For: March 30, 2026
>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning to kick off what will be a holiday-shortened trading week after stocks closed sharply lower Friday as uncertainty over the Iran war rattles markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled into correction territory as oil prices traded above 110-dollars a barrel. At the closing bell, the Dow lost 793 points to 45-166. The S&P 500 fell 108 points to 63-68. The Nasdaq dropped 459 points to 20-948.
>>This Week's Economic Calendar
(Undated) -- Coming up in the business week ahead, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver remarks at an event at Harvard today. As always, Powell's comments will be closely monitored for any possible clues about the central bank's current mood toward the economy. We'll get the latest reading on consumer confidence and job openings on Tuesday, followed by the ADP employment report the following day. Weekly jobless claims are due Thursday, with the monthly jobs report in the spotlight on Friday. It will be released as Wall Street takes the day off for Good Friday.
>>Gas Prices On Verge Of Topping $4 A Gallon
(Heathrow, FL) -- Gas prices are just a penny shy of four dollars as we start off the week. At three-99 a gallon, Triple-A says today's nationwide average is up a dollar from a month ago, just as the U.S. was beginning military operations against Iran. Drivers in California continue paying the highest prices in the nation at five-87 today, while gas is cheapest in Kansas and Oklahoma at three-and-a-quarter per gallon on average.
>>Consumer Sentiment Falls
(Ann Arbor, MI) -- Soaring gas prices and the war in Iran are weighing on consumer sentiment. The University of Michigan's final reading for March fell back six percent from one year ago to its lowest level since December 2025. The survey's chief economist noted especially large declines in sentiment among middle and higher income Americans. Year-ahead inflation expectations rose to three-point-eight percent for the largest monthly increase since April 2025.
>>Fannie Mae Will Soon Accept Crypto-backed Home Loans
(Washington, DC) -- Fannie Mae is set to start accepting cryptocurrency-backed mortgages. The announcement was made last week by home finance company Better Home & Finance and crypto exchange Coinbase Global. A new product launched by the two companies will allow people to get mortgages with Better Home that conform to Fannie Mae standards while using bitcoin or USD Coin as collateral for the loan. Better said that if the price of bitcoin drops, mortgage terms will stay stable with no additional collateral requirements.
>>Judge Grants Restraining Order To Pause Nextstar-Tegna Merger
(Washington, DC) -- A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order to stop Nextstar's merger with Tegna. The judge sided with DirecTV in a ruling late Friday. In the order the judge wrote that DirecTV established "a likelihood of success on the merits" on its claim that the merger violates antitrust laws and that moving forward with the transaction would create "irreparable harm." The decision blocks Nextstar and Tegna from combining their operations for 14 days. The judge set a hearing for April 7th on whether to issue a preliminary injunction.
>>Sony Announces PlayStation 5 Price Increase
(San Mateo, CA) -- PlayStation will raise its prices for the second time in less than a year. The company said this comes after "continued pressures in the global economic landscape." Starting April 2nd, the PlayStation 5 will now cost 650 dollars, an increase of one-hundred dollars with the digital edition going from 499 to 599 dollars. The PS5 Pro will jump from 750 dollars to 900 dollars. Sony noted the PlayStation Portal remote player will now cost 250 dollars.
>>Survey Finds NY Is Most Expensive US City To Live In
(Undated) -- This won't come as a surprise to anyone living in New York: the Big Apple is the most-expensive city in the nation in which to live. A SmartAsset survey looked at the average salary needed to live comfortably in major US cities. And New York came out on top -- nearly 159-thousand dollars for a single adult and almost 338-thousand for a working family of four That's just ahead of second-place San Jose, California. Three other California cities -- Irvine, Anaheim and Santa Ana -- tied for third. San Antonio, Texas was was the cheapest US city -- with a single adult needing a salary of just 83-thousand dollars to live comfortably.
