Expert Q&A from Louisiana State University

When the Fed announces a rate cut, consumers often expect interest rates on the financial products they use to go down as well, but it isn’t always that straightforward.

Savings:

With deposit products, high-yield savings rates are the ones most likely to be affected. Many account holders may have already seen their rates go down in anticipation of this rate cut. Others may have to wait for their financial institutions to lower rates. Because the Fed is expected to continue cutting this year and throughout 2026, savings rates might continue to drop.

Certificate of deposit (CD) rates are also likely to go down now that the Fed has cut rates, more so for short-term CDs compared to long-term CDs. So, locking in a CD rate now might be a good idea if you’re worried about future Fed cuts.

Home Borrowing Costs:

You should see an almost immediate drop in Home Equity Line of Credit (Heloc) rates because these rates are variable and tied to an index, often the prime rate. The prime rate follows the federal-funds rate, which means that when the Fed cuts rates, HELOC borrowers on both new and existing loans typically benefit.

Home equity loan rates however may not see much of an impact as these rates are fixed and the rate cut has largely already been priced in.

With long term mortgages, their rates are benchmarked to the yield on the 10-year Treasury rate. Historically, changes in the Fed’s benchmark rate (which is the short-term, overnight rate) are barely correlated with long-term mortgage rates. What we have actually seen since the Fed started lowering rates is that mortgage rates have moved in the opposite direction. This is because the 10-year Treasury yields have risen over concerns about the economy, expanding deficits and trade wars.

Credit cards:

With credit cards, the rates may come down a bit, but not much to make a difference because the rates are still at historic highs. The Fed tends to cut rates when it is concerned about the economy, which means borrowers may find it harder to repay, and banks price that risk in the way they price their credit cards.

The financial system, which is comprised of financial institutions (banks) and financial markets, moves the savings in the economy to investments via credit and capital flows. Both credit and capital markets provide leading indicators of where the economy is headed.

Banks create credit, and therefore people should look for signs that indicate when banks become more cautious about lending or when they see headlines about banks stress. This means that credit will become harder to get, which can slow the economy even if other indicators look healthy.

They can also look for signs from the financial market. When the term spread, which is the difference between long and short- term rates is positive, it typically signals expectation of economic growth and higher future rates. When it is negative or inverted, it signals expectations of slower growth or even a recession as markets anticipate future rate cuts.

Player position matters.

Lineman absorb many lower-speed, repeated hits, which makes them more prone to bumps and bruises, but as they get older we start to see more shoulder and knee injuries. Skill players take higher-speed open-field collisions, which raises their risk for sprains and strains. As players get older, they get bigger, stronger, and faster so the same plays carry more injury risk.

Concussions can affect any position and don’t always require a direct hit to the head; force from a body blow can be transmitted upward and still cause brain injury. Concussions are among the hardest injuries to diagnose, because signs and symptoms may vary and you cannot see a concussion on traditional imaging (X-ray, CT, MRI). The consequences of another hit to the head while someone has a concussion are extremely serious so the rule of thumb is "when in doubt, sit them out."

In youth football the most common injuries we see are contusions or bruises (about one third of all injuries). While they often seem minor, padding the injured area and avoiding heat or massage for the first 72 hours can help recovery. Other common injuries that we worry about are joint sprains, muscle strains, and concussions. Joint sprains and muscle strains vary in severity and are usually accompanied by pain, swelling, and limited movement. Concussions have a long list of potential signs and symptoms so it is important to be seen by a qualified health care provider.

Avoidance of help - First - if people really want to die, they simply won't seek help. Help keeps them from their goal - dying. People don't always seek help when having suicidal thoughts because generally they don't think they need it and want to manage them on their own.

This is where strong digital interventions, mobile applications, and building strong day-to-day wellness plays a critical role.

But people also don't seek help out of fear of being institutionalized - being held against their will at a hospital with no shoestrings because the staff don't trust them to not hang themselves with them. That process, to many, feels more like jail then treatment. Finally, people don't seek help out of internal stigma - they feel shame about feeling suicidal and the things that led to this point. So given what is driving the reduction in help-seeking, we need different approaches. We need to have crisis options outside of the hospital (988, Bridge Center for Hope) and make sure folks know about them. We need to make sure folks know what is and isn't good in the app store to support their own coping (Virtual Hope Box, Safety Planning App). We need to teach folks the importance of storing medications and firearm safely incase their own desire to manage suicidal thoughts are overwhelmed. Increasing suicide help-seeking is a multi-faceted, public health approach for sure.