Current price of gold: August 19, 2026

At 8:50 a.m. Eastern Time today, gold was valued at $4,414 per ounce. That’s a $17 uptick from the same time yesterday and more than a $1,025 gain over the past year.

Even potato-chip tasters are temporary in the economy of 2026 — there's nearly 57 million of these 'disposable workers'

When I leave my Boston condo every day, I say good morning to the concierge, who works for a contracting company providing staff to residential buildings. When I conduct an interview in a nearby building, the people who clean that office at night are contractors. The person who serves me my lunch sandwich is a part-timer with no career prospects in that job.

Home Depot’s $730 Million Tariff Refund Was Largely Offset by Rising Costs

Good morning. One of the more interesting threads from recent earnings calls: companies are handling tariff refunds very differently, and the amounts involved are substantial.

Stock market calm hides the churn underneath

The AI trade explains why the S&P 500 barely budges even as companies within it swing like mad.

Current price of silver as of Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026

As of 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time, silver traded at $63.26 per ounce. That’s down $1.86 from yesterday at this hour—but represents a gain of more than $25 over the past 12 months.

Current price of oil as of Aug. 19, 2026

At 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time today, the price of oil sits at $93.60 per barrel, using Brent as the benchmark (we’ll explain what that means shortly). That’s an increase of $1.18 since yesterday morning and $27.41 more than at this time last year.

Current ARM Mortgage Rates Report for Aug. 19, 2026

If you’re the type of homebuyer who is willing to deal with a little uncertainty in exchange for the possibility of getting a low rate, an adjustable-rate mortgage might be right for you. These can be particularly good options for homebuyers planning to rent out or flip an investment property, or who know they intend to move before the loan’s introductory fixed-rate period ends.

USC just shattered its fundraising record by nearly $100 million—thanks partly to the billionaire family behind the Houston Texans

Several major universities had a record-breaking donor year in 2025, including the University of Oklahoma, Florida State University, and the University of Tennessee.

Current Refi Mortgage Rates Report for Aug. 19, 2026

The current average refinance rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate home loan is 6.760%, according to Mortgage Research Center data. If you’re a homeowner hoping to refinance your mortgage for a lower rate or perhaps to tap home equity, read on to see average refi interest rates for a variety of loan types and terms. You can also see the prior day’s report here.

Mortgage rates Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026

The average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate conforming mortgage loan in the U.S. is 6.714%, up from the day before, according to data from Mortgage Research Center.

Home equity loan and HELOC rates: Aug. 19, 2026

Homeowners can access the value they’ve built in their property, whether through steady mortgage payments or an all-cash purchase, by taking out either a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit (HELOC). Since your house backs the debt, these loans often come with more favorable interest rates than unsecured borrowing. So what differentiates the two?

Top economist on Trump's 'deadly cocktail' for the bond market — and how the bond vigilantes have crossed Scott Bessent's 'red line'

The bond market is the only major asset class currently pricing risk correctly, according to Johns Hopkins economist Steve Hanke—and what it’s pricing in is ugly. In an interview with Fortune, Hanke argued that President Trump has inadvertently mixed what he called “a deadly cocktail” for Treasuries, and the result is a bond selloff that has already pushed yields past the informal threshold Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been trying to defend.