Forecast for the Week

After last week’s jam-packed calendar, this week’s economic report schedule is on the light side.

• On Tuesday, the ISM Services Index for July will be released.
• Jump to Thursday with the usual suspect, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, which continue to hover near pre-recession levels.
• On Friday, look for Productivity for the second quarter.

Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result. The chart below shows Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which are the type of Bond on which home loan rates are based.

When you see these Bond prices moving higher, it means home loan rates are improving—and when they are moving lower, home loan rates are getting worse.

To go one step further—a red “candle” means that MBS worsened during the day, while a green “candle” means MBS improved during the day. Depending on how dramatic the changes were on any given day, this can cause rate changes throughout the day, as well as on the rate sheets we start with each morning.

As you can see in the chart below, the volatility continued last week due to news here at home and the uncertainty in several regions overseas. Home loan rates remain attractive and I will continue to monitor them closely.

Chart: Fannie Mae 4.0% Mortgage Bond (Friday August 1, 2014)

The Mortgage Market Guide View…

4 Tips to Help You Become a Better Business Writer

First impressions are always crucial, especially when reaching out to potential new clients and referral partners. And in business, first impressions are often formed sight unseen through writing. That’s why avoiding poor grammar, clichés and “business speak” in your writing is critical.

Here are four tips that can help improve your writing, to ensure you make a great impression with clients and colleagues:

Keep it simple! Long, run-on sentences can be confusing, while the ability to simplify the complex can actually be seen as a sign of intelligence and leadership. Click here to enable both Outlook and Microsoft Word to apply the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Reading Ease filters to all your documents.

Check for any spam issues. Besides ensuring your email gets to the intended recipient, spam checker tools help improve your writing by eliminating marketing and sales jargon such as “opportunity,” “free” and “winning.”

Avoid clichés and dry as dust expressions. People may think they are tried and true, but they can also make you sound unimaginative.

Don’t forget to proofread—and there’s an app for that! While grammar and style errors may seem like small issues, they give the impression that you don’t pay attention to important details. Always proofread your materials, and ask a trusted colleague to review them for a second opinion. In addition, the Hemingway App identifies grammar and style errors—often better than most word processors—and helps you avoid awkward sentence constructions and overly-used words or expressions.

As always, please feel free to pass these tips along to your team, colleagues and clients!

Economic Calendar for the Week of August 4 – August 8

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