. >> christine romans, thank you. >>> after vice president harris and former president trump courted the teamsters, the powerful union today making a surprise move, refusing to endorse either of them. it's something that hasn't happened since 1996. here's garrett haake. >> reporter: tonight, in a blow to vice president harris, the powerful teamsters union announcing it will make no endorsement in the 2024 presidential race. harris becoming the first democratic nominee not to win the backing of america's largest union in nearly three decades. the union releasing an internal poll showing 58% of its members support trump. 31% back harris. in a statement writing it was, quote, left with few commitments on top teamsters issues from either candidate and found no definitive support among members for either party's nominee. >> mr. president, any reaction to the teamsters' decision not to endorse? >> no, it's a great honor. they're not going to endorse the democrats. that's a big thing. >> big difference in the bit industrial state, do you think? will it make a difference? the bit industrial

christine romans, we didn't play it, there was also a moment on tariffs.ng it's a trump tax that would get passed on to you, and trump said -- >> if they're so bad, why did you keep them. he has called himself tariff man, and threatened to do big tariffs in a second term, something universally disliked by economists and the business community, and he said to kamala harris, if it's so bad, why does the biden/harris administration -- >> they kept all of his tariffs? >> no, they haven't kept all of them. they have renegotiated some with allies, they have kept tariffs on china, of course, but the idea is that some level of tariffs can generate some domestic manufacturing, but it's not china that writes the check for a tariff as the president, the former president said last night. that's not true. china doesn't write a check when you put a tariff on it. it's importers and consumers. >> if you buy a pillow made in china, and you put a tariff on imports from china, that pillow adds, what, $5 to it. china is not paying the $5 tariff, the consumer is. so it is a ta

christine romans is here. christine, how does the government say visa is hurting consumers? the justice department accuses visa of killing competition and running an illegal monopoly that raises prices for just about everything. according to the complaint, more than 60% of debit transactions in the u.s. run on visa's network, and that allows to it charge more than $7 billion in fees, transaction fees each year. the justice department says visa does that by penalizing companies for not exclusively using its payment processing network. retailers have complained for years of the high costs of processing debit and credit card payments. the government says those fees are passed to consumers. now a visa spokesperson called the suit meritless, saying there is an ever expanding universe of companies offering new ways to pay for goods and services. they say today's lawsuit ignores the reality that visa is just one of many competitors in the debit space that is growing. but this is the latest move in a tough antitrust stance from the government, also targeting online ticketing and dig

christine romans is here. christine, this is good news, but maybe with a catch. >> yeah, lester, exactly. good news, because when the federal reserve meets next week it is almost certain to begin cutting interest rates, the only question, by how much. mortgage rates have been declining two full points from last october, good news for anyone looking to buy a home, but here's what isn't. shelter, the government's word for housing, up half a percent in just a month, and it's the main driver of august monthly inflation rates, and as mortgage rates drop, which boosts, of course, your buying power, there is a good chance because so few homes are for sale prices will only go up with more people entering the market, so it's a stubborn problem, really, and one that the presidential candidates are now paying more attention to. >> okay, christine romans, thank you. >>> up next she stole the headlines with her endorsement of kamala harris. how taylor swift is already having an impact on voters. [instructor] hold it! hold i

christine romans now on what it means for your money. >> reporter: the federal reserve today delivering a jolt to the u.s. economy. a half percentage point cut to its benchmark rate as inflation is making progress toward the fed's target of 2%. fed chair jerome powell today saying the economy is in good shape. >> it's growing at a solid pace. inflation is coming down. the labor market is in a strong pace. we want to keep it there. >> reporter: and powell indicated rates are likely to come down further this year and next. the fed's campaign to rein in inflation, which hit 9.1% in june 2022, drove borrowing costs for homes, cars, and credit cards to their highest levels in decades. for families like ben and hayley williams, the hope is lower rates will help the household budget. they have almost $11,000 in credit card debt, some with interest rates over 30%. >> we never had credit card debt prior to this. >> reporter: this was buying a house in indiana last december with a mortgage rate of 8.1%. >> i know we maxed out our housing budget, but we kind of had to because anything under the $2

