Tropical storm Milton intensified to a category 1 hurricane on Sunday. The storm was about 815 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, as of 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. It is expected to make landfall on Wednesday on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 3 major hurricane.

Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Sunday that the state is preparing for the storm and that the top priority is round-the-clock debris cleanup from Hurricane Helene, which hit only 10 days ago. “This is all hands on deck to get that debris where it needs to be,” he said during a press conference at the state’s emergency operations center on Oct. 6.

When DeSantis gave his briefing, the tracks predicted landfall on Madeira Beach in Pinellas County, and he warned that along with the intense winds, storm surge damage could exceed that of Helene. Read the full story here›

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage experienced one of the biggest single-day surges on Friday, according to Mortgage News Daily. The 0.27 percent spike followed a jobs report which showed that the labor market continued to remain strong.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate jumped 27 points from 6.26 percent to 6.53 percent on Friday, according to data from the Mortgage News Daily mortgage rate index that is updated on a daily basis. This is one of the biggest single-day rate increases outlet has ever tracked.

A strong employment situation indicates a more robust customer demand for mortgages, thus potentially keeping rates higher and lowering any chances of a rate decline. The U.S. economy added 254,000 new jobs last month, far exceeding the 140,000 jobs estimated by experts. Read the full story here›

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