(Bloomberg) — Holiday spending will surpass $1 trillion this year and set a record despite consumer caution, according to a forecast by the National Retail Federation.
Consumers plan to spend nearly $900 per person on average this year, while retail sales are expected to increase in a range of 3.7% to 4.2% from a year earlier, according to the group.
“We remain bullish about the holiday shopping season and expect that consumers will continue to seek savings in nonessential categories to be able to spend on gifts for loved ones,” NRF President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Shay said during a conference call.
Challenges include the government shutdown, with delays in federal spending expected to erode consumer demand, as well as trade uncertainty and persistent inflation, according to the NRF. Retailers are expected to absorb some tariff costs to avoid major price hikes on essential items.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Donald Trump’s 50-Year Mortgage Plan Could Redefine Homeownership In America — Housing Chief Calls It ‘Game Changer’ Amid Rising Costs
The Donald Trump administration is weighing a plan to introduce 50-year mortgages, a move officials say could reshape the housing market for generations of American buyers facing record costs.
Trump Administration Moves Toward 50-Year Mortgage Plan
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte confirmed Saturday that the administration is “working on” a new 50-year mortgage product designed to make homeownership more affordable.
Pulte wrote on X, “Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50-year Mortgage – a complete game changer.”
Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage – a complete game changer. https://t.co/HZDPzO0qJG
— Pulte (@pulte) November 8, 2025
His post came shortly after Trump shared a Truth Social message likening the initiative to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal-era 30-year mortgage standard.
Rising Costs, Soaring Rates Push Buyers To The Brink
The initiative comes as the average homebuyer spends nearly 38 percent of their monthly income on mortgage payments, according to Redfin, reported The Hill.
Adjustable-rate mortgages now make up about 10 percent of all applications, their highest share in nearly two years, as interest rates and prices stay elevated.
Trump, who has long tied his housing agenda to affordability for younger generations, has also signaled interest in bringing the Federal National Mortgage Association (OTC: FNMA), Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (OTC:FMCC), Freddie Mac, back to public markets.
“I am giving very serious consideration to bringing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public,” Trump said in May, adding that the timing “would seem to be right.”
Greene Slams 50-Year Mortgage Plan
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) criticized the proposed 50-year mortgage plan on X, warning it would “reward the banks” while leaving Americans “in debt forever.”
She argued it would inflate interest payments rather than tackle the real causes of the affordability crisis.
Greene instead urged Congress to curb corporate ownership of single-family homes and to let renters with strong payment histories qualify for mortgages.
She also renewed calls to pass her bill eliminating capital gains taxes on primary home sales, which she said would help seniors keep more of their equity and “put money back in the economy.”
I don’t like 50 year mortgages as the solution to the housing affordability crisis.It will ultimately reward the banks, mortgage lenders. and home builders while people pay far more in interest over time and die before they ever pay off their home.In debt forever, in debt for…
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 8, 2025
Last month, Pulte said President Trump was evaluating plans to take mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public.
Pulte noted the companies, which have been under federal conservatorship since 2008, hold more than $7 trillion in combined assets.
He said the administration was focused on “running them like a business and taking out costs,” adding there was “no limit to what they could be worth one day.”
I spent well over 100k on my houses this year. I still drive a 23 year old truck. I guess I spend more than 5-6 mongrel nigger lovers combined. The economy is cranking, because of the asset owners.
It is definitely the asset owners that are holding up the economy. The high end retailers and high end restaurants are doing great while those that cater to the middle class and working class are cratering. In the Philadelphia area I remember going to two malls which were the Exton Square mall and King of Prussia mall. Exton square caters to the middle class and that is now decaying and half empty while King of Prussia mall caters to the wealthy and it is full of high end stores and is very vibrant and crowded. Definitely looking at a two tiered economy here.
The economy is rocking and it looks like the FED will start buying assets again. It’s a wonderful economy. I can’t believe how I and my friends are doing very well.
Important repost:
For those interested in learning more about the hidden understanding and meaning of these final days, I provide a link to another video regarding the true adversary as we wind up this age.
These concepts were common place 50 to 60 years ago. There were a number of learned biblical teachers who knew all about these matters. Unfortunately for those in the final day, these teachers are all dead. No one’s replaced them.
Many more people knew about these matters 200 to 300 years ago. Back then, the Jewish banking families and Freemasons were verboten and both were strongly resisted in American society.
Today’s Christian is completely clueless. I mean completely.
Descendants of Cain -Eli James
https://youtu.be/Z9EWBVr4LvU?si=KRGiMOUTwpqmNcf1
Thx!
It’s not hard to figure out why corruption and crime run wild when the people vote in a convicted murderer as well as perjury….
Maine elects woman convicted of killing Canadian tourist to city council: ‘So broken’
A convicted killer who was sentenced to a decade behind bars for suffocating a Canadian tourist with sand was elected to the city council of a Maine city that inspired Stephen King’s “It.”
Angela Walker was elected as a Bangor councilmember on Tuesday, over two decades after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges alongside her brother, Benjamin Humphrey, in the 2002 death of Derek Rogers, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Walker, who’s not affiliated with a political party, was one of three councilmembers elected to serve a three-year term.
Walker, who’s not affiliated with a political party, was one of three councilmembers elected to serve a three-year term on Bangor’s city council. Facebook/Angela Walker
She was sponsored by the politically progressive Maine nonprofit organization Food and Medicine alongside the other two winning candidates, the outlet reported.
Walker was convicted in 2003 of manslaughter for Rogers’ death when she still used her maiden name, Humphrey, according to the local publication.
A fight broke out in Old Orchard Beach after Rogers allegedly called Walker a derogatory term for Native American women. He was later discovered brutally beaten and suffocated with sand, the outlet reported.
“That’s my past. I don’t live there anymore and I’m a different person,” Walker said of the conviction, the news site reported.
She also pleaded guilty to perjury and was sentenced to 10 years behind bars, according to reports.
Walker pleaded guilty alongside her brother to manslaughter for the death of Canadian tourist Derek Rogers.
There is currently no law in place in Bangor barring Walker or any other resident with a criminal record from running for office.
The Maine city served as the real-life inspiration for the fictional town of Derry, which provides the backdrop for several of King’s hit horror novels, including the creepy clown film “It.”
The author used to live in Bangor. His former home there is a spooky Victorian mansion that is closed to the public, according to Tripadvisor.
Several users online slammed voters for electing the ex-convict councilmember.
“America is so broken. Voters in Maine elected Angela Walker, a violent murderer, as a new city councilor,” one user wrote on X.
“The glittering pinnacle of progressive enlightenment,” the user continued.
Bangor served as the real-life inspiration for the fictional town of Derry, which provides the backdrop for several of Stephen King’s hit horror novels.
“We need a federal law that prohibits violent offenders from ever holding office. How is this not present?” another user wrote.
Walker has responded to grudges about her criminal record.
“I want people to see that it’s possible that we can change,” Walker told the Bangor Daily News.
“I was so lost for so many years. I think people really need to see the other side of that,” she said.
She has lived in Bangor for 13 years and is also vocal about her recovery from addiction and previous homelessness, championing drug recovery programs in the town, the outlet reported.
Unreal.