americans owe some $220 billion in medical debt, and as christine romans reports, for some there's no way out. >> look at that. >> reporter: these medical bills have followed terry belk since 2003 when his wife sandra was diagnosed with breast cancer. >> we had private health insurance, and we thought we had good insurance, but anyway, that was $23,000. >> outside of what the insurance coverage -- >> right. >> reporter: terry has been telling his stories for years talking to our charlotte, north carolina, affiliate in 2022. >> it's a lot of money to me. >> reporter: we wanted to hear how to this day the debt continues to haunt him. >> you weren't running away from these bills. >> no, i wasn't running away. i was trying to actually -- >> pay them. >> -- pay them. >> reporter: about 14 million americans owe at least a thousand dollars in medical debt. the top three states, south dakota, mississippi and belk's home state of north carolina. as his wife battled cancer, he stopped working as a car salesman to care for her, then the calls started to come, even before her death. >> we regret

christine romans explains. >> reporter: these ports could stand several u.s.could cost billions of dollars a day and snarl supply chains just before the election and the holiday shopping season. christine romans explains. >> reporter: these ports could stand still and the goods in these containers stalled if dockworkers walk off the job from boston and new york all the way down to new orleans and houston, the international longshoremen's association represents at least 25,000 workers at these ports. they're at an impasse over a new six-year contract. they want higher wages and less automation. the union bosses in recent weeks defiant. >> these companies are making billions. they should take us along. >> reporter: port officials preparing for a shutdown at midnight monday. >> all activity in the court of new york and new jersey with regards to containerized cargo and automobile cargo will cease. >> reporter: the united states maritime alliance representing shippers in ports blamed the unions', quote, repeated refusal to come to the table and bargain. a strike c

christine romans has joined us as well. we have been talking about the fed cut rate, half a percentage point, big news. jerome powell signaling there's more to come, probably not until after the election. >> there will be more rate cuts to come, i'm sure. they're forecasting, you know, they're kind of telegraphing that more will be coming. they say the u.s. economy is strong, inflation appears to be closer to its target of 2%. the job market is sturdy but slowing, and over all, they say we want to keep it that way. when will voters feel it? right away you're seeing mortgage rates have been declining in anticipation of this. it's one of those pressure points for people. even if they just know that it used to be 8%, and now it's 6%, that is some relief there. i think on credit cards and on car loans, it will take a little bit longer to filter through, but this is one of those pain points for american households, high interest rates. we're at the beginning of the pain point starting to subside a little bit. >> the timing of th

. >> leading us off this hour, nbc news senior business correspondent christine romans. stine, so experts weren't sure. >> yeah. >> how much they would cut interest rates by and we get this half a percentage point what does that mean. >> well, they got into the meeting and they started talking about the balance and the risk. they wanted to go big. this is a strong signal. he said it himself, the job market is strong, the economy is growing at a moderate pace and we want to keep it that way, they said. that's why we cut the rates. some thought they might do a smaller one, but this sends a message that lower rates are coming. they don't need to be as high as they are, inflation is under control. and now you want to make sure inflation isn't too high that actually hurts the economy and tips it in another direction. >> it's like a balancing act. >> exactly. >> what does this mean for our mortgages, your credit cards, or savings accounts? >> it means mortgage rates are already down in anticipation, down two points and probably go into the spring. that's good if you're refinanc

christine romans breaks down the growing trend of tipping less and the impact it's having on workers. this new survey shows, more consumers feel stressed about being asked to spend more. it turns out they're actually tipping less. >> what is going on with tipping? >> reporter: a growing number of folks are fed up with tipping. >> if i have to do something, i'm not tipping. >> reporter: and the endless ways it seems they're being asked to pay extra. >> tell me why i just got frozen yogurt, which is self-serve. you do it all yourself. and at the end there was a tipping screen. for what? >> even "curb your enthusiasm's" larry david's frustrated. >> i have noticed in the little coffee shops, right, you go in and get a croissant with a cup of coffee and there is a tip spot and it freaks people out a little bit. >> reporter: and the fatigue is real. a new survey reveals 60% say they're tired of being asked to tip for various services and the same amount feel pressured to tip. that fatigue is having an impact on the service industry, including restaurants. fewer consumers now say they tip se

