From the President's Desk - August 18, 2023

Welcome back to Legatus’ From the President’s Desk!

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From the President’s Desk is a chance for me to share with you what has held my attention this week. The weekly update will present a selection of observations and news stories focused on Catholic, business, and secular affairs, oriented to inform and empower Catholic professional leaders like you. ??

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?? 5.2 min read?

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?? National Eucharistic Congress

This week, I had the opportunity to travel to my hometown Legatus Chapter in Ann Arbor and then to the Indianapolis Chapter. My visit to Indianapolis was a chance for me to reconnect with Legatus members, and go on a site visit for the upcoming 10th National Eucharistic Congress.

Legatus will unveil a remarkable opportunity for all our members in conjunction with the National Eucharistic Congress. It will allow us to unite and actively engage in the National Eucharistic Congress. We are thrilled to be planning and rolling out this significant opportunity for Legatus members.

While the final details are being worked out, I encourage each of you to take a moment and explore the National Eucharistic Congress website. It will help you learn about this nationwide revival.

Plan to attend the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis on July 17-21, 2024!

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???? Drop In Jobless Claims

Good news on the job from the Associated Press:

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Applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 11,000 to 239,000 for the week ending August 12, down from 250,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week moving average of claims, which softens some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 2,750 to 234,250.

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Reuters has this in their story:

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‘The labor markets are not imploding,’ said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York. ‘The economy may be heating up instead of cooling down as the monetary medicine of higher 5.5% interest rates is not slowing aggregate demand like the economics textbooks say it should.’

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?? Increase In Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates have gone up. The Wall Street Journal reports:

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The average mortgage rate rose to 7.09%, its highest level in more than 20 years, according to data released Thursday by mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

The increase extends a lengthy stretch of high borrowing costs that has slowed the housing market to a crawl. This marked the first time since last fall that the rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose above 7%. A year ago, rates were around 5%.

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What could this mean for home sales?

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Now, buyers, sellers, investors and real estate players are adjusting to the idea that higher rates are here to stay, or at least here to stay longer than they were expecting.

While lots of would-be buyers are struggling to find anything they can afford, plenty of would-be sellers feel stuck in place. Many homeowners are unwilling to put their homes on the market, fearful of giving up low-rate mortgages and being forced to take out loans that are much more expensive. High-rate homeowners who bought recently and were hoping they could soon refinance are coming to grips with the fact that they’ll have to wait a while.

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Axios has a chart that puts it all in perspective.

?? Two Women

A beautiful essay in First Things, titled A Tale of Two Women, is not to be missed. A sample:

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Eve and Mary: These two women have played pivotal roles in the destiny of the human race. Their power transcends that of the most powerful men in history. Pharaohs, emperors, kings, Wall Street whizzes, tech giants—none of them compare with these two women.

Our lives, our futures, depend on these two women. The first, Eve, has been consigned to the realm of myth, out of the reach of the real. But to know how very real this woman was and how very real her stamp on the whole human race, one should go to the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence and look at the Masaccio frescoes there.

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Read the rest for a fascinating perspective on Eve and Mary!

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?? Vows to Inspire You

Ok, this video clip is on the long side at just over two and a half hours.

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Seven of the Sisters for Life recently took their Perpetual Profession of Vows at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

Want to be inspired? Watch some of the ceremony here. Once you start, I bet you will watch the whole way through. These women are filled with the Holy Spirit!

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Thank you for reading, and be on the lookout for our next From the President’s Desk!

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Stephen Henley