Between early May and mid-July, the average interest rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose about 1%. Rates on 30-year FRMs have basically held steady since hitting a peak of 4.51% in Freddie Mac’s July 11 Primary Mortgage Market Survey – in the August 15 edition, they averaged 4.40% – but there could be dramatic…

CONSUMER PRICES RISE 0.2% IN JULY That was exactly the increase that analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expected, and it was a relief after the 0.5% rise in the Consumer Price Index for June. As for July’s Producer Price Index, it was flat – a welcome contrast to June’s 0.8% jump. RETAIL SALES IMPROVE July didn’t…

A new MSN article titled “Powerball winners now face their toughest odds” discusses the challenges facing the three recent Powerball lottery winners. Pacifica Wealth Advisors is mentioned in the article: “Those stories underscore the necessity of shelling out for a financial adviser, or even a team of experts, to help keep winners from making poor…

IMPRESSIVE SERVICE SECTOR GROWTH Last month saw solid expansion in U.S. service industries, according to the July non-manufacturing PMI from the Institute for Supply Management. ISM’s latest service sector PMI came in at 56.0 compared with 52.2 in June. July’s new orders index rose 6.9% to 57.7, and July’s business activity index climbed 8.7% to…

Real estate investors who want to defer capital gains have a neat option: they can take advantage of Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 to exchange out of one investment or business property for a “like-kind” property or equal or greater value. Usually, no gain or loss is recognized when you do a 1031 exchange. The…

When the Supreme Court affirmed the legality of same-sex marriage in June, its ruling profoundly altered the financial planning landscape for gay and lesbian couples – resulting in some “night and day” differences. Yet in looking at the financial “before and after,” same-sex spouses and their advisors must also consider the “when and where” –…

What if corporate taxes were 7% lower? Specifically, what if the corporate tax rate was reset to 28%, 25% for manufacturing companies? As a tradeoff for this tax cut, what if multinational corporations based in the U.S. paid a one-time fee on accumulated overseas earnings? Finally, what if the resulting one-time revenue was spent on…

On July 18, Detroit became the largest American city to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. What will happen to the pensions of its 20,000+ retired public employees? There is a possibility they could be reduced – perhaps greatly. In the wake of Detroit’s fiscal problems, current and future pension recipients across the country are wondering…

JOBS REPORT SENDS MIXED SIGNALS Unemployment sank to a 4½-year low of 7.4% last month, even as the pace of hiring declined a bit from spring. The Labor Department’s July report showed non-farm payrolls expanding by 162,000 jobs, with retail, bar and restaurant hires accounting for most of the gain. The ranks of the self-employed…

CONSUMER SENTIMENT CONTINUES TO RISE In 12 months, the University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment has gained almost 13 points. At 85.1, July’s final edition of the index was up 1.0 points from the final June reading. Two notable details: the percentage of respondents saying their home values had increased hit a six-year peak,…