Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🏡 How a special type of mortgage is landing homebuyers low rates
• 🎶 Behind the strategy keeping artists atop the charts
• 🖱️ Canceling subscriptions is about to get easier

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.99-minute read (1,329 words).

P.S. Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here for free.

“The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.”

Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

Like a cat in a tree before the fire truck arrives, average 30-year mortgage rates are staying stubbornly high, sitting between 6%–7%.

But a growing number of homebuyers are turning to “assumable mortgages,” which can unlock rates closer to 2%–3%.

What are assumable mortgages?

As the name suggests, assumable mortgages allow buyers to take over an existing mortgage, often locking in a lower rate depending on when the original loan was taken out. Everything about the mortgage stays the same – except the name on the documents (a financial Freaky Friday of sorts).

Mortgage assumptions were a popular way to buy a house in the 1970s and 1980s, until the Garn St.-Germain Act of 1982 rendered them near obsolete outside of divorce and property inheritance.

But like vinyl records, what’s gone out of style is once again becoming en vogue. Google search results for the term “assumable mortgage” spiked in May, following a steady upward trend starting in 2022.

But… There are downsides to this type of arrangement. One being the need to pay the seller their equity in the house at point of assumption, which requires a large “down payment” or taking out a second mortgage.

Another downside is that only certain types of mortgages, typically government-backed (ex: FHA or VA loans), are eligible for assumption. Generally speaking, 20%–25% of the homes on the market are fully assumable, CNBC reports.

By the numbers: 4,052 FHA-backed mortgage assumptions were completed in 2023, a 59% jump from 2021. The VA puts those rookie numbers to shame, with a 713% jump in mortgage assumptions in 2023 compared to 2021.

• Both the VA and FHA are already outpacing last year’s assumption totals, at 5,000+ assumptions apiece so far in 2024.

📸 Big picture: The number of mortgage assumptions happening is far fewer than the number of mortgages that can be assumed – a gap that could keep closing as prospective homebuyers pursue alternate options to secure lower rates. Despite a recent Fed rate cut, mortgage interest rates rose last week for the third straight week, hitting the highest level since August.

As a young professional, you’re managing a career, social life, hobbies, relationships, health, and trying to keep up with newfound responsibilities. Instead of making progress, you’re constantly feeling behind and overwhelmed. Until now…

Our friends at Practice of Life want to help you take control of your devices in 15 minutes a day with a 14-day challenge.

This challenge is for young professionals ready to:

• 😑 Stop checking your phone and email every 3 minutes*
• 🎯 Set clear boundaries between work, life and downtime
• 🚀 Tap into productive flow states that lead to momentum

*90% of participants felt more in control of their technology after 14 days. Ready to do the same?

Reclaim your precious time by joining Practice of Life’s 14-day challenge here – DONUT Readers save 40% (discount auto-applied).

🧑‍🚀 Prada and Axiom Space unveiled the spacesuits for NASA’s crewed return to the Moon. The suits carry a wide range of high-tech features, including a white outer material that protects astronauts from extreme temperatures, and specially engineered boots allowing astronauts to spacewalk for at least eight hours/day. They’re intended for NASA’s Artemis III mission, currently scheduled for the second half of 2026, which plans to put the first human on the Moon since 1972.

🇯🇴 A hidden tomb was discovered underneath the ruins of Petra. Located in modern-day Jordan, Petra is an ancient city carved 2,000 years ago from the walls of a desert canyon. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Archaeologists recently uncovered a tomb beneath the Treasury – a landmark seen in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – containing 12 full skeletons, the most ever found at Petra.

🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi is getting its own version of the Las Vegas Sphere. On Tuesday, Sphere Entertainment Co. and Abu Dhabi tourism officials announced plans to build the world's second Sphere in the UAE’s capital city, though details about its exact location and timing weren’t disclosed. The move comes as Abu Dhabi is attempting to boost tourism and differentiate itself from neighboring Dubai.

“Brat Summer” may have ended – but Charli XCX’s latest hit album is still alive and well.

Last week, the British singer released a remixed version called Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat, featuring 20+ guest artists with fresh takes on the songs.

• The move is part of Charli XCX’s re-release strategy allowing her to remain atop the charts months after the album’s original release – a strategy that’s becoming increasingly commonplace.

More songs = more streams. In the streaming era, artists are incentivized to release as many songs and album versions as possible, since significant raw listening numbers can boost albums to the top of streaming charts and grant them favor from Spotify’s algorithm.

• A prime example is Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, which has 37 different variations (and counting) since debuting this past April. Swift’s album has spent 15 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts to date, thanks in large part to her team’s re-release strategy.

👀 Looking ahead… Experts say the album re-release trend is likely to stick around for the foreseeable future, since the practice is popular with today’s consumers who haven’t already invested in a CD or vinyl – and don't feel ripped off getting extra music from their favorite artists.

Gym anxiety is real. Beginners struggle with knowing what to do, how to do it, and staying motivated. Caliber solves this with a sleek, intuitive app thoughtfully designed to get you started, stay on track, and reach your unique fitness goals.

• Caliber is hailed as the best free workout app by Fortune and Garage Gym Reviews, and has a 4.9-star rating. 
• Users see on average a 20% improvement in body composition within three months, and progress 34% faster than working out alone.

Achieve transformational results with Caliber – get started for free.

“Click to cancel.”

Shedding subscriptions is about to get as easy as pressing the Staples Easy button. The FTC finalized a new rule yesterday known as “click to cancel,” which requires retailers, gyms, and other businesses to make canceling subscriptions as easy as signing up for them.

