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Most entrepreneurs think they have an AI problem, but the real issue is how they structure their requests — and fixing it can save hours of frustration.

The average 30-year mortgage rate has increased for the second week in a row, according to Freddie Mac. Two weeks ago, the 30-year rate dropped below 6% for the first time in three-and-a-half years. However, it bounced back to 6% last week and has now spiked by 0.11% to 6.11% — and these bumps can largely be attributed to the conflict in Iran.During my years reporting on daily mortgage rates, I’ve witnessed numerous factors influence home loan rates. The culprits have ranged from the Covid pandemic, to drastic moves from the Federal Reserve, to comments made by President Donald Trump. The United States’ recent bombings of Iran are a prime example of a geopolitical issue that affects interest rates.“If we get resolution on [the conflict] sooner rather than later, the effects should be pretty mild, relatively short term in terms of any potential impact on inflation,” Jeff DerGurahian, chief investment officer and head economist for loanDepot, told TheStreet. “But the longer it goes on… that’s what’s going to have the Fed a little bit more hesitant to cut rates, even though we saw a very weak employment report last week.”Higher oil prices lead to higher mortgage ratesAfter the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran on Feb. 28, oil prices started to rise. Brent crude is the main benchmark for oil prices internationally. On Feb. 27, the day before the attacks, Brent crude closed at $72.52 per barrel, per Business Insider. Prices increased after the bombings, even hitting $119.50 on Monday, March 9.Brent crude prices have gone back down a bit since this peak, but a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted that the cost would remain over $95 per barrel for at least two more months.More on mortgages and the housing market:Existing-home sales exceed Goldman Sachs’ expectationsRedfin, Zillow reveal major mortgage rate, housing market changeWhat the stock market is saying about the housing marketOil prices may cause Americans to spend more on a tank of gas or a plane ticket, but how does it impact their rates on mortgage loans?“Oil is a major component into a lot of different goods that consumers purchase, to the extent that the price of that goes up, it’s going to create inflation,” DerGurahian said. “Inflation is one of the components that bond investors use in their valuation of bonds. So if inflation is higher, they’re going to want a higher yield on their bonds, whether it’s Treasurys or mortgage bonds.” National 30-year fixed mortgage rates tend to follow the 10-year Treasury yield — if the Treasury yield increases, mortgage rates also rise. There is a spread between the 10-year Treasury yield and mortgage loan rates. For example, on March 12, the 10-year yield opened at 4.22%, and the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.11%. That’s a spread of 1.89%.The conflict in Iran also impacts inflation and the Federal ReserveThe 10-year Treasury yield may have the greatest impact on mortgage rates, but inflation and the Federal Reserve also play their roles. When inflation decreases, interest rates follow suit. If investors expect the Fed to cut the federal funds rate at its next meeting, mortgage rates usually decrease in the weeks leading up to the meeting.Unfortunately, the instability in the Middle East affects both inflation and the Fed.The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index are two key measures of inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the February CPI on Wednesday, March 11, which showed that inflation had held steady and aligned with economists’ expectations. The PCE will be released on Friday, March 13.

The Iran conflict may be impacting the U.S. housing market, but it hasn’t scared off many homebuyers yet. Shutterstock

The main problems with these inflation reports? The U.S. and Israel attacked Israel on Feb. 28. So the February CPI reflects data from before the Iran conflict began. Friday’s PCE will look at January inflation, so its information will be even further behind.The Fed considers inflation when deciding whether to slash the fed funds rate, but these two reports don’t provide useful information for next week’s Fed meeting.“Now, we’ve got to wait and see what’s going to happen in March to really get the next direction on potentially what the Fed is going to do and what’s going to happen with 30-year fixed mortgage rates,” said DerGurahian.It is all but certain that the Fed will keep its rate unchanged at its March 17-18 meeting. Previously, many brokerages predicted that the first rate cut of 2026 would occur at the Fed’s June meeting. That is looking less and less likely. Goldman Sachs now predicts that the first federal funds rate drop will occur in September, Reuters reported. Time will tell if there will be a second rate cut in 2026.The turmoil in the Middle East is affecting inflation, which will alter the course of the federal funds rate. The likely outcome is that mortgage rates will stay above 6%.Redfin says Iran conflict isn’t stopping most homebuyersThe current upheaval may be impacting various facets of the U.S. housing market, but it isn’t scaring off as many homebuyers as one might think. “The impact of the Iran conflict on home- and car-buying plans is similar to the impact of the federal government shutdown in October: Small,” wrote real estate technology company Redfin.Redfin commissioned global market research company Ipsos to field a survey, which revealed that only 25% of potential homebuyers are putting off purchasing due to the geopolitical conflict.Fifty-six percent of those surveyed reported that the dispute in the Middle East has no effect on their plans to buy a home.These percentages are similar to an October Redfin survey that revealed the government shutdown left many homebuyers undeterred.Other economic and political issues, including tariffs and concerns about job security, caused would-be buyers to put off purchasing a home in 2025 than the present-day problems in Iran. 
Source: Redfin
Related: Zillow predicts mortgage rate, housing market change

