Market Melt-Down Creates Refinancing Opportunity No, it’s not good when already volatile markets lurch downward like they’ve done the last couple days. However, astute financial observers know that such turbulence is also accompanied by a “flight to safety” — in this case, U.S. debt. Doesn’t the U.S. have a $13 trillion (and counting) deficit, and...Read More
Still Low (For Now) For months (years?), Realtors have been warning prospective home Buyers that today’s low rates (still around 5% for those with excellent credit) won’t last much longer. That’s based on a number of potent economic factors: –Trillions in economic stimulus pumped into the economy by the Fed and its potentially inflationary impact;...Read More
Mortgage Rates: Moving Up Everyone in the housing business seems to be counting down to the approaching deadline with baited breath. No, not April 30, when the home buyer tax credits expire. March 31, when the Federal Reserve stops buying mortgages and mortgage-backed securities — reportedly, anywhere from $10 to $25 billion, per week, since...Read More
Fed Rate Bump Today’s leading financial stories are: a) the Federal Reserve’s apparently surprise decision to raise interest rates on short-term bank borrowing; and b) the market’s reaction to same (playing out now). My take? The action itself is relatively trivial: hiking rates on some arcane, overnight interest rate from .5% to .75% (yes, that’s...Read More
30-Yr. Rates Back to 5% Busy day — I’ll catch up to the “news cycle” tonight. However, in the mean time, just a hunch 🙂 that there’s a link between unemployment numbers coming in better than expected, and 30-year rates going over 5% for the first time in several weeks. Haven’t seen any commentary dissecting...Read More
1.5% in Really Big Type is Still . . . 1.5%Just a heads up to whoever writes the marketing copy for banks advertising “fat” interest rates on their saving deposits, CD’s, etc.: 1.5% in really big type is still just 1.5%. And it doesn’t matter how pleased the actors in the ads look.Read More