nbc news business correspondent, christine romans joins us.the federal reserve decide to go as far as it did? >> the fed chief, frankly, the sheet is going in the right direction and a strong jobs market that might weaken even further. there's forecasting that the unemployment rate will rise in the weeks and months ahead. they just don't want it out of control. so that's why they had such a big cut. >> when will we all feel the impact of this rate cut? >> you're feeling it right now if you're an investor. clearly, wall street like this. mortgage rates are declining in's of this rate cut. we know there will be more rate cuts ahead. the fed chief essentially said so yesterday. a lot of people looking at potentially what that means for potentially refinancing a mortgage. and we will see lower interest rates. he we had seen interest rates near 20-year highs and all of that consumer borrowing. this has been a pain point for the american household. overnight, you'll see the rates decline. it won't happen overnight, especially for car rates and credi

nbc's christine romans is here in studio with me. this got interesting. what happened? >> they're hard to get covered by insurance. wegovy is about $1300 a month and at this hearing, it was brought to the ceo that if you wanted to get that drug in other countries, it would be $92 in the u.k. $60 or something in germany. so that the u.s. is paying much, much more. and the ceo basically said the u.s. has the most complicated system in the world for selling drugs into. that there are middlemen and pharmacy benefit managers who take 74 cents of every dollar goes to the middlemen in the u.s. healthcare system. and this is essentially what he said. >> anything that can help patients get access to the medicines they need at affordable price point we'll be happy to collaborate around that. >> are you prepared to have novo nortis sit down with the pbms that -- will you sit with us and work on an agreement? >> i'd be happy to, as i said, to anything that helps patients. i don't know under which conditions such a premise comes. i haven't seen any of that. >> they're in writing and

joining us christine romans. don't lean too far in. why is it a mixed bag?t was good news but only 142,000 jobs added. that's a lot less than economists thought. so you're seeing a slowing job market. >> is that a good thing for interest rates? >> it'sho a what the fed design. they raised interest rates and kept them way up here at 20-year highs to a long time to try to cool off the economy. the economy was rip-roaring and that was spinning off after this inflation.r so this was by design, the fed wanted to slow down the economy. and it did. the question is, now there's a lot of tightening in the system and how much slower will the job market get, we don't know for sure. >> if this ison what the fed wanted, we're waiting for the next interest rate announcement. are they going to lower it by a quarter point, half point, a point? >> if i werea a betting personi would say this number today is consistent with 25 basis points, a quarter of a point. the fed doesn't like to surprise the economy, doesn't like to shock really, so i think you would see gradual. this i

americans owe some $220 billion in medical debt, and as christine romans reports, for some there's no way out. >> look at that. >> reporter: these medical bills have followed terry belk since 2003 when his wife sandra was diagnosed with breast cancer. >> we had private health insurance, and we thought we had good insurance, but anyway, that was $23,000. >> outside of what the insurance coverage -- >> outside of the insurance coverage, right. >> reporter: terry has been telling his story for years talking to our charlotte, north carolina, affiliate in 2022. >> it's a lot of money to me. >> reporter: we wanted to hear how to this day the debt continues to haunt him. >> you weren't running away from these bills. >> no, i wasn't running away. i was trying to actually -- >> pay them. >> -- pay them. >> reporter: about 14 million americans owe at least a thousand dollars in medical debt. the top three states, south dakota, mississippi, and belk's home state of north carolina. as his wife battled cancer, he stopped working as a car salesman to care for her, then the calls started to come, ev

nbc senior business correspondent christine romans joins us now. give us the top line numbers and what it means for all of us. >> it means the red hot job market in the past couple of years is cooling. this is by design. the federal reserve raised interest rates over and over again, and kept them there to quell inflation. we knew that could slow the job market. it's still healthy. you know, 4.2% unemployment rate is down a little bit from last month. and 142,000 jobs created while lighter than the average for the year, it's a decent performance overall. the question is where do we go from here? often times, recessions start with a spike in the unemployment rate, which is why everyone was watching this number so carefully. wages inside this number are up 3.8%. wage growth. that means the family purchasing power is improving. inflation is now below 3% here, and also we're watching gas prices continue to decline. while we look at the overall number, i think some of the other household financial indicators are turning favorable for families. the big qu

