Economics in the News – Aug. 31 – Sept. 6, 2026
Economics impacts our lives every day. Below are some of the top storylines from this past week related to economics.
o College football has kicked off another season with a full slate of games over the Labor Day holiday weekend. For one power program that prides itself on tradition, it is making necessary changes in order to keep up with the realities of today’s college athletics. Notre Dame — a school that prides itself on having no corporate sponsors or advertisements at Notre Dame Stadium — added a logo to every Notre Dame athlete’s jersey.
In a partnership with SoFi, reportedly worth more than $100 million over the next six years, Notre Dame athletes will wear the logo near the shoulder of their jerseys. It’s part of a new NCAA policy adopted in January that allowed teams to add up to two sponsorship patches on player uniforms. Schools such as Ohio State, Wisconsin, and LSU have added sponsorships too, as departments try to keep up with the cost of fielding a championship-level roster. Ohio State’s jersey patch with Chase Bank is valued at $17 million, while the Big 12 Conference has Monster Energy as a jersey sponsor for $16 million split by all of its members. [The New York Times]
o Homeowners, especially those with lower mortgage rates, are often torn between making extra principal payments and continuing making minimum monthly payments. On one hand, making at least one extra payment toward principal annually can save thousands of dollars in interest over the life of the loan. On the other hand, that money can be invested. According to Rocket Mortgage, only roughly 25 percent of homeowners make additional payments.
Surprisingly, those with sub-three percent interest rates that were secured during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic are the most likely to make additional payments. Only about 20 percent of those who bought in 2022 or later, when interest rates began rising, are making additional payments. This seems counterintuitive, but it may be that people with lower monthly payments due to the lower rates have more room in their budgets to put additional cash toward the loan balance. Borrowers are more likely to make additional payments earlier in the life of a mortgage. [The New York Times]
o One retirement movement is gaining popularity among younger Americans. It’s called Coast FI — an offshoot of the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement — Coast FI marks the point at which a young person can coast on what he saved for retirement without any additional contributions. It appeals to younger people because it marks a point when they are free to take a lower-paying job, take more time off, or take greater risks, such as starting a business.
It’s become a popular trend in recent years, as many workers worry about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on their jobs and younger Americans become increasingly skeptical of the future of Social Security. However, it comes with plenty of risks. For starters, the calculations must be correct, and they often differ from reality. Economic and personal circumstances change during life, making it difficult to make calculations before someone gets married or has children. Secondly, it’s difficult to predict future returns in the stock market. Other deterrents include the cost of health care, caring for aging parents, and other major expenses. [The Wall Street Journal]
o The United States and Canada’s trade war continued to escalate as Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to US President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs on Canada. Canada imposed tariffs on $20 billion worth of US goods, including steel, aluminum, cheese, appliances, clothing, cosmetics, and farm equipment.
According to RBC Economics, the latest tariffs are unlikely to have a major impact on the broader American economy, but they could devastate some businesses. Canadians continue to limit travel to the United States, and many have boycotted American-made goods. While the American economy is 13 times larger than the Canadian economy and Canada sends many of its exports to the US, America relies on four million barrels of oil per day from Canada. Additionally, American farmers rely on Canadian potash fertilizer. [The Washington Post]
o Tim Cook is stepping down as the CEO of Apple. John Ternus officially took the reins as the company’s CEO on Sept. 1. Cook took over Apple in 2011 from co-founder Steve Jobs, and there were questions about Apple’s future following Jobs’ death but Cook expanded Apple’s revenue by nearly four times and its market value by 15 times. Under Cook’s watch, Apple introduced products such as AirPods and Apple Watch, while developing Apple Pay and Apple Music. Cook will remain on Apple’s board of advisors as the executive chairman.
Ternus begins his new role as Apple’s CEO just as the company is headed for its busy fall when it introduces new products. This year, among the debut items, is the first foldable iPhone. In his previous role as hardware chief, Ternus led the efforts for the new foldable iPhone as well as other products that are not expected to debut this year. While he led the efforts to perfect Apple’s devices, Ternus is not as polished on other aspects of the CEO position. One of Ternus’ first priorities will be Apple’s initiatives related to artificial intelligence (AI). Apple has been developing Siri, which is an AI designed to compete with ChatGPT. Ternus is interested in using AI to improve Apple’s own product development processes and operations. [Bloomberg]
