Drama abounds

Drama ensued this past week. I don't mean the Citi broker that "accidentally" sold 1 billion shares of Proctor and Gamble on Thursday, sending stocks tumbling (that’s the story I heard)- but my 4 year old pushed a girl at school. That is real drama! The crying went on and on when I would not let him watch Dinosaur Train while I cooked dinner. That’s the punishment. He acts up at school, I take things away that he likes. He said I was mean and he didn't love me anymore. Poor thing. Doesn't he know that crying does not fix the punishment? So we sat and hugged, and talked about what he did, and not being a bully, etc... And ended the night with his favorite dinner: peanut butter and jelly. That made everything ok. He took it like a champ, and hopefully will not push, shove, bite, hit or pinch at school ever again. Can I only dream?

So back to the stocks. The Dow lost 900 points in 5 minutes last week, then began to rebound Thursday only ending down 348 points. Rates eased (went down) (stocks down, bond prices up, bond yields (rates) down). Today, we feared rates would go back up, as news of better jobs was expected. That IS what we got (better than expected payroll numbers), however, stocks remained low, as the fear and uncertainty of the Greek economy still looms over the market and the European Union.

Oh, and to top it off, Freddie Mac needs another few billion (yes, BILLION) to recover from losses. They lost 8 billion the first quarter of 2010. Now that doesn't sound good does it? But wait.....Freddie Mac's CEO assures investors and the government that things are turning around. That could be true, as we are seeing business increase month by month as consumer confidence returns to the market. Not to mention jobs. But, do we think they can keep rates low if they (Freddie Mac) are losing money every month? Its called ' padding the margin'. That is my theory and pure speculation on my part. What do I know? We may see the investors wanting higher margins (profit) for the loans that they do make. Only time will tell, but do enjoy these low rates while they last.