This week’s issue presented by Ridge Lending Group

What happened…

The Fed lowered its benchmark rate by 0.25% to 4.00–4.25%—its first cut since 2023. Instead of cheering, investors noticed unemployment just climbed to 4.3%, the highest in almost 4 years.

Takeaways…

22,000 jobs added in August, the weakest in years.

4.3% unemployment = red flag, not victory lap.

Markets popped, but mortgages are still ~6.7%.

Deficit near $2T, pressuring rates despite the cut.

Explain Like I’m 12…

Imagine your teacher handing out extra credit halfway through the year. Not because you’re doing great… because too many kids are failing the test.

What this releases…

  • Lower yields → investors chase stocks, gold, crypto, real estate.

  • Weaker dollar → imports cost more, inflation risk returns.

Why it matters…

Relief cut = warning shot, not free money.

🪢 If the Fed’s worried, credit could tighten further.

Backroom breakdown…

Public line: “soft landing.” Private reality: recession whispers.

Cutting rates while jobs stall looks less like strategy and more like triage.

Real estate angle…

  • Mortgage rates barely budged—buyers still stuck.

  • CRE lenders see this as proof of slowdown, not stimulus.

  • For investors, credit terms may tighten even as Fed pretends to ease.

Move or miss?

Traditional lending won’t loosen soon. Creative finance is the real lifeline. Get 0% terms and stay liquid at LoopholeLending.com.

Lurking in the Shadows:

👟 70% of Families Priced Out
Nearly 94 million households can’t afford the $400K median home. Even at $200K, the income bar sits above $61K.

💡 Why you should care: Buyers are boxed out, so rentals and creative finance deals get hotter.

👟 Oracle Adds $244B Overnight
Shares jumped 36% in one day, adding $244B in market cap… despite a revenue miss. Hype, not fundamentals, drove the surge.

💡 Why you should care: Bubble math like this drains capital from real assets until it pops.

👟 Office Defaults Hit 2008 Highs
Office delinquency rates climbed to 11.7% in August, topping the post-crash record. Vacancies sit above 20% nationwide.

💡 Why you should care: Office pain leaks into banks and cities… CRE fire sales may be next.

On The Radar…

💳 Deficit Nears $2T — Federal shortfall hit $1.989T in 11 months, raising fears of higher borrowing costs.

🏘 Housing Starts Drop 7% — August single-family starts sank to 890K annual rate, the lowest since April 2023.

🧑‍🏭 Jobs Stalled Out — Only 22K jobs added in August, pushing unemployment to a 4.3% four-year high.

Dalio Warns of Collapse — Ray Dalio sees a “debt-driven heart attack” within 3 years under current policy.

Shutdown Countdown — With 0 of 12 spending bills passed, Washington faces an Oct. 1 government shutdown risk.

📉 Dimon Calls Cuts “Immaterial” — JPMorgan’s CEO says expected rate cuts won’t offset a weakening economy.

🖇 The Connection

The Fed isn’t easing. It’s admitting.

A 0.25% rate cut landed the same week unemployment jumped to 4.3%. At the same time, office defaults spiked to an 11.7% delinquency rate… worse than 2008. And Washington quietly logged a $1.989T deficit with no plan to slow it.

That’s not relief. That’s stress leaking through the cracks.

Think of it like a dam. On the surface, they’re “releasing pressure” with tiny cuts. But the water behind it—the debt, the vacancies, the job stalls—keeps rising. Each trickle is just proof the wall is straining.

For investors, that means this: the headline “rescue” is the opposite of safety. A Fed cut doesn’t make credit cheaper when lenders see risk everywhere. A deficit that size doesn’t pull rates down… it keeps them sticky. And commercial defaults don’t stay in offices… they spill into banks, cities, and balance sheets across the economy.

If this pattern holds, the next cracks will appear where most aren’t looking: regional banks holding office loans, and housing markets dependent on low-rate buyers who don’t exist anymore.

Watch next: credit spreads. If they widen while the Fed cuts, it confirms we’re not in a soft landing… we’re in slow-motion tightening no one’s calling out.

#️Number of the Week

11.7%
That’s the new office loan delinquency rate… higher than the 2008 peak.
The “return to office” looks more like “return to lender.”

🎯 The Hit List!

Watch — Fed cut rates 0.25%, but credit is still tight. Don’t mistake panic for relief.

Avoid — Offices with 20%+ vacancies. Defaults are rising; bargains come later, not now.

Track — The $1.989T deficit. Rising debt keeps mortgage rates sticky even as the Fed trims.

Test — Creative financing plays. With 70% of households priced out, terms beat rate-shopping.

Hedge — Tech euphoria. Oracle added $244B in a day… mania that can flip fast.

🚪 Closer

Powell trimmed rates a quarter point. Your mortgage lender trimmed…nothing.

📺 When the Brief Isn’t Enough… You Got This 👇

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