Broadcast Retirement Network’s Jeffrey Snyder discusses what you can do with your tax refund with U.S. Bank’s Derik Farrar.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkWell, joining me now is Derek Farr of U.S. Bank. Derek, always great to see you. Thanks for joining us again this morning.Derik Farrar, US BankYeah, great to be back.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkWell, last time we chatted, we were kind of at the beginning stages of U.S. tax refunds. How do things look now that we’re in the throes of it, that the IRS is doing their due diligence, they’re doing their checking? How are tax refunds going?Derik Farrar, US BankYeah, the IRS, they’ve been busy, particularly the last couple weeks. So we’ve now seen all metrics flip positive year over year. So the Bureau has processed more refunds.The refunds that have been issued are higher. And then the total amount that’s gone back to taxpayers is higher as well, given those two dynamics. So yeah, so we’re seeing the average refund so far.And this is based on what we see with our U.S. Bank client data is about 12% higher than it was this time last year.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkI mean, that’s amazing. It’s always nice to get money back. It’d be nice not to pay, but it’s always good to get money back.In terms of what clients are doing with these refunds, do you have a sense, are they putting it away? Are they putting it towards debt or all the above or something else?Derik Farrar, US BankYeah, we really see all the above. So for sure, you see people who are just choosing to save all or a portion of it. Kind of hard to tease out on the investment side, just given all the external volatility recently with geopolitical events.But as ever, there are a variety of ways people can put a refund to really good use, whether it’s paying off some high rate debt, whether it’s starting or augmenting the savings plan. And I think for a lot of people, it makes sense to do some combination of both of those things.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkAre you getting a sense of, I mean, if I saw 12% more in my refund, I’d be a little bit more bullish, even though there are some affordability challenges going on. We’ve got, you mentioned the geopolitical events with the spike in oil, translates to higher gasoline costs. But are people feeling better?Is the sentiment better? I know you don’t necessarily look at that, but anecdotally.Derik Farrar, US BankYeah, I would say, I think the K-shaped economy is real, right? We’ve seen increasing use of buy now, pay later every year for the last couple of years. This December and January were quite a bit higher than the year before.So it’s possible that some people are just taking that, the refund and then paying off purchases that they would have more recently made. And obviously you’ve got other people who are on the upper slope of the K who are just using it to drive more spend and also investment as well. So as with, I think most things in the current economy, there isn’t one uniform answer that’s sort of applicable across 330 million or 275 whatever million adult Americans.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkYeah, well, certainly we’re all individuals. We all do different things. One area I wanted to ask you about is the payment of estimated taxes.I think this is an area that a lot of Americans maybe miss that you have to or should pay your estimated taxes. Are people, because if not, I think there’s a penalty to that. Are people taking some of this refund and putting it towards those taxes?Derik Farrar, US BankWe haven’t necessarily seen that yet. That’s a phenomenon we usually see show up a little bit later in the year, particularly for someone who pays that penalty for the first time and then realizes they’ve got to be a little more proactive about the way they’re managing their tax liability. But yeah, I mean, for sure every year, more recently we’ve seen an uptick in people who are making estimated tax payments.And as we’ve been in the kind of higher for longer interest rate environment, obviously more people just have 1099 INTs to pay. So we’ll see the impact of that a little bit later in the cycle as the people who have to pay start to come in and then offset. Now, typically early in the cycle, the people who are filing earlier are the ones who expect to get it back.And then obviously those who are likely to pay or have a substantial bill always cluster right around the 15th of April.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkYeah, well, I mean, I wouldn’t wanna pay. I would wanna pay to the very last minute if I had to pay something. Let me ask you about 2027.I know I don’t wanna put you in the time machine. I’m not asking to prognosticate, but now’s the time to look at your W-4 and what your employer, what deductions you have, how many dependents, did you have a child? Is it now the right time to kind of set up or maybe it was in January, candidly, that you really need to look at these things to make sure you set up your 2026 taxes correctly?Derik Farrar, US BankYeah, absolutely. Well, you’re right. I mean, the time would have definitely been in January given that, hopefully we’re all fortunate enough, those of us who wanna be employed for 12 months are, but if the time to look at it was in January, then obviously early March is definitely when you should go in and have a look.And then with the OBBBA last year coming into effect, last year, kind of mid-year, that’s one of the things that’s triggered the higher refunds this year is that most people didn’t go in and make any adjustments. So definitely worthwhile time spent to go in and just make sure that anything that is controllable on your end about how much you pay and when is something that can be actioned with most employers virtually, kind of paycheck by paycheck.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkYeah, really important. It’s part of that. I guess you’re right.I should have asked that question to you back in January, but again, it didn’t come to me until March. Last question for you, Derek, in terms of gig workers, you kind of referenced it with 1099 versus W-2. With the advent of AI, I would imagine that more of us, especially as older folks, are doing a lot of different things.It’s kind of a patchwork quilt, if you will, of jobs. So we’re not just doing, maybe we’re working as a W-2, but maybe we’ve got a side gig going on. Maybe we’re working out of our garage.Maybe we’re baking cookies. I don’t know, right? I mean, that’s kind of the sense that you might get.Do you get that sense from looking at some of the employment data that maybe people are doing a lot of different things at once?Derik Farrar, US BankYeah, you’re absolutely right about that. And as we get away from more individuals just having W-2 type income and having multiple sources, the IRS is going to want to make sure they get their share of all of it. So a little bit more of the burden definitely shifts back to the individual because the IRS isn’t going to know how all that unfolded for you until the end of the year when you file.So yeah, I think that’s a great thing, a great call out for people to be aware of.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkYeah, well, and I don’t want to tip off the IRS. I certainly don’t want people to get audits, but probably going back to our W-4 conversation and all these things, estimated taxes, you really want to get these things buttoned up. Derek, we’re going to have to leave it there.Always great to see you. Thanks for joining us. And we look forward to having you back on the program again very soon, sir.Derik Farrar, US BankYeah, I really appreciate it, Jeff. Have a great day. Thanks for having me on.

