Dow Drops 1,032 Points on Coronavirus Fears [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] No, I don’t see mortgages becoming free any time soon. Even if long-term interest rates...Read More
All Eyes on the Fed How will rocky stocks — down another 2% in early trading today — affect the housing market? My knee-jerk response is to cite Chinese leader Mao Zedong, who, when asked (in 1950), “What’s the significance of the French Revolution?,” responded, “it’s too soon too tell.” So, if stocks quickly rebound in the...Read More
From “Super-Low” to “Outrageously, Absurdly Low” Wait a second — haven’t mortgage rates been, like, dirt cheap since . . . forever? And haven’t interest rates paid on savings been infinitesimal for practically just as long? Well, yes. But, as a result of further Euro zone deterioration last week — and the resulting flight to quality/safety — interest...Read More
Improving Consumer Sentiment Buoys “Medium Ticket” Items American consumers are finally coming out of hiding. After months of penny-pinching amid the recession, new figures “showing an improving job market, rising factory output and increased retail sales ” suggest that consumers are no longer restricting their budgets to necessities like food and medicine. They are starting...Read More
