Labor/Economy

Mortgages weren’t the only thing seeing an increase in price recently. An arguably more visceral increase has struck the U.S. economy—and with it, consumer’s propensity to spend money to support growth—a rise in the price of gas.

The Federal Reserve released the minutes from the June 18-19 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday, and while (as usual), they weren’t precisely a model of clarity, the minutes did seem to reinforce the idea that the central bank is indeed planning to “taper” its QE3 stimulus program.

The recent uptick in interest rates has begun to have an impact on mortgages, according to Zillow.

Lender Processing Services released its latest Mortgage Monitor, which found that the national delinquency rate for residential mortgages continued to fall in May, marking the largest year-to-date drop since 2002.

The jump in employment reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a nationwide increase of 195,000 jobs, was fueled by a number of sectors—leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, healthcare and financial activities.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy created 195,000 jobs in June, a bit more than the average increase for the last 12 months, which is 182,000.

Another measure of the U.S. residential market, coming on the heels of strong Case-Shiller numbers last week, came in positive.