As outlined in an FTC fact sheet:

• If you sign up online, there needs to be a click to cancel.
• If you sign up in person, there has to be a way to cancel online or over the phone.
• The new rules will go into effect in ~180 days.

By the numbers: The FTC says it receives, on average, 70 complaints/day about negative option and recurring subscription practices, and finalized the rule after receiving 16,000 comments from the public.

🔄 Zoom out: Generally speaking, subscriptions can be easy to forget and tricky to cancel. A 2022 study found 42% of consumers have forgotten they were still paying for a service they no longer use.

• ☝️ Fox News hosted separate segments yesterday featuring the two main presidential candidates: an all-women town hall with former President Trump, and an interview with Vice President Harris.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Going

• 💰 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +0.5%; Dow: +0.8%; Nasdaq: +0.3%); the Dow posted its third record closing high in four sessions.
• 🤔 What 66 economists say about where the economy is headed, in charts.
• ⚖️ Raytheon will pay $950+ million to settle DOJ investigations into an alleged government contract fraud scheme, violations of foreign bribery laws, and the Arms Export Control Act.

*From our partners: 🏖️😍 Dreaming of a getaway?... Going finds incredible deals for over 900 destinations, helping 2M+ users save an average of $550 on economy flights. Just add your home airport, and they’ll notify you once deals roll in. Easy. Get started with Going here.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🙏 Liam Payne, 31, who rose to fame as a singer in the since-disbanded pop group One Direction, was found dead in Buenos Aires after falling from his third floor hotel room balcony.
• 🦚🏟️ NBC Universal is starting to stream local sports on Peacock. | 📰🤖 The NY Times issued a cease and desist order to AI search engine startup Perplexity over allegations its AI model is using the Times’ content without permission.
• 🎥 Filming in LA fell 5% in Q3, yet another sign that Hollywood is struggling to recover from the pandemic and last year’s writers/actors strikes. (More: There’s no business like show business – until you’re part of a mass layoff)

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Arro

• ⚡⚛️ Amazon is going nuclear: AWS announced a deal with Dominion Energy to invest $500+ million towards the development of next-gen small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). | ⚡📈 Global electricity demand is growing faster than expected, with supply increasingly coming from emission-free sources, per a new International Energy Agency report.
• 🌕 The closest and largest supermoon of 2024 will light up the night sky tonight; a full moon in October is called a “Hunter’s Moon.”
• 💉 An entrepreneur and recovering drug addict has embarked on a long-shot attempt to bring a fentanyl vaccine to market that helps prevent accidental drug deaths.

*From our partners: 🙌 Break free from the debt trap… Arro is a low-interest, no-deposit credit card, and its platform gives direct, actionable steps to control debt and build credit quickly. No credit history required. Take control of your financial future and apply for Arro here.**

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🚀⚖️ SpaceX is suing California regulators after they rejected the company’s request to allow more rocket launches.
• 🇮🇹 Italy’s government approved a law banning citizens from going abroad to have a baby via surrogacy; the practice is already banned within Italy; while the ban applies to all couples, activists and some lawmakers see it as disproportionately affecting LGBTQ couples.
• 🇺🇸🗳️ The different paths to victory in the 2024 election.

CLICKBAIT

• 🏆🏙️ The 10 best small cities to live in America.

**The Arro Card is issued by Community Federal Savings Bank, member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International. Here is our Privacy Policy.

⛰️ Stat of the Day: Nima Rinji Sherpa, an 18-year-old Nepalese climber, recently broke the world record for youngest climber to successfully summit all 14 of the world’s “8,000ers,” aka the only mountains on Earth that stand 8,000+ meters (~26,250 feet) above sea level. Nima is the youngest to accomplish this feat by a significant margin – the previous record-holder, Mingma Gyabu Sherpa, finished climbing all 14 peaks in 2019 at the age of 30.

🤔 Did You Know? The sound a whip makes when it’s cracked is caused by the sonic boom created when a section of the whip moves faster than the speed of sound. Consistently breaking the sound barrier – yet another thing Indiana Jones and fighter pilots have in common besides being the coolest people in any room.

📰 Worth a Read: The Guru Who Says He Can Get Your 11-Year-Old Into Harvard → (Wall Street Journal)

Yesterday, we covered how the 2024 election is just under three weeks away – but for many voters, Election Day is already here.

❓ Our question to you: If you were going to vote in the 2024 presidential election today, which candidate would you choose?

• Former President Trump: 31%
• Vice President Harris: 47%
• A third-party candidate: 9%
• Not planning to vote/Too young to vote: 6%
• Unsure/other: 7%

Click here to read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 3,302 votes and 348 longform responses.

Forrest Wells Baker is a little bundle of joy who was born in the parking lot of his parents' favorite Michigan microbrewery.

• When Kyle and Aaron Baker realized they wouldn't make it to the hospital in time for Aaron to deliver, they pulled off into the parking lot of One Well Brewing – which just so happens to be one of the couple's favorite watering holes. 
• Forrest was born shortly after, healthy and happy. In his honor, brewery is introducing a new blood orange blonde ale named Special Delivery.

Which bay, located in Atlantic Canada, experiences the highest tidal range in the world?

Saving up referral points? Check your balance and upcoming milestone prizes here. (And if you haven’t claimed, just reply to this email and we’ll get you sorted👍🍩.)

The Bay of Fundy, where tides can reach a height of ~53 feet.