president

"Franksgiving" And Other Black Friday Facts

November 28, 2008

The day after Thanksgiving is a busy shopping day nationwide and, this year, analysts are paying extra attention to sales figures. Dubbed “Black Friday” in reference to red ink representing loss and black ink representing gain, today’s start to the Holiday Shopping season is believed to be the day that retailer balance sheets finally cross over to profitability

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : November 10, 2008

November 10, 2008

Mortgage rates fell last week, marking just the second time since September that rates improved on a weekly basis. The biggest news of the week was the U.S. Presidential Election. Markets appeared to cheer the Republican-to-Democrat transfer of power, posting large gains Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This in spite of a spate of negative economic […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : November 3, 2008

November 3, 2008

As global credit markets deteriorated in October, mortgage markets displayed an unnerving amount of volatility. Last week was no different. But, unlike in previous weeks in which rates improved on some days and worsened on others, mortgage rates were mostly higher last week, finishing the month on a surge. The biggest reason why mortgage rates […]

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How The Presidential Election May Impact Mortgage Rates

November 2, 2008

More than a handful would-be home buyers stayed on the sidelines this year, waiting for Election Day to pass. The prevailing thought was that once the new President-Elect was identified, credit markets will systemically unfreeze and housing markets will return to normal. If history is a guide, this is an unlikely scenario. Election Day doesn’t […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : September 29, 2008

September 29, 2008

Mortgage rates bounced around last week, ending up worse overall.  It was the second straight week in which rates deteriorated.  Sentiment was driven largely by the proposed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 — a.k.a. The $700 Billion Bailout. The good news is that Congress drafted its bill Sunday evening and within the 110 pages, […]

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The New Housing Bill’s Hidden Tax Trap

July 31, 2008

Monday, President Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 into law and the press jumped on the obvious storylines: First-time home buyers get a $7,500 purchase “credit” Conforming loan limits move to $625,000 Delinquent homeowners get a lifeline from the FHA Local governments get federal money for buying and restoring foreclosed homes […]

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Amaze Your Friends With IRS Trivia

April 15, 2008

Today is Tax Day so here’s some IRS-related trivia to share at the water cooler: Did you know… President Lincoln and Congress enacted the first income tax in 1862 to pay Civil War expenses. Did you know… The Civil War income tax was repealed in 1872, revived by Congress in 1894, and ruled unconstitutional by […]

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Recession or Inflation? Even Fed Members Don’t Know For Sure.

March 5, 2008

With Friday’s jobs report looming, mortgage markets are especially skittish about whether the economy is in a recession, or facing inflation. Four Fed speakers Tuesday did little to quell the debate: 9:00 A.M.: Fed Chairman Bernanke stayed on message that foreclosures and falling home values are dragging down the economy. 10:00 A.M.: Fed Vice Chairman […]

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How Economic Stimulus Impacts Home Financing

February 13, 2008

President Bush is expected to sign the economic stimulus package today. The package includes tax rebates and incentives for business and its purpose is to jumpstart a stalling U.S. economy. If the package is deemed “effective” by Wall Street investors, we should expect the stock market to rally on the prospects of business growth. The […]

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Where Presidential Candidates Stand On Matters Of Money

February 7, 2008

In an election year, voting for a presidential candidate can be a lot like buying a home. Both require a fair amount of analysis but — in the end — the decision is still highly emotional. Using Bankrate.com’s side-by-side candidate comparisons, some of that emotion could be replaced by fact. In a gridded format, candidates are […]

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Retail Sales Data Gives Mortgage Markets Something To Chew On

October 15, 2007

Until this morning, mortgage markets had been somewhat dormant over the course of the week.  There was no new data for traders to chew, digest and/or spit out.  Mortgage rates sat flat because of it. Then, at 8:30 A.M. ET, the Commerce Department released Retail Sales data for September.  Mortgage rates are headed higher this morning on […]

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Pros and Cons of Checkbook Control for Self Directed IRA’s

July 30, 2007

One of the things that I do in my business is help people buy real estate inside their IRA’s and 401(k)’s. There is an article on Producers web by Tom Anderson the President of Pensco Trust–one of the nation’s most trusted Self Directed IRA and 401(k) custodians. This article deals with a hot topic in […]

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The Oldest And Shortest Written Constitution Of Any Major Government Belongs To The U.S.

July 3, 2007

In honor of Independence Day, here are 13 little-known bits of trivia about the United States constitution, courtesy of constitutionfacts.com: The first constitution was not known as the Declaration of Independence.  It was called the Articles of Confederation. The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major […]

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In The Summer, Mortgage Rates Can Change More Swiftly Than Usual

June 20, 2007

It was another favorable day for mortgage rates yesterday as average housing data and momentum trading carried bond prices higher. Bond prices up, mortgage rates down, of course. All things considered, mortgage bonds should not have moved as much as they did.  But, this is the summer season and in the summer, fewer traders show […]

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What’s All That Yellen About?

April 27, 2007

So much for market calm. The mortgage market tanked yesterday when, in response to conflicting data about growth and inflation, San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen said “watchful waiting” is the Fed’s likely next step. This surprised markets because most expect the Fed to lower the Fed Funds Rate within the next few months. The […]

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This Year, Taxes Are Due April 17

April 16, 2007

Just a reminder that taxes are due tomorrow, April 17 — even if your tax documents state otherwise.  This is because of Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. Emancipation Day dates to April 16, 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in that area.  When IRS deadlines fall […]

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Three Fed Speakers On Tap For Today

April 10, 2007

With three members of the Federal Reserve scheduled to speak today, don’t be surprised if mortgage rates show some brief volatility. Despite weakness in housing, the economy has shown resiliency and continues to push forward.  Markets had widely expected a slowdown, but are now having to change course — rapidly.  T his is why mortgage […]

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Fed President Poole Says “There Could Be A Recession”

March 2, 2007

Speaking in Chile this morning, St. Louis Fed President William Poole said that while “there could be a recession” in the coming months, the Fed is not expecting it. This echoes Ben Bernanke’s speech earlier this week in which he stated that the U.S. economy still has room for growth. Poole’s comments are soothing markets […]

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More “Safe Haven” Buying Drops Mortgage Rates

February 27, 2007

The Flight-to-Quality continues in the bond markets. Iran said today that the suspension of its uranium enrichment program “will never happen”, fueling speculation that an international stand-off is pending.  The United States has sent additional aircraft carriers to the Gulf in response. Normally, this action is enough to frighten markets into bonds by itself, but […]

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The Week In Review (February 12, 2007) : What To Watch For

February 12, 2007

Despite the dearth of economic news last week, mortgage rates staged somewhat of a rally.  By the time the week ended. mortgage rates had retreated by half of the prior week’s major run-up.  The week was not without fireworks, however.  In prepared remarks, Dallas Fed President Fisher dropped a hint about future Fed rate hikes […]

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