Delaware Mortgage Loans

INTEREST RATE CUTS – IN PERSPECTIVE:  When the last recession in the US ended on 11/30/01, the Fed had short-term interest rates at 2.0%.  The Fed has interest rates at 2.25% today.

A POSITIVE MONTH?:  Following the prior week’s rally that saw 4% (approximately) gains across the board, the market had another positive week as earnings season continued [...]

 
GOOD NEWS ON AGING: Two research reports published in the April edition of the American Sociological Review conclude that the happiest Americans are the oldest.  Among the findings:  Older Americans have learned to be content with what they have.  They are more socially networked.  75% of people age 57 to 85 engage in one or more social [...]

STRUGGLING ECONOMY:  Clearly, we are in a poor situation.  Almost all data that came out last week was negative, and the markets responded in kind.  The job numbers were negative.  Construction spending fell by -1.7%, mostly due to a drop in residential construction. Consumer credit grew by $6.9 billion. Factory orders dropped -2.5% in January.

JOB [...]

As we head into the third month of the year and what seems like the third year of this year’s presidential election, I hope you are well and that you are weathering the choppy economic environment as well as all of life’s other challenges.
LAST WEEK’S MARKETS:  The markets advanced for the first four days of the [...]

There will be a Free Budgeting Seminar on March 5, 2008 from 6:30 PM till 8:00 PM at the Citizens Lending Group’s Office in Newark, Delaware.  The seminar will cover the basics of making a household budget, how to track daily, weekly, and yearly expenses, and how to use your budget as part of an overall [...]

FORECLOSURES OVER HYPED?:  The foreclosure figures used by much of the media come from RealtyTrac, a source that counts each filing in the foreclosure process. One house has to go through several steps in the process (each with its own “filing”), so counting each one as a separate foreclosure, as many in the media do, is inaccurate. 

HOME [...]

 
SERVICE JOB LOSSES CAUSE MARKET LOSSES:  The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing index dropped from 54.4 in December to 41.9 in January.  Anything higher than 50 on that index shows expansion, and anything lower shows contraction.  This is the lowest reading since October 2001.  The markets were spooked by the ISM numbers and ended [...]

You can’t always avoid natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes, but you can minimize their impact on your finances.  Do you have a plan for how you would cope if a hurricane like Katrina or Floyd or some other potentially devastating event – even the loss of a job – hit you?
Have a Plan
Think [...]

SLOPPY FOURTH QUARTER;  According to Morningstar,  the average returns by mutual fund category for the fourth quarter of 2007 were:

taxable bonds:  +1.3%
municipal bonds:  +0.5%
international stocks:  -0.8%
U. S. stocks:  -2.8%

SLOPPY WEEK:  For the week, the Dow declined -1.5%, the S&P 500 -0.75%, Nasdaq -2.6%, and the Russell 2000 -2.4%. Year-to-date, the Dow is now down -4.9%, [...]

A BAD START:  The year has started off on a bad note.  (I am watching Chariots of Fire on ESPN Classic as I write this.  The Scottish runner, Eric Liddel slipped and fell but finished his race in first—I hope the markets mirror this performance in 2008).  After only three trading days, the S&P 500 [...]