Forecast for the Week

A busy week is ahead, with key readings on consumer spending and income, inflation, manufacturing, and the all-important Jobs Report for January.

• Economic data kicks off on Monday with Personal Income, Personal Spending and Personal Consumption Expenditures (the Fed’s favorite measure of inflation).
• Also on Monday, look for manufacturing news via the ISM Index. Wednesday brings the ISM Services Index.
• The ADP National Employment Report will be released on Wednesday.
• On Thursday, we’ll get a read on Productivity for 4Q 2014 and Weekly Initial Jobless Claims.
• Friday is the big day with the January Jobs Report, which includes Non-farm Payrolls and the Unemployment Rate.

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, Mortgage Bonds improved recently due to mixed corporate earnings and some weaker than expected reports. Home loan rates remain near historic lows.

Chart: Fannie Mae 3.0% Mortgage Bond (Friday January 30, 2015)

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Overused Buzzwords on LinkedIn Profiles

LinkedIn recently released its annual survey of the most overused buzzwords in user profiles. Avoiding these clichés is essential if you want your profile to stand out from the crowd:

Expert. Calling yourself an expert is bad form. Rather than merely claim expertise, let others you’ve worked with do it on your behalf: ask for recommendations!

Track record. Many people have a “proven track record” these days, but few actually prove it with details about their achievements—list those instead.

Responsible. This passive descriptor is unnecessary once you demonstrate how responsible you are. Utilize the Skills & Endorsements section of LinkedIn to prove it.

Driven. Show people how driven you are by including side projects, memberships, continuing education, certifications and any of your volunteer activities.

Creative. Leverage the full power of LinkedIn by adding relevant collateral, videos, documents, presentations or pictures to your profile.

Passionate. Results reveal your passion more than anything else. If you can provide percentages, conversion numbers or other hard data, don’t be shy about these.

Please feel free to pass these helpful LinkedIn tips along to your team, clients and colleagues!

Source: LinkedIn

Economic Calendar for the Week of February 2 – February 6

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