news correspondent covering the trump can pain, vaughn hillyard, and business correspondent, christine romansron, why are you in pittsburgh with harris today? >> reporter: well, we have been here with her throughout the weekend. she has been here since thursday preparing for the debate that's coming tomorrow night in philadelphia. we expect that the vice president will be leaving in the next hour or so to head over to philadelphia. this weekend really for her has been going about mock debate sessions we understand from sources that have included intense qa, and workshoping responses to policy questions she may receive on the debate stage in philadelphia tomorrow night, and also thinking about how she would handle any unscripted or potentially unexpected moment with the former president on stage as well. we know part of the preparation has been for the possibility that he might say something to her that is insulting or derogatory. we know he has lobbed insults at her on the campaign trail. part of the preparation is getting ready to deal with that if it happens on the debate stage, as far as h

christine romans, nbc news. >>> prince harry is getting ready to celebrate a big milestone.ck at his past. international correspondent kelly cobiella explains. >> reporter: prince harry reach ing a major milestone turning 40 on sunday. in a statement, he says, i was anxious about 30, i'm excited about 40. adding that being a sdad one of life's greatest joys calling his children incredibly kind and funny. saying fatherhood has given me a fresh perspective in life and sharpening focus on my work. >> when you consider harry as a 40-year-old man, he seems so much more in control of his own destiny. there was a confidence about him and a drive and a real sense of purpose. >> reporter: harry has been living in california with his wife for more than four years now. after the couple shocked the world when they stepped down as working royals in 2020. the couple keeping their kids, prince archie, and 3-year-old largely out of the spotlight. but providing a glimpse of their young family for their netflix documentary. harry talking about his role as a dad. >> what do you love about fath

christine romans and mark leibovich thank you. that's going to do it for me.ne: white house" starts right now. >>> hi, everyone. it's 4:00 in new york as we

nbc news senior business correspondent christine romans joins us with more on this.is going to happen? >> it's been an impasse for months and all signs point midnight tonight there will be a strike and these 25,000 plus dockworkers will not be going back to work. and really what's at issue here is automation, the union doesn't want more automation at these ports, and wages, they want much higher wages and point to the mega profits made by the shippers in the past few years. >> what kinds of goods are going to be impacted and the broader impact on the economy? >> from bananas to cars to canned goods and lumber, there's all kinds of stuff that goes through these big 14 ports, all the way from new england down to texas. so it would have a dramatic impact. jpmorgan says $3.8 to 4.5 billion a day for every day it's on strike, but it's cumulative, because every day you're shut down it can take up to five days to catch up. and the more catching up you have to do, the more knock-on effect for consumers. it could mean higher freight costs, as they try to find rail and air to

we sat down with our senior business correspondent christine romans at where else, a kitchen table to the experts you talked to, if economists were to boil down how the economy is doing into a single word on our whiteboard, what would that be? >> if economists were to boil it down. that would say resilient. they'd say strong. some would say historic. >> reporter: the unemployment rate 4.2%. inflation at its lowest rate in more than three years. and the markets setting record highs. but higher prices at the grocery store, for example, aren't dropping back down as quickly as many want. the problem is there are pieces inside the economy that cause real americans the kitchen table paying their bills, they feel like they can't get ahead. those things are child care. they're elder care. they are concern about social security. >> reporter: experts call it a vibe session, the disconnect between how the economy seasoned how it feels. for some, clearly a mixed bag. hey there, sir. thumbs-up, thumbs-down? the economy is? thumbs-up. and a thumbs-down right behind him. >> reporter: from bad to gre

christine romans is here with the high stakes for the economy. christine?yeah, time is running out, lester and you've got truckers and rails just scrambling tonight to move billions of dollars in goods before the gates close at 14 major ports stranding everything from cars and bananas to electronics, apparel, shoes. just thousands of other imports. tens of thousands of dock workers from new england to texas vowing to strike at midnight when their six-year contract expires. now, the union boss was offered today a 50% pay increase. it's also asking for less automation. the maritime alliance representing the shippers and the ports they've asked the federal labor officials to get the union back to the table. every day of a strike could cost the economy $4.5 billion. but good news tonight, at least at the urging of the white house both sides are talking again, lester. >> christine, thanks for that update. >>> up next, the long saga of the inmate, a wrongful murder conviction and the journalists who helped make it right. we were there for the final chapter. i'd m

