank? ABC News’ Gio Benitez appeared on Good Morning America Wednesday to share some tricks you can use at the pump:
(LOS ANGELES) — Analysts are warning motorists in California to hold on to their wallets as a host of factors will take already record-high gas prices to new levels.
The state averaged $4.742 a gallon on Tuesday, about $1.20 more than the national average, according to AAA. Some counties, including San Francisco, are averaging over $4.90, according to AAA.
Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which tracks gas prices across the nation, told ABC News that the statewide average is likely to cross the $5 a gallon average threshold soon.
“Everyone is going up the same but no one is going to match California’s prices,” he said.
De Haan said there were several factors, the biggest being the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The political uncertainty over a possible invasion has affected oil prices globally, De Haan noted.
“We are subject to international supply and demand,” he said. “How long it progresses through the summer depends on Russia.”
California’s regulations have also affected prices, specifically its gas tax of 51.1 cents per gallon, according to De Haan. The tax, which pays for road repairs and maintenance throughout the state, is one of the largest in the nation, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators, and has gone up with inflation.
“The taxes make a huge difference in the overall price. That’s why you haven’t seen as big of a jump in Oregon or Washington,” he said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed to halt a scheduled gas tax increase, but has not received support from Democratic members of the state legislature, the Associated Press reported.
De Haan said that spring is around the time that gas prices tend to go up and there is very little that motorists who drive in California can do to avoid taking a financial hit at the pump.
He did offer one suggestion that could help drivers cut down their trips to the gas station: slow down. De Haan said that a car’s mileage grows when a driver maintains their speed as much as possible.
“Slowing down a couple of miles per hour [and] not racing light to light can easily save you 10 to 15% in every tank,” De Haan said.
(NEW YORK) — In addition to honoring presidents of the past, Presidents Day, celebrated this year on Monday, Feb. 21, is also marked by deep discounts.
It is one of the best times to save on bedding and mattresses, and there are tons of other shopping options to explore during the long weekend.
While online price tracking tools like Honey and Camel Camel Camel can help you track the best deals, here’s a roundup of some of the best discounts and sales happening now:
Adidas
Adidas is offering 30% off sitewide with the code: SCORE
Amazon
Amazon has released tons of Presidents Day deals, one being discounted price on several versions of Apple AirPods.
Back Country
You can score up to 50% off all of the winter clothes, gear and accessories with Back Country’s end-of-season sale.
Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond is offering up to 50% off on sales and clearance through Presidents Day.
Bloomingdales
Save up to 50% off on Bloomingdale’s clearance items.
Coach Outlet
From bags to other accessories, the Coach Outlet is offering clearance across the board.
GAP
GAP is running a Spring prep event offering up to 40% off.
J.Crew
J.Crew is offering 50% off select women’s sale sweaters and shoes with the code SALETIME.
J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney has a major sale from now through the weekend.
Old Navy
Score up to 60% sitewide and in-store through the holiday weekend.
shopDisney
shopDisney is running a Spring savings event through Monday offering 30% off toys, clothing, home and more with the code: save30.
Sur La Table
Save up to 50% on cookware, kitchen tools, bakeware and more.
Walmart
Walmart is offering major discounts on everything from tech to clothing during its Presidents Day sale.
Wayfair
Score up to 70% in saving during Wayfair’s biggest sale since Black Friday.
(NEW YORK) — Many college students returned to in-person learning this past fall and for some sophomores, it was their first time on campus since the pandemic began.
This situation is concerning for groups like It’s On Us, an organization dedicated to preventing sexual assaults on college campuses and providing support for assault survivors.
“We have students who are academically sophomores, but socially and culturally freshmen coming to campus. When campuses reopened for the first time to in-person living and learning since March 2020 without strict COVID restrictions, we saw a surge of sexual assaults take place,” Tracey Vitchers, the executive director of It’s On Us, told Good Morning America.
According to It’s On Us, one in four college women will be sexually assaulted during their time on campus and for students of color, with disabilities, undocumented or those who identify as LGBTQ+, those rates are higher.
“The new Live Location sharing feature with Snap Map will allow parties to both opt in to sharing their Live Location with one another. If you have an Android, your friend has an iPhone, you’re going to be able to share your Live Location with them through the Snap Map.”
It’s a feature former Dance Moms star and college student Nia Sioux and her mother, Dr. Holly Hatcher-Frazier, are helping to test out for It’s On Us.
“As a parent, it’s comforting to know that there is a tool out there. So for me, it’s just knowing that she can determine when she turns it on, when she turns it off, who has access to it,” Hatcher-Frazier told GMA.
Sioux added: “You have to be friends with that person. You’re not just sharing your location with just anyone. … It’s been really comforting to know that there are these apps that are actually taking action and doing their part in helping making sure that everyone’s safe.”
Aside from its partnership with Snapchat, It’s On Us is also working with the online dating app Tinder to launch what they call the first “online dating safety and sexual assault awareness peer to peer prevention program nationwide.”
According to Vitchers: “This online dating safety peer to peer program is really critical because we found in conversations with students that traditional sexual assault prevention lessons that were being given by their school were not covering online dating safety, when that is really the future of how most young people are meeting and engaging with each other in a dating or other romantic way.”
(NEW YORK) — Spring and St. Patrick’s Day are around the corner, which means it’s almost McDonald’s Shamrock Shake and Oreo Shamrock McFlurry season.
The iconic creamy, frozen treats will officially return to McDonald’s menus on Feb. 21 for a limited time.
The Shamrock Shake is made with vanilla soft serve ice cream, blended with McDonald’s proprietary “Shamrock Shake flavor” and finished with whipped topping. The McFlurry version that made its debut in 2020, combines vanilla soft serve spun with Oreo cookie pieces.
“The only thing more refreshing than the delicious taste of a Shamrock Shake is the way that minty green hue makes the ‘will-winter-ever-end’ blues go away,” McDonald’s wrote in a press release.
In over 50 years of the Shamrock Shake’s existence, McDonald’s has “never given away the secret ingredient” of its shake’s color. So this year, the brand dropped it’s official “hex code for the unmistakably minty color of Shamrock SZN.”
“When the Shamrock Shake and Oreo Shamrock McFlurry make their return to U.S. menus later this month, show us how you’re celebrating with #cbf2ac and #ShamrockShakeSZN,” the brand encouraged die-hard fans of the dessert. “Starting Feb. 21, our Shamrock green hex code just might unlock another tasty secret. That is, if you know where to look. Be one of the first to figure out the mystery and you could get a little something special from us.”
