Drink Quote of the Day: “Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge, others just gargle.” – Robert Anthony
Today in Economic History: It was on this day in 1938 that Congress passed a bill to bring relief to U.S. farmers – it was called the Agricultural Adjustment Act. (*You want to know why you never learned about this in your history books? Because Congress came up with a really boring name for it. In 1985 Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young started Farm Aid – a concert to raise money for family farmers. You wanna know why you’ve heard of Farm Aid? Because it’s only two syllables instead of nine! And also because there was/is some really good music at Farm Aid; here’s a song from the very first Farm Aid which to this blog’s author, is one of the Top 10 country music songs of all time.
Wuss’up This Week: Every day reports about our economy are released into the wild, and it’s these reports that can sway interest rates in either direction. Today we’ve got Retail Sales (expected: up 1.0%) and the FOMC Minutes, tomorrow Initial Jobless Claims, and on Friday Existing Home Sales (expected: 6.65 million). As usual, if these reports are good for the economy you can expect rates to go up, and vice-versa if the numbers disappoint.
Interest Rate Update: Yeah… not good. Last week we saw rates start to rise and the momentum has continued into this week. Today we see 30yr fixed conforming rates in the high-2s/low-3s, and jumbo rates (*that’s any loan over $548k) in the same ballpark. As usual, rates will vary based on if it’s a purchase or refinance, type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you like weird history
Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase or refinance loan that closes with me I will waive $575 of lender fees! Grab a cup of instant karma and pass my info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or people that like historical domino effects that can use this gift.
Drink Quote of the Day 2: “Is it socially acceptable to drink cheese yet, or are we still using tortilla chips?” – @Ten_Toes_7
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who last week guessed Elizabeth Banks. Want to be entered into a drawing to win a groovy All You Need is Love poster? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “Hey, it’s my birthday today – I was born in Downers Grove, IL 50 years ago, and for the last 28 years you’ve seen me on TV and the big screen. In ’97 I had my first starring role in a movie about killing insects, and a year later a different kind of movie where humans killed humans – that included me and a racy scene with my co-star that could be titled Party of Three. A year ago I joined the cast of a reality show which airs on a network that could be renamed “good for you.” Y’know that those shows aren’t really reality, right? What was real for me was my first marriage which I never felt like I was winning in.”