millions of americans drowning in medical debt and facing grueling financial pain, but now as christine romansor terry belk in north carolina, a new financial lease on life. >> it feels great, because, you know, the way to build wealth for most americans is through their home, so for almost two decads i had that taken from me. >> reporter: belk has a lien on his home because of the $23,000 in medical debt he owes atrium health despite having insurance. he began accruing the debt in 2003 when his wife sandra was diagnosed with the breast cancer that would ultimately take her life. the hospital later sued again for belk's own prostate cancer treatment with interest, now a debt of $8,000. that all changed with a call he received early this week days after his story was featured on "nightly news." >> what did they say on the phone? >> well, he said that i had been through a lot and that they're moving forward in a new direction as it relates to, you know, in a new direction as it relates to, you kn patient care and outcome, and they're going to be lifting liens and canceling judgments on all ex-pa

>> we bring in christine romans. we brought her in. let's talk about this.e think about? >> this means you have more room in your budget to borrow money. this is good for households and the companies. when you have lower interest rates, it means you have more money in the budget and lower borrowing costs. you can go out and look for a car and a car loan. there are good incentives and good inventory on the lot. that's good news if you are a car shopper. maybe you are looking for a home. this is a treacherous part of the economy right now because there's not a lot of supply. mortgage rates are down from last year. cds. if you have money to stash away for a rainy day, this is the time to put the money in cds and get into the higher interest rates before they decline. the stock market. it is always a good time to slowly add to the stock portfolio especially with the stock market doing well with lower interest rates. >> say you bought a home with the rates high. is now the time to refinance? >> people who bought a home last year are doing the happy dance. they ar

here to break things down, nbc senior business correspondent christine romans. d meets next week. we've been talking about inflation cooling seems like for a few months now. what say you, are we out of the woods? >> almost there. almost there. 2.5% is the inflation rate. and that is almost to that 2% mark that the fed likes to see. when you look inside these numbers, though, of course your life isn't -- the inflation rate is the things that you buy, right? so housing still a problem here. from july to august, housing prices up here. eggs up, look at that 5%. there's a bird flu issue in the country. so that often puts those up. but look, energy down. that's a big story here. when you look at gas prices, this is a big real-feel indicator for a lot of families. gas prices are down almost 50 cents since same time last year. and a lot of experts are telling me they expect by thanksgiving could be below nationwide $3 a gallon. so that's a little relief on the family budget. >> you said housing prices are on the way up, but mortgage rates potentially falling. >> that's

here to break it all down, nbc's senior business correspondent, christine romans. stine, we weren't sure if it was going to be a quarter point or a half point. if savannah were here in person, she would troll you, face to face. it was a half a point. what does that mean for the economy? >> a lot of people thought it would be a quarter point, because the fed chief likes to be very cautious. but this was a half point. that is a jolt to the economy. essentially, it's cutting interest rates. this is the biggest rate cut we've seen since -- well, since covid, when covid happened, the fed cut rates really sharply, then suddenly inflation spiked and so they raised rates really sharply. and now we're starting the first step here of trying to get back to normal. this is a big move that sends an important message to the economy that the fed says, we're not going to let the economy go into a downturn. >> let's talk about what that cut means for people's pocketbooks and wallets. the larger cut, does that mean people will see more relief than anticipated? >> absolutely. you've h

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nbc's senior business correspondent christine romans here with more on this. ne, i think a lot of people love costco because of the potential to save big time, right, buy in bulk, you might save some money. with this increase in fees, are you saving? >> we know that buying in bulk you save, especially for household things like at the pr the first in seven years, and deep discounts for gas and deep discounts for travel. there are lot of perks that come with this. sam's club, it's $50 and $110 for its premium, but there's an introductory off of $25 for brand-new members. costco, raising prices here but knows it has a very, very loyal fan base. >> but seven years in no price increase on the fees? >> yeah, the food at the front of their stores, they never raise the prices there, the pizza and hot dogs have been the same as long as i can remember. they also do a lot of food tasting and giveaways inside the store and all that costs more as well. the bulk of costco's revenue comes from what you buy in the store, not necessarily the membership, and that's a small piece

