Question Quote of the Day: Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” – Voltaire (* I always thought his name sounded more like a type of car than a philosopher, i.e. ‘The new VW Voltaire 500 is now at a dealership near you!’ Okay, the blog gets smarter from here, I promise…)
Today in Economic History: It was on this day in 1928 that the dollar literally shrank. The new notes issued by the US Treasury were one-third the size of their predecessor. A year later the treasury shrank the dollar by another 25%.
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. It’s a light week for reports as today we’ve got Consumer Credit for June, tomorrow Jobless Claims (215k expected), and on Friday the Core PPI Report from July. Aside from these reports China has responded to the President’s additional tariffs by letting their currency fall to its lowest level against the dollar in more than a decade. (the best way to offset a tariff is to devalue your currency). As a result stocks are selling off significantly and mortgage bonds are higher which is helping rates. Where are rates, you ask?
Today you’ll find a 30yr fixed rate in the upper-3s/ lower-4s with adjustable rate mortgages a sliver lower. As usual rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you can guess the classic novel by its opening lines.
Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase or refinance loan that closes with me between now and the end of September I will waive $500 in lender fees! Grab yourself a cup of instant karma and pass my info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or co-slackers that can use this gift!
Question Quote of the Day 2: “I bet if Jeff Bridges picked up your kid from school today and said, ‘‘I’m your dad now,’’ your kid wouldn’t even question it.” – @Robdelaney
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who last week guessed JK Rowling. Want to be entered into a drawing to win Mickey Mouse Oven Mitts? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday today and I am not a monster! (although I played one once.) You might’ve also seen some of my other works like a movie that could be retitled ‘Employed in Italy’, or maybe my other movie whose title sort of sounds like what was used to end WW2. What’s that? You want to know if after my acting career is over I’ll get into politics? Enh, I think that’s a long shot.”
