Standing Quote of the Day: “You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” – Rabindranath Tagore
This Week in Economic History: It was on May 4th, 1932 Chicago Mob boss Al Capone was sentenced to 11 years in Alcatraz prison for… failing to pay his taxes.
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 ADP Employment (expected: 130k) as well as the Fed Meeting Adjourning (expected: rates to stay the same), and on Thursday the Q1 Productivity Report (*I expect this to be low as I just got addicted to playing Tetris again), and on Friday the biggie: Employment Numbers for April (expected: 195k new jobs, 3.9% unemployment rate) If these reports come in good for the economy you can expect rates to go up, and vice-versa if the numbers fall short.
Interest rates continue their slow spring climb as you’ll find a 30yr fixed jumbo rate (*any loan over $484k) in the low-4s and conforming rates (under $484k) in the low-to-mid 4s. Adjustable rate mortgages remain a sliver less and not a great loan product unless you are 99.4% sure you’ll be selling before the rate adjusts. As usual rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you like watching dogs jump into leaves.
Don’t Forget to Remember my Cinco ‘all month of Mayo’ Special: (I know that makes no sense, failed Spanish, I’m sorry) Any purchase or refinance loan closing with me between now and May 31st I will eat the appraisal fee. Want a cup of instant karma? Pass this info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or surfers that do self-haircuts that can use this gift.
Standing Quote of the Day 2: “That really wasn’t nice of Dorothy to say, “I’ll miss you most of all” to Scarecrow with Lion & Tin Man standing right there.” – @friedmanjon
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed David Bowie last week. Want to be entered into a drawing to win Bright Flashlight Slippers? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday today and here’s what you need to know: My dad was a baseball pitcher, I work on a different kind of pitch. The other half of my talents come with acting – and I like to star in football movies. You could take the title of my 2009 movie and think it was about learning about Braille and stuff – but nope, it was football. My other football movie came out in 2004 and was named one of the Top 50 High School Movies of All Time (#37). My biggest accomplishment: Being as famous as I am and being married to a famous person since 1996! My wife’s name means complete trust or confidence in something.”
