I want lower rates. NOW! (let's see if that works)

A Dose of Wisdom

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." – Lao Tzu

The First Hit

Ok....if it is this easy I have a couple of questions. Actually.....I have MORE than a few questions........

The fact is that it is NOT that easy, but it also doesn't hurt......THIS is what I have been meaning in my daily rants when I say Jerome has a new "boss".

Have you ever been to the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas? Visited the grassy knoll?

My mother-in-law who lived in Nebraska used to be a tour guide for a bus company when she retired. Her friends owned the touring company and she would take the Dallas tours so she could see the grand kids. Consequently, I have been to the Sixth Floor Museum in the old Texas School Book Depository from which it has been said that Oswald shot Kennedy many times.

It's actually quite interesting. You see these situations where detectives or juries will go to the scene of a crime to get a real sense of the environment and what took place. You kind of get to do that here.....

For those of us that grew up seeing video from the Warren Commission of police officers finding the rifle in that building and looking out the window, it's kind of surreal to look down on that spot where Kennedy was shot, from WHERE he was shot.

The traffic flow on the Houston street is the OPPOSITE of what it is today. Today, Kennedy would be traveling the opposite direction on Houston and his car would have taken a right on to Elm or essentially traveled straight in front of the building. But....back then, Houston Street ran TOWARDS the Texas School Book Depository. Standing in that window, you realize that Oswald would have had a clear and much easier shot with the car coming towards him after it turned off of Main Street vs waiting for the car to turn again and head down Elm and try to hit a target moving away from you. On the other hand, if you stand on the Grassy Knoll.....and look at the view...and look at the Zapruder film.....that all seems to make sense. It's been 61 years.....and his desk still sits in the oval office, and were it not for a plane crash, Jon Jon might be sitting behind it. I have never once looked at the Zapruder film and thought that the shot that killed Kennedy came from behind him. Guess we are finally going to find out what happened that day. Or will we....................................................

Redlining Red Flags: Lessons from Recent Enforcement Actions - I posted this yesterday and forgot the link. I think this is important enough information that I am going to take another shot at it.

To summarize the lessons learned from recent redlining enforcement actions, lenders should recognize the following when assessing their redlining risks:

• Any minority tract type that exists in your markets may be the subject of regulatory scrutiny or enforcement activity. If your lending footprint includes minority neighborhoods that are predominantly Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, or Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, or areas with high (greater than 80 percent), concentrations of minority you may wish to assess lending patterns and perform peer comparisons in those areas relative to predominantly White areas.
• Location opening and closing policies and procedures, as well as compliance analyses of locations should consider loan production offices in addition to branches.
• Banks should also evaluate their CRA assessment areas to determine whether assessment area delineations exclude adjacent minority communities.
• Do not stop at evaluating your lending in minority neighborhoods. Assess borrower demographics in those areas. If most of your borrowers in minority geographies are non-Hispanic Whites, consider how you can better reach minority borrowers in those communities.
• Take a deep dive into your marketing and outreach data. Are you marketing in both minority and non-minority communities? Does your lending staff have community connections? Do your referral networks and community partners help you reach diverse communities? Do your marketing materials indicate that borrowers of all demographic groups are welcome?
• Does your institution have policies to caution employees regarding derogatory or discriminatory language in emails and text messages? When such conversations are identified, does the lender take prompt actions to correct the behavior?
• When assessing redlining risk, does your institution consider multi-year performance trends? Gaps in lending or branching patterns or areas of underperformance relative to peers that persist for multiple years signify greater redlining risk.

OptimalBlue - December 2024 Market Advantage - December Mortgage Lock Data Reveals Year-Over-Year Increases Across All Loan Types Despite Seasonal Downturn

Here’s how climate change is reshaping home insurance costs in California — and the rest of the U.S.

"While it’s too early to predict how the fires in Southern California will directly impact the bottom line, filing one fire claim can increase premiums by 29%, on average, and two claims could boost premiums by 60%, according to a 2024 analysis by?Insure.com."

Controlled Market Substance

10 Year Yield - It's the Friday before FOMC and another interest rate decision by the FED next Wednesday. Here is what next week looks like from an economic calendar standpoint.

Monday - The new and MOST exciting season EVER of The. Bachelor begins!!!

Tuesday - Consumer Confidence and Durable Goods orders

Wednesday - FOMC Interest rate decision and the Powell show afterwards

Thursday - GDP

Friday - Back to the Fed's favorite inflation indicator, Core PCE with personal income and personal spending numbers

Have a GREAT DAY!!!!