In this era of low mortgage rates, few borrowers are opting for ARM loans. We all know that at some point that will change and lenders will all have to dust off their ARM margin notes and remember things like LIBOR, created in the 1980′s. The London Interbank Offered Rate is a key adjustable rate [...]

Wells Fargo joined the other large banks in announcing plans to pay back our TARP money. Banks are complaining that they can’t attract top talent with their compensation structures capped. This is good news, since Wells called me the other day to offer me a high paying job (they said I could spel good) but [...]

Attack of the FHA loan files? Most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. So by my calculations, that means that this Sunday here in the U.S. most of us “fall back” and it [...]

I can tell that I am grown up because I get up at 4AM, not go to bed at 4AM, and I no longer consider a $4.00 bottle of wine “pretty good stuff”. The French, known for their wine, celebrate Bastille Day today. It is called Fête Nationale (National Holiday) in France and commemorates the [...]

Housing Bottom Watch Two blonds are facing each other across a large river. One cries out to the other, “How can I get to the other side?” The other responds, “Duh, you ARE on the other side!” Are we on the “other side” when it comes to the housing market? Not according to a Harvard [...]

Would you like to feel your head spin? Check out the US Debt Clock. ARM Originations Up As Rates Rise Folks following rates will notice that with the steeper yield curve, interest in ARM loans has picked up. Bank-to-bank lending rates have plunged to near record lows in recent weeks, a positive indication for the [...]

Below is from Teodoro Wealth Report, a weekly produced by Marin County-based financial advisor Alex Teodoro: One key to an economic recovery is a thawing of the credit freeze. Let’s look at three indicators that suggest we’re making some progress in this area. First, the LIBOR is coming down. LIBOR stands for London InterBank Offered [...]

Rates Set By Markets, Not The Fed I love it when folks think that the US Government sets our mortgage rates, and not the supply & demand in the markets. It would sure make life easier for everyone in the business, especially secondary marketing & pricing folks. Market Cliche Storm I was standing in the [...]

AIG Gets More Government Help Jay Leno recently said, “This week, the Nobel Prize for economics went to a highly intelligent economist whose theory is a little hard, I think, for the average person to comprehend. He determined that it was bad business to give loans to people who can’t pay them back!” In that [...]

There are definitely some clever folks out there. Check out these videos: Original Budweiser “Wassup!” commercial (8 years ago) Wassup commercial people 8 years later And then there is this one Treasury Bailout Update I decided that my kids should start a “financial company”. This way, they may be able to take advantage of the [...]