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- Smart Money Weekly: The Great Divide 📉📈
Smart Money Weekly: The Great Divide 📉📈
Issue 14 | Week of November 25-29, 2025 | Est. Reading Time: 5 minutes
RASHIDA HERBERS
November 30, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
Good Morning Money Movers! ☕
Welcome to another edition of Smart Money Weekly! This week felt like a tale of two cities. In one, traditional stock markets were partying like it’s 1999, posting their best week since June. In the other, the crypto world was a ghost town after a trillion dollar wipeout. So what gives? Let’s dive in.
📊 Market Snapshot
Here’s a look at where the markets stand as of Friday, November 28, 2025:
• S&P 500: 6,849 (+3.7% for week) 📊📈
• Dow Jones: 47,716 (+3.2% for week) 📈
• Nasdaq: 23,366 (+4.9% for week) 💻📈
• Bitcoin: $90,355 (Down 30% from October peak) ₿📉
• Gold: $4,192/oz (+2.9% for week) 🥇
• 10 Year Treasury: 4.01% (Stable from previous week) 📊
• 30 Year Mortgage: 6.28% (Down slightly from 6.32%) 🏠
⭐ Featured Story: The Job Market’s Quiet Crisis
Behind the headlines of stock market rallies and crypto crashes, a quieter but equally important story is unfolding: the job market is getting “noticeably weaker.” The unemployment rate is at a four year high, and while companies aren’t announcing mass layoffs, they’ve slowed hiring to a crawl. This is the hidden story that’s putting pressure on the Fed to cut rates.
Why it matters: A weak job market is bad news for everyone. It means less job security, slower wage growth, and less consumer spending, which can drag down the whole economy. Keep an eye on the monthly jobs report – it’s one of the most important indicators of where the economy is headed..
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🔝 Top 5 Money Stories of the Week 🗞️
1. Markets Roar Back with Best Week Since June 🎉
The stock market shrugged off its November blues and went on a five day winning streak, capping its best week since June. The S&P 500 and Dow even extended their monthly winning streaks to seven months. The tech heavy Nasdaq, however, wasn’t so lucky, snapping its seven month winning streak with a loss for November. 😅
Why it matters: After a shaky month, investors are feeling optimistic again. The big driver is growing hope that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December. This rally shows just how much the market is hanging on every word from the Fed.
2. Fed Rate Cut Drama Heats Up 🎭
Speaking of the Fed, the chances of a December interest rate cut skyrocketed from 30% to 85% this week. This came after some top Fed officials, who are usually tight lipped 🤫, publicly hinted they were open to a cut. The Fed is walking a tightrope, trying to cool inflation without crushing the job market.
Why it matters: A rate cut is a big deal for your wallet. It could mean lower interest rates on your mortgage, credit card debt, and car loans. But it’s a double edged sword, as it could also cause inflation to heat up again.
3. Bitcoin’s Trillion Dollar Wipeout 😱
It was a bloodbath 🩸 in the crypto world. Bitcoin crashed a whopping 30% from its recent peak, wiping out over a trillion dollars in market value in just six weeks. This is the worst month for crypto since the FTX collapse in 2022. The crash was so bad it scared off many of the mainstream investors who had recently jumped on the crypto bandwagon.
Why it matters: This crash shows that crypto is still the Wild West of finance. While the diehard believers are used to this kind of volatility, the “normie” investors who bought in recently are learning a hard lesson: what goes up fast can come down even faster.
4. Mortgage Rates Dip, But Don’t Pop the Champagne 🍾
There was a glimmer of good news for homebuyers this week as 30 year fixed mortgage rates dipped slightly to around 6.28%. While any drop is welcome, don’t get too excited 🤔. Forecasters expect rates to remain elevated for a while, with some predicting they’ll stay in the 6% range through 2026.
Why it matters: Even a small drop in mortgage rates can save you hundreds of dollars a month on your house payment. But with home prices still high, housing affordability remains a major challenge for many Americans. 💸
5. Black Friday Fizzles as Shopping Goes Digital 🛍️
Did you brave the Black Friday crowds this year? If not, you weren’t alone. In store traffic was sparse as more and more shoppers chose to hunt for deals online 💻. Overall spending during the Thanksgiving weekend was down 13% from 2019, while online sales on Thanksgiving Day jumped 5.3% to $6.4 billion.
Why it matters: The slow death of the Black Friday doorbuster is a sign of our changing times. It reflects a permanent shift to online shopping, but also a growing sense of economic uncertainty that has many people thinking twice before they spend. 💰️
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💡 Inspiration Station
With all this talk of market volatility, it’s easy to feel anxious. But remember what legendary investor Warren Buffett said: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” Instead of trying to time the market, the most successful investors use a strategy called dollar cost averaging – investing a fixed amount of money at regular intervals, regardless of what the market is doing. It’s a simple but powerful way to build wealth over the long term. 💪
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🤔 Reality Check Corner
Everyone seems to be cheering for a Fed rate cut, but let’s not forget the downside. While lower rates are great for borrowers, they’re not so great for savers, who will earn less interest on their savings accounts. And if the Fed cuts rates too quickly, it could undo all its hard work and send inflation soaring again. In economics, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. ⚖️
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🔥 In Case You Missed It…
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That's a Wrap! 🎬
That’s all for this week! 👋 We’ll be back next week with more news and insights to help you stay smart about your money.
If you found this newsletter helpful, I would love for you to visit my website at www.rashidaherbers.com for more financial insights, resources, and tips to help you build wealth and make smarter money decisions.
-Rashida