Happy Friday to my investor friends out there,

So far today, all is quiet on the western front.  Not a whole lot of activity going on up at the ‘Wall’.  My guess is there is a lot more talk about the Giants’ chances this Sunday than about stocks and bonds.  Some of you may know that I am a self-proclaimed cheesehead, and last Sunday was not a good day for me and all of Titletown, USA.  But there’s always next year, so on to the important stuff!

Hot off the press, the US Economy is back!   Er, maybe.  Again, the pessimist in me still says time will tell, and I advise you not to get too excited by the news that came out today, and neither will the seasoned investor.  The NAR (National Association of Realtors) proclaimed that December’s pace of existing home sales was up a full 5 percent over the prior month.  Also, the number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits, declined by 50,000 during the week ending January 14th, which is the best performance since around April 2008.  I’m cautiously optimistic about this number, but remember, there are always ‘tainted’ numbers this time of year, due to the seasonal hiring from Thanksgiving through the Christmas holiday.  There’s still some  more numbers to be hashed out, but trust me the proof will be in the pudding at the end of the month when the next round of non-arms hits the tape. [Read more...]

Happy Friday Investors. I apologize for getting this out late, but wanted to give you some quick bits to chew on before you all rush out for happy hour. Not a whole lot happening eco-wise today, except for the Commerce Department released the numbers for the consumer price index for the month of November. You may say so what, but the overall rate of inflation remained unchanged, coupled with interest rates that are still creeping down slowly but surely. That’s all for today’s eco news.

Let’s take a preview of what is coming next week.

Uncle Sam will be looking to borrow 99 billion in 2,5, and 7 year notes on Monday through Wednesday. Look for solid foreign participation to gently push rates down a little further, however, ‘skinny’ participation could cause the opposite effect. (Let’s hope for the former). Wednesday will reveal the existing home sales figures, with Thursday presenting the final estimates for 3rd quarter GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Friday will be mostly a non-factor as the Wall will shot down at 2 Eastern to begin the Christmas Exodus through the 26th of December.

On to the rates:

Currently, SFR can be purchased with 20% down and carry a 30-year fixed rate of 4.875# Duplexes up to 4 Units can be purchased with 25% down and carry a 30-year fixed rate of 4.75% Good luck to everyone trying to finish up their Holiday Shopping this weekend, don’t forget to take a minute to smell the roses, and get ready for the final push next week before the Holiday Break. Don’t forget to give the BawldGuy and I a fix, our numbers are below.

Chad — Office Direct: (210) 483-4962 Mobile: (210) 557-6320

BawldGuy — 619 889-7100

Happy Friday to all, it’s been a couple weeks, but sure feels like a lot longer since I put out a post. My apologies for my lack of participation. Bawldguy has been kindly reminding me that our investor friends need some guidance!

Alright, let’s get right to it. There has been some positive economic data over the past couple weeks that have kept rates from going too far down, but they haven’t really been going up as of late either. The market is very quiet today, but as you may have heard, consumer sentiment is up for the 4th straight week. Consumers feel that the employment picture is improving, as well as our overall economy. I’m going to be cautiously pessimistic, of course, and take a wait and see approach. [Read more...]

Happy Friday to all,

Wanted to take a quick break to get some information out to everyone after all the reports came out today, and some of it is a bit surprising. The Labor Department announced that the headline jobs number posted less than the expected 95,000 gain that most experts expected, coming in at only 80,000. The surprising bit was that the national jobless rate dropped down to 9.0 for October, which was not expected. Almost at the very second, those inexperienced, high emotion driven investors sprinted out to purchase stocks. Kind of like those runners that sprint out at the beginning of a long distance race, who ultimately run out of fuel early as everyone else ultimately passes them midway through the race. [Read more...]