joining us now, nbc business correspondent christine roman.what do they want? >> more money and less automation. they're trying to preserve their way of life, but they want more money, and the union boss basically said the last offer from the port owners and shippers was insulting, he said. here we are. they think they're going to strike at midnight. >> the white house, have they said whether they're going to get involved? it would be a big deal in the election if the supply chain were cut off again? >> they're talking to both sides. they're urnging them to get back to the bargaining table. also the white house pointing out that they want a deal that is fair and commensurate with the huge profits of these big shipping companies, so the white house saying they're not going to invoke -- get in there and break the strike at this point. >> it's also an interesting moment because union workers have been so successful in the last couple of years. they've made inroads against corporations and cemented a living wage, health care. they've made a lot of

here to answer all our questions is christine romans.aper and come back with a pony and computer. you never know what you'll walk out of costco with. they will raise prices $5 to $10. for new and renewed memberships. this is the first time they have done that in about seven years here. so if you have a gold star membership, the old fee was 60. the new one will be 65. the business, it goes up to 65. and the executive, now goes up to 130. remember that executive one, you get 2% cash back. so if you're like me and buy a lot of stuff at a store like that you can kind of pay for that membership fee depending on how much you buy there. >> is it still cost effective then? >> you know, it really. if you look at travel, tires, gas, some of these deep discounts for things that you can get with a costco membership, the 1.50 hot dog and soda, come on. there are really big discounts here. the travel services in particular f you book directly through them, it's a really effective, efficient way to do travel. as i mentioned the 2% rewards on costco pur

christine romans is here talking holiday deals. santa claus.telling you about the deals. >>> and then hoda has a morning "boost" right after this. she d build on my wins, without changing my antidepressant. rexulti, when added to an antidepressant, significantly reduced depression symptoms more than an antidepressant alone. and less depression? that's a win. elderly people with dementia-related psychosis have increased risk of death or stroke. antidepressants may increase suicidal thoughts and actions and worsen depression in children and young adults. call your healthcare provider right away to report new or sudden changes in mood, behavior, thoughts, or feelings, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions. report fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, which can be life-threatening; or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. high blood sugar can lead to coma or death; weight gain, increased cholesterol, unusual urges, dizziness on standing, falls, seizures, trouble swallowing, or sleepiness may occur. keep moving forward. ask

. >>> first, christine romans is here with an inside look at the growing push to make the weight loss to get and more affordable. hey, christine. >> that's right. good morning. for millions it's nothing short of a medical miracle these drugs taking the world by storm. it has congress asking, why do these drugs cost more in the u.s. than in other countries? that's after the break. had. because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flare-ups. and with one dose a day, trelegy improves lung function so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing shou

joining us now, nbc news senior business correspondent, christine romans.ying to say when they're talking about getting grocery prices down? >> the corner stone of his economic policy would be tariffs so he keeps trying to tie everything back to tariffs. the idea that if he were to put on really restrictive tariffs, you would have hundreds of billions of dollars coming in through foreign governments and somehow that would increase prosperity for everyone. as you pointed out, most economists say that, it's importers, companies in the united states, who pay those tariffs and pass it along the consumers. his promise not to have inflation, we'd have to watch and see. >> he answers the question first off, he's talking about kamala harris. he's going to get me to say it wrong. and her talking about her lawn even though he was asked about prices. he goes on to talk about energy. getting energy down. is getting energy down and again, not much of a plan here, but is getting it down going to get the price of milk down? eggs? >> it's good for small business owners but

