5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

Mortgage rates soared Monday to hit their highest mark in nearly 23 years. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage reached 7.48%, a level last seen in November 2000, according to Mortgage News Daily. The surge comes as investors are worried about high interest rates and the potential for continuing inflation. Buyers are seeing a drastic difference from this time last year when the average for a 30-year fixed was about 5.5%. The increase is also exacerbating a housing supply issue, as many current homeowners hesitate to sell their homes and walk away from their mortgages with rates around or below 3%.

Chip designer Arm, which is owned by Japan’s SoftBank, has filed to go public via a Nasdaq listing. Arm designs the architecture of chips and sells licenses to that technology. Its chips are used in 99% of all smartphones and it is a key provider of technology to Apple, Alphabet and Qualcomm, among others. The company, which wants to list under the ticker ARM, will hold one of the first major tech IPOs in nearly two years, as the market has been largely dormant.

A slew of longtime top Google executives have left their roles in the past few months. Tech Zone Daily’s Jennifer Elias reports the leadership changes come as the company faces competitive, regulatory and investor pressures. Some notable employees, like YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat, said they were looking for new challenges, while others left to create artificial intelligence projects. Meanwhile, cost-cutting measures at the tech giant, including its first-ever mass layoffs in January, have taken some employees by surprise. It all points to a new chapter for a company that many tech employees consider a top place to work.

American workers want higher-than-ever salaries to take a new job, according to the latest New York Federal Reserve employment survey. It’s a sign that the labor market remains hot and that inflation could stay stronger than the Fed wants, as wages are considered a driving force behind higher prices. The survey, released Monday, shows that the average “reservation wage” — or the minimum acceptable salary offer to switch jobs — climbed to $78,645 during the second quarter of 2023. Employers have tried to keep pace with the wage demands, and the average full-time offer rose 14% in the past year to $69,475.