U.S. service sector activity contracted in August for a second straight month as inflation and rising interest rates hit demand, according to data from the purchasing managers survey.  The S&P Global U.S. Services PMI fell to 43 in August from 47 in July, which is the lowest level since May 2020, when the sector faced initial restrictions to contain the pandemic.  Services activity declined due to weak domestic and foreign client demand, while hiring moderated and inflation pressures continued.

Volkswagen announced they are going have an public offering for sports and luxury carmaker Porsche, which is a rare bright spot for the IPO market amid a year that has left investors starved for new issues.  The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen says they will pursue an IPO of up to 25% of its non-voting preferred shares in Porsche, which will be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In a statement, the company it is targeting the late-September, early-October period for the IPO, subject to market conditions.  Volkswagen is expecting a valuation for Porsche between $60-$85 billion post IPO.

There is more bad news for the housing market after mortgage rates shot back above 6%.  The 30 Year Fixed rate mortgage is now 6.25%, a year ago that rate was under 3%.