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For months, years, investors have treated Nike (NKE) like a fading giant. A 62-year-old American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon.Its stock closed just under $55 on March 12, down nearly 25% in the last 12 months and down 14% year-to-date.But now one major Wall Street firm is signaling something different. Analysts at Barclays upgraded Nike’s stock to “Overweight” and lifted their price target to $73 from $64, arguing the company may have reached what they call a “fundamental bottom,” as seen in Yahoo Finance.That’s a bold claim for a stock that’s been stuck in a multi-year downtrend.But now the real question you are probably asking is: Is the recovery finally starting? And if so, how high can we get?

Robert Way VaShutterstock

Why analysts think Nike’s worst days may be overBarclays’ upgrade centers on a simple idea: investor pessimism may have peaked.The firm pointed to several developments suggesting the company’s financial trajectory could be stabilizing.Among the key factors were,Operational improvements inside the companyEarly positive financial indicators in recent resultsManagement’s disciplined turnaround strategyLeadership changes are part of that story. Why? Nike appointed longtime company veteran Elliott Hill as CEO in late 2024. This was after a difficult period marked by declining sales and rising competition. But again, we both know that even great coaches go back to the drawing board, and implement their ideas, and get results after some time.Hill has framed the turnaround as a long-term rebuild. Here is what he had to say in the earnings call for the Q226 financial results:Hill continued, “We are making progress in the areas we prioritized first and remain confident in the actions we’re taking to drive the long-term growth and profitability of our brands,” underscoring that the company is still working to restore growth and profitability.In fact, analysts believe improvements in North America could soon begin offsetting persistent challenges in China and tariff pressures that have weighed on the stock in recent quarters.Latest earnings show early signs of stabilizationLooking at Nike’s most recent quarterly report released on Dec. 18, 2025, it already hinted at a shift. The 62-year-old giant reported fiscal Q2 2026 results, with a few numbers catching analysts’ attention:Revenue: $12.4 billion, up 1% year over yearEarnings per share: $0.53, beating estimates of $0.37Wholesale revenue: up 8%, reflecting renewed retail partnershipsNIKE Direct sales: down 8% to $4.6 billionGross margin: 40.6%, down 300 basis pointsMargins remain under pressure due to markdowns and currency effects. But the wholesale growth suggests Nike is recalibrating its strategy after leaning heavily into direct-to-consumer channels.More Retail Stocks:You won’t believe what Coca-Cola just did with its coffee brandCostco reveals a new approach that could reshape the chainShoppers furious at grocery chain’s new anti‑theft ruleThat shift could matter more than it first appears. The reason? Wholesale relationships often provide steadier volume and inventory management during retail slowdowns.What does the chart tell us about Nike stock?Beyond fundamentals, Nike’s chart tells a story of its own. Looking at a monthly timeframe, NKE has been trapped in a long-term descending trendline since peaking around $179 in November 2021. It has tested that trendline multiple times.  including in August 2025, October 2025, and February 2026.

Source: TradingView

Each attempt failed to trigger a sustained breakout.Right now, a key support level sits around $50. That level has become a crucial support level for anyone watching the next move. So what happens if buyers step in?Even after the Barclays call, technical traders are waiting for something more. A confluence for Longs towards the target. A rejection at the $50 level and strong bullish momentum could push the stock toward:$60 as the first resistance level$70 as a broader recovery target$73 – $74, roughly aligning with Barclays’ new price targetThat scenario would represent a major shift in momentum. But it depends on whether sentiment continues improving. And more so, if this big catalyst signals the same.The next big catalyst arrives on March 31Investors won’t have to wait long for the next major test. Nike reports fiscal third-quarter earnings on March 31, 2026, and expectations are building.That report could reveal whether the recovery dream is still a valid one in the near term, or still needs time.What to watch closely:Margin recovery progressWholesale channel momentumChina demand trendsInventory levels and pricing disciplineBecause here’s the reality: Nike remains one of the most powerful brands in global sportswear, generating about $46 billion in annual revenue.But even iconic brands must prove they can adapt. If the next earnings report confirms improving fundamentals, NKE’s long bear market could finally face its toughest challenge yet. And if wondering whether Nike is heading back toward $70, the answer may start taking shape at the end of this month.Related: Kohl’s CEO tells customers major revamp is on the way