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Mortgage Market News for December 13

In This Issue

Last Week in Review: Are rates going to come back? Here’s a break down of possible scenarios!
Forecast for the Week: Get ready for a busy week. Find out what you should watch.
View: Know someone in college or headed there soon? Watch the video below for tips to avoid unexpected college costs.

Last Week in Review

"Where do we go from here?" That question from Alicia Keys’ song is on the minds of many Americans, as they wonder where home loan rates are headed after the recent negative news for Bonds.

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Mortgage Market Guide for December 6, 2010

In This Issue:

Last Week in Review: The Jobs Report numbers for November are in. Find out what you need to know about the numbers behind the headline!

Forecast for the Week: Volatility in the markets is sure to continue. Read the forecast below to see why.

View: Want to "penalty-proof" your 2010 tax return? Read the View article below to act now.

 

Last Week In Review

Man Working at the New York Stock Exchange"Don’t believe the hype." Unfortunately, the lyrics from Public Enemy’s hit song came true last week when the official Jobs Report for November was released.

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Mortgage Market Guide for December 2010

Walking in a winter wonderland. Whether you live in a part of the country covered in snow or still filled with warmth and sunshine, the signs of the holiday season are all around us. The articles below can help you make the most of your holidays with tips and insight, including fun facts about money and how you can save some this season:

  • The US Dollar: Fun Facts and Important Implications – Learn more about American’s currency including how it may impact home loan rates.
  • Budget-Friendly Holiday Decorating – Get the look you want without breaking the bank this holiday season. Read these inexpensive tips now.
  • Q&A: Should I Re-Evaluate My Mortgage? – The mortgage is the cornerstone of a family’s financial plan. Does yours still make sense for you? 
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Mortgage Market Guide - November 29, 2010

Last Week in Review

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with friends and family. I know that I certainly have much to be thankful for, including many wonderful clients and friends like you.

As your Trusted Advisor, I sincerely hope you've been enjoying your complimentary subscription to the Mortgage Market Guide Weekly. Your next full issue will arrive "hot off the press" next week. In the meantime, please enjoy the holiday article below.

The Mortgage Market Guide Weekly is the industry's leading publication of this type, and I'm pleased to provide this valuable resource to you. If you feel that any of your clients, friends, family members or associates would benefit from keeping up-to-date on market and economic trends with this easy-to-read format, please let me know, and I will be happy to add them free of charge.

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Mortgage Market Guide - November 22, 2010

Last Week In Review

"ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS." And this week, we saw a whole lot of loud action in the volatile financial markets...and also heard a lot of words, as the debate over the Fed's latest round of Quantitative Easing continued. Here's what you need to know about what was said...and what happened to home loan rates.

If you've been wondering what Quantitative Easing (QE) actually is, it's the concept of the Fed becoming a buyer of Treasuries and Bonds to try and stimulate the economy. The Fed's goal for this latest round of Quantitative Easing (dubbed QE2) is threefold:

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Houston Economic Condition - A Matter for Thanks for a Great Community?

 

The nation continues to resist meaningful economic growth.  Jobs are a concern throughout the country.  These are trying times for so many. For those of us in Texas there are reasons for being "thankful" at this Thanksgiving Season for a somewhat more stable economy as compared to the national economic conditions.  

 

The "Financial Times of London" reports in its November 21st issue that the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States has produced a report that slashes economic growth forecasts.  This is a report that is important when identifying what is happening today in the minds of the Federal Reserve Bank. 

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From Houston to South Korea the Scheduled G-20 Meeting May be an International Showdown - China and the United States

China and other nations are becoming very concerned about the financial strategies of the American central bank, The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States.  The recently announced first phase $600 billion repurchase of the national debt by the Federal Reserve is a particular concern to the nations of the G-20.  The November 2010 meeting of the G-20 is a likely battleground for a confrontation between the super economies that are in agreement with China's concerns.

Since 1999 an international organization of the finance ministers of the participating nations called G-20has met annually with an agenda centered on discussions to promote worldwide economic growth.  There are sub-organization meetings throughout the year as described at their website (http://www.g20.org/about_what_is_g20.aspx). Developing economies are of particular concern to the G-20 group. The intent of the  discussions is to promote stability among the competing economies and mentor developing economies toward success.  The efforts of the organization has largely failed in its mission.  

Clearly, an organization that talks annually with little to show for the time spent seems to have been something of a waist of time for leaders of the world.  Instability is the condition best describing the economies of the world in 2010.  

The evidence of instability is best represented by the Greek experience, a nation that allows its’ citizens to live from the national treasury.  Such an economy positions its people to have little ambition other than public displays of disapproval that often become something akin to riots.  The Greeks claim they are fighting for what is “owed to them.”  This is an example of the condition of many nations in our day  This is also an example of an economy that is not based on a broad entrepreneurial spirit.  Rewarding hard work with economic success is not a focus of such economies.

The question that comes to mind is, “why has the G-20 been incapable of meeting the objective of helping to create worldwide economic stability?”  There is little the nations can do without authority that might be given to the group should there be a world government.   

From Houston to South Korea, the site of the next G-20 meeting of ministers there will be discussions that hopefully will result in real evidence of economic progress around the world.

A discussion of the possibilities for confrontations at the G-20 meeting scheduled for November is in the Financial Times of London.  The article is found at:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/03567a28-e8a3-11df-a383-00144feab49a.html#axzz14k3vlYof

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Question of the Hour: “Is Global Financial Stability Fact or Fiction and is it Important to Me?"

Many suppose the international financial environment is something mysterious and beyond any mortal understanding outside “high-powered” international financial experts.  Nothing is further from the truth.  The fundamental financial processes are the same for sovereign countries and your family. 

The difference is the source and scope of income needed to manage the activities that require income.  The source of government income is taxes and borrowings.  The interesting fact is that a family that spends more than it earns is headed for the proverbial financial “train wreck.”  Government has the same financial dynamic, however, it may come slower than for a family.  That is an entire discussion but not for this discussion.  

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Social Networks - Endless Possibilities Becoming a Recognized Industry

If you think social networks are just Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, think again.  

 

When venture capital investment funds begin to flow into a new concept the concept soon becomes a thriving industry.  That is happening as an important venture capital company, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (www.kpcb.com) has established a new fund called “SFund Investments.”  The new fund is committed to invest $100,000 to $100 million dollars in startup companies and entrepreneurs that are creating social-based applications.

 

Take a look at this article that is exciting for those who have adapted to and even “fallen in love” with social networking:

 

http://www.foxsmallbusinesscenter.com/sbc/2010/11/05/venture-capital-firm-seeks-game-changers-social-media-world/


 


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Fannie and Freddie - Will they Survive the New Politics?

The future of two powerful and controversial government chartered organizations has been in question for a long time. These government chartered corporations helped to cause the economy to spiral down in recent years because of their mandates to mortgage providers to originate subprime loans.

The history of these two organizations is well known so the question is what happens now when the 112th Congress convenes in 2011?  The "New York Times Business Day" addressed the problem in its' November 3rd issue. This challenge for the government is important because of the far reaching implications any action will have on home sales and financing in coming years.  Will the status of these two huge agencies change?  No one really knows because their fate is in the hands of politicians and that always creates uncertainty for any issue that is controversial.  We will see.  Here is a link to the "New York Times Business Day" article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/business/04housing.html?_r=1 

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