Think interest rates are high now? These charts offer a different perspective.

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Aug 15, 2026 at 02:14 PM

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Rising U.S. interest rates, with 30-year Treasury yields at their highest since 2001, are impacting borrowers and investors despite a seemingly vibrant economy. While current mortgage rates appear high compared to recent lows, historical data suggests they remain moderate. Concurrently, the housing market shows signs of stress with sellers reducing prices, and Gen Z is increasingly diverting investment funds to online sports betting. Meanwhile, semiconductor stocks face volatility amid AI-driven growth, and health insurers are facing backlash over coverage denials.

By Philip van Doorn

Also in Weekend Reads: 10 remarkable housing markets, stock picks, and health-insurance battles

Rising interest rates are taking their toll on the world's largest borrowers, investors and those who wish to buy homes.

The U.S. economy may appear vibrant, based on headlines about the low unemployment rate, the slow pace of layoffs, an apparent slowdown in inflation and the stock market hitting record highs. But there are a number of developments that signal difficult times ahead.

One of those is the changing interest-rate scene, with yields on 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds BX:TMUBMUSD30Y hitting their highest levels since 2001.

Joseph Adinolfi broke down the factors leading to the sharpening of the Treasury-yield curve, how rising long-term rates affect investors and what may lie ahead.

Other signs of economic difficulty:

-- The size of the American workforce has fallen by over 1 million people in the past year. Here's what's going on.

-- The average car loan is now $785 a month - and lasts for almost 6 years

A stark look at the U.S. housing market

This chart shows the movement of yields on 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds since Feb. 15, 1977.

It was easy to get used to low interest rates during the years following the 2008 financial crisis. Many people were able to buy a home or refinance at interest rates well below 4% or even below 3%.

If you believe long-term interest rates are very high now, they might actually be considered rather low per the Federal Reserve's data going back to 1977 on the chart above.

Still, rising Treasury yields mean rising mortgage-loan rates. This chart from the Fed shows average rates for 30-year residential loans going back to 1971, and the data is more extreme:

The national average 30-year mortgage rate peaked at 18.63% in October 1981.

Freddie Mac's latest published average 30-year mortgage rate is 6.67%. That is below the somewhat recent peak of 7.79% in October 2023, but high enough to shock people who were thrilled to lock-in unusually low rates in 2012.

Aarthi Swaminathan has been monitoring the slow U.S. housing market. This week she highlighted 10 areas in the U.S. with the highest percentages of home sellers asking for less than they paid for the properties.

More real estate coverage from Aarthi Swaminathan:

-- I looked into buying a house in Singapore as an investment. Here's why I didn't - despite the 2% mortgage rate.

-- This is the ZIP Code with the hottest housing market in the country right now

A warning about risky financial behavior

Online sports betting should only be done for entertainment purposes, according to a DraftKings spokesperson.

Joseph Adinolfi covered another alarming financial trend: Online sports betting may be fine as entertainment, but many members of Generation Z indicated they had moved money out of their investment accounts to use for sports betting.

Related: Six crucial money lessons for Gen Z

Stock picks

Mark Hulbert shared 11 midcap stock picks from the investment newsletters he tracks.

And Rob Robotti shared three "HALO" stocks - which stands for hard assets, low obsolescence - that he expects to perform well during the AI build-out.

Earnings-season data: 17 S&P 500 companies with growing revenue and profit margins - and some of their stocks are cheap

Broad approach: An active fund holding a whopping 800 stocks is beating major indexes. Here's how.

Chip stocks soar again

After a rather smooth ride up during the first half of 2026, semiconductor stocks have been volatile.

The above chart shows the year-to-date total return for the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX, which holds 30 stocks as it tracks the PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX.

Britney Nguyen looked into a forward-looking factor helping drive the resurgence in chip makers, and how it could backfire.

More from MarketWatch's technology team:

-- CoreWeave's stock is rocketing after earnings, leading to praise from bulls and bears alike

-- SpaceX set an IPO record. Now there's hope that Anthropic could shatter it.

-- Workday's stock sees a record surge. Could a buyout spark a software revival?

-- Salesforce's stock gets a boost as J.P. Morgan says AI fears are overblown

How people are using social media to fight back after being denied coverage by their health insurers

MarketWatch's healthcare editor Jaimy Lee shared the stories of patients facing big spikes in medication costs after their health insurers changed their coverage. Mark Cuban has been helping to fight this trend.

Jessica Hall explained how other changes by health insurers might send hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for new Medicare Advantage coverage in 2027.

Retirement planning

Alessandra Malito writes the Help Me Retire column. This week, she crunched the numbers for a couple doing well financially - running two businesses - but is approaching 60, when they wish to retire. Do the numbers show that they are ready to make the move?

Pay raise: Social Security recipients will get more money next year. Here's how much the COLA may boost benefits.

More on financial planning: If you can answer this one question, you'll never worry about money again

How to cut moving expenses

Don't Short Yourself - MarketWatch's new weekly newsletter - offers smart tips to help you earn and grow your money.

As a New York City apartment dweller, Genna Contino has plenty of experience finding a place to live. In the Don't Short Yourself newsletter, she shared her seven tips on how to save on moving expenses.

More from Genna Contino: Three money rules I swear by - and why they work

The million-dollar Moneyist

Quentin Fottrell is the Moneyist.

This week Quentin Fottrell - the Moneyist - revisited a question that may be on your mind. Is $1 million enough money to retire on? It is a complicated question that he answered while tackling your biggest enemies in retirement.