Rock Quote of the Day: “Stand up like a mountain; have faith like a rock; love like an avalanche.” – Bob Goff
This Week in Economic History: It was on this day in 1985 that brokerage giant E.F. Hutton & Co entered a guilty plea to charges that it carried out a large check writing scam. (*I did this too – my sophomore year of college I wrote a $7 check to Dominos knowing I only had $3 left in my checking account.) Also, on May 4th, 1932 Chicago Mob boss Al Capone was sentenced to eleven years in Alcatraz for tax evasion. (*speaking of Alcatraz, has anyone ever given a better tour than Phil Hartman?)
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. This week it’s all about jobs. Today we’ve got the ADP Employment Report, tomorrow Weekly Jobless Claims as well as the Fed meeting adjourning, and on Friday the biggie – April’s Employment Report (expected number: 120k new jobs) – anything more than this and you’ll see rates go up, and anything less you might see rates drift downward.
Interest rates shot up pretty quickly in a short period of time and have now settled around the mid-to-upper 4s for a 30yr fixed with adjustable rate mortgages may be a quarter-point less. As usual, rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you know 10 facts about Willie Nelson.
Don’t Forget to Remember: For any purchase or refinance loan between now and July 31st I will credit $500 towards closing costs. Grab yourself a cup of instant karma and pass my info to any friends, family, coworkers, or ping-pong trick shot artists that can use this gift.
Rock Quote of the Day 2: “Just heard a girl refer to New Kids On The Block as “classic rock” and now I understand why the world hates Americans.” – @Shock_Monster
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who correctly guessed Hank Azaria last week. Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Mini Wavy Inflatable Arm-flailing Tube Man? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “Wish me a happy birthday today! In the early 2000s I used to put on rock concerts, but not anymore. Now I concentrate on movies — you might have seen me in a couple that could be titled Quick & Angry, or another action /disaster film I did in 2015 could’ve been titled, It’s Not My Fault. Lately, my movies seem to be getting worse even though they make a ton of money. For example, last year’s movie with my costar (a High School Musical kid) grossed $200-million despite every critic hating it, the good news is that critics won’t tell me to my face for fear I’ll go on some crazy rampage.”
