$8,000 Tax Credit Nears End
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
The government is offering an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers - that is, folks who haven't owned a home during the past three years. According to the plan, first-time homebuyers who purchase a home may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. However, the...

Avoid This Costly Mistake
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
If you've been following the financial news, you've probably heard that the Fed's been buying Mortgage Backed Securities. Unfortunately, people have picked up on the news and mistakenly discussed how these purchases will continue to cause rates to drop lower. But is that really what it means?...

Week in Review 10/2/09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Last Week in Review. "WORK, WORK, WORK...IT'S A LABOR OF LOVE." The words to Sammy Kershaw's country song sound pretty good right now to a number of Americans...much better, in fact, than the recent employment numbers do. Last week, the Labor Department's Jobs Report didn't show much...

Week in Review 10/12/09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
"LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAID." And those aren't just the words from Paul McCartney's hit song of the same title...they're also words of advice for anyone who's considering buying a home or refinancing. Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that as the economy...

Stolen Hotmail Passwords Demonstrate Need for Stronger Passwords
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Stolen Hotmail Passwords Demonstrate Need for Stronger Passwords . By now, you've probably heard that 30,000 passwords for Hotmail and Gmail accounts were stolen earlier this month But did you know that a security group analyzed those passwords and found that the most commonly used password was 123456?...

Week in Review 10-19-09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
THE HEAT IS ON." Glenn Frey. While cooler temperatures are beginning to descend on many parts of the country, Bonds and home loan rates are feeling the heat and pressure from several fronts. Here are some details...along with why it's important to act soon to take advantage of current home loan rates, as they may...

Week in Review 10/26/09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
"THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS..." Or so the famous saying goes. And when it comes to really understanding the various reports and events unfolding in the economy, it's important to take a look at the details - not just the headlines. Here's what you need to know.. On the inflation front, the Producer...

Week in Revieiw 11/2/09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Last Week in Review. "Don't believe the hype!" The words from Public Enemy's hit song title rang true once again last week when the Commerce Department reported the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the 3rd Quarter. GDP rose by 3.5% for the first gain in a year and the strongest reading in two...

The Mortgage Market View
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended and Expanded! . Last week, a new Homebuyers Tax Credit bill was signed into law. The bill extends the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (FTHBs), as well as opens it up to current homeowners who are looking to buy. And even if you aren't looking to purchase - pass on this article...

Week in Review 11-9-09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
"TIME IS MORE VALUABLE THAN MONEY. YOU CAN GET MORE MONEY, BUT YOU CANNOT GET MORE TIME." Jim Rohn. And while this is certainly true, home buyers and folks receiving unemployment benefits both got the word that a bit more money and time is coming their way.. Just on Friday, President Obama signed into law a bill that...

Week in Review 11-16-09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
"A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION...BUT DON'T PUSH YOUR LUCK." Barbra Streisand obviously wasn't singing about Bond prices or interest rates in her 1980's song. But those lyrics were fitting last week when the Federal Reserve stepped in with more buying of Mortgage Backed Securities...

Week in Review 11/23/09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
"BOTH OPTIMISTS AND PESSIMISTS CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SOCIETY. THE OPTIMIST INVENTS THE AIRPLANE, AND THE PESSIMIST - THE PARACHUTE." G.B. Stern. The media's recent analysis of the economy has run the gamut of late, some optimism, some pessimism...but also some confusion as they attempt to decipher recent economic...

Week In Review 12/14/09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
"IT'S A RECESSION WHEN YOUR NEIGHBOR LOSES HIS JOB; IT'S A DEPRESSION WHEN YOU LOSE YOURS." Harry S. Truman. Very true words indeed - and last week brought some market action when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke discussed the recession, commenting that our economic recovery still faces "formidable...

Week in Review 12/21/09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
"ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END..." Or so the popular saying goes. And last week, the Fed reiterated once again that their Mortgage Backed Security (MBS) purchase program...the program that has helped keep home loan rates low for much of the last year...will end on March 31, 2010 as previously stated. Here's the...

Week in Review 1-4-09
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Last Week in Review . "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." Edith Lovejoy Pierce. And as we begin a New Year, fresh with opportunity - here's what you need to know about the last week of 2009....

Week in Review 1/11/10
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Last Week in Review. "THERE ARE NO SECRETS IN LIFE, JUST HIDDEN TRUTHS THAT LIE BENEATH THE SURFACE." From the Showtime TV hit, "Dexter". The highly anticipated Jobs Report arrived last Friday morning, showing 85,000 jobs lost during December...and while this was a bit worse than expected, the report also carried...

Weekly Update 1-18-10
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Last Week in Review . Last week it was reported that the inflation measuring Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December came in lower than expected. Overall, CPI for all of 2009 was fairly tame. But the closely watched Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy, rose to 1.8% year-over-year in December after...

Weekly Update 1-25-10
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Last Week in Review . "If you are losing a tug-of-war with a tiger, give him the rope before he gets to your arm. You can always buy a new rope." Max Gunther.. Such a sweet sentiment...but definitely not one that the markets adopted this week, as both Stocks and Bonds battled back and forth near key technical levels.. The...

Weekly Update 2-1-10
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Last Week in Review. "THE NINE MOST TERRIFYING WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARE: I'M FROM THE GOVERNMENT, AND I'M HERE TO HELP." Ronald Reagan. And regardless of if those words do indeed terrify you or perhaps give you confidence, the government held center stage last week, with a pivotal Federal...

Week in Review 2-8-10
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Last Week in Review. "BOTH OPTIMISTS AND PESSIMISTS CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SOCIETY. THE OPTIMIST INVENTS THE AIRPLANE, AND THE PESSIMIST - THE PARACHUTE." G.B. Stern. And last week's Jobs Report had something for both optimists and pessimists, as the numbers were both good and bad...depending on which survey you...