. >> joining us now is christine romans, remind us just how much these drugs are costing right now and what did we hear on capitol hill today? >> these are very, very expensive drugs. these are miracle drugs for some people. people strugging how to pay for it. if you look at ozempic, it's 15-times more in the u.s. than it is in some of these other countries. if you look at wegovy, that's weight loss drug, that's been approved by medicare to help people with heart conditions and hypertension, that can be covered by insurance in some cases. look at how expensive it is compared to u.s. >> you said medicines can't help patients if they can't afford them, that's true. it's also true the value of wegovy if they can access them. it's also clear that no single company alone can solve some complicated policy changes. >> congress, you have to work this out, because of every dollar that's spent on ozempic for example 74 cents go to the middlemen. pharmacy, the managers. >> to the point of congress needing to work it out, have there been any recent successes in washington when comes to lowering pr

nbc's christine romans joins us now with a closer look at how the economy is doing in several key counties christine, what did you find? >> let's start in maricopa county, arizona. this is the fastest growing county in the united states. it is typically a gop it went stronghold. it went for donald trump in but joe 2016. but joe biden flipped this county. it is growing it is growing like gangbusters. the job market there very, very only good. only 3.8% unemployment. much better than the rest of the country, but affordability is the key here. it is growing so fast, housing prices are rising, people are coming in from all the rest of the parts of the country to go to maricopa county. for a lot of voters there. gwinnett county in georgia, a fast growing northeastern suburb of atlanta. hillary clinton in 2016 won tra territory. it has gone blue the last two elections. a lower than normal unemployment rate. a strong job market there. affordability the big issue. look at the numbers on the bottom, the nbc home buyers' index, the higher the number, the harder to get a home. kent county, michigan,

. >> christine romans, nice to see you. >>> that's going to do it for us today. i'll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place. again, we're keeping an eye on president biden as he's expected to give remarks any moment now from the white house on hurricane helene and the impacts and his administration's response. stay tuned for is that. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. >>> good morning. it is 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart and we begin this morning with breaking news. any moment now, president biden will deliver remarks from the white house about the federal response to hurricane helene. the death toll from that storm has risen to at least 99 people across six states, with most of the deaths in the carolinas. right now there's widespread devastation, and an urgent search for survivors. the storm decimated towns with historic flooding washing out bridges and roads, and leaving some neighborhoods completely under water. take a look at asheville, north carolina, where home

i want to bring in nbc news senior business correspondent, christine romans. what do we know about tomorrow's big decision and what has yet to be decided? >> it's amazing. we're entering a new phase for the fed after keeping rates so high now. 23-year high for interest rates. we just don't know if it's ging to be a little one or a bigger rate cut. there's some discussion and debate about what will happen, but a rate cut is coming and that will affect anybody who borrows money. it comes against the backdrop of gas prices that are declining. they're down about 67 cents a gallon. mortgage rates are already falling in anticipation of that rate cut. 6.11% for mortgage rate here. inflation at 2.5%. the white house, the counsel of economic advisers in a blog post today saying all of those expectations of a wreck for the economy were defied and in fact, you've got inflation coming down without a recession that goes with it. then retail sales this morning. we saw retail sales unexpectedly tick up so the consumer is still hanging in here as well despite complaining abou

senior business correspondent christine romans is here to help us with all of the details.tart with the deals. we mentioned amazon prime day coming up a minute ago, but there are a lot of deals on the horizon. >> absolutely, and october is really going to be the month where you're going to see big deals from names you have heard of, the target circle, amazon's big deal days, also best buy is going to have deals. the idea here is that the big brands have seen how savvy and discriminating consumers are, and they want to make sure they're giving you a lot of options to buy stuff. so listen to what one expert told us. >> what we are seeing now are retailers trying to beat amazon at their own game, so they're coming out with their flashy sale maybe a week before amazon prime day. i do expect a lot of activity around that early october timeframe, so if you are open to starting to shop early, that's kind of when i would target my attention. >> a lot of people are open to shopping early. i was so surprised. it's almost half say they're going to start or finish their christmas shopp

thank you, christine romans.ou'll listen closely and keep us posted and make sense of what the decision is. i want to bring in justin woffers from the university of michigan. professor, nice to see you. practically speaking, how will this rate cut translate to people's finances in the immediate and then the long-term? >> yes, so, you know, the good news is we had high interest rates for quite a while, trying to whack that inflation out of the system. the inflation is gone. and what that means is the high rates can go away. today there is a debate 25 basis points or 50 basis points, i think that's not the big deal. the big deal is that by spring, interest rates should be all the way back down to normal. down from about 5.5% to about 3%. so from a practical level, if you look at your mortgage rates and try to decide whether it is a good time to buy, you think about buying a car, if you just are worried about how much money you've got left at the end of the week after you paid off your mortgage, all those things are