Goodbye...and thanks for the Pell Grants

Former Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell died yesterday at the age of 90. I don't know anything about his politics or how he did as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but I do appreciate the Pell Grant which was a great help in putting me through college.

I'm not sure I could have done it without the Pell Grant. That's what government should be doing for citizens in it's purest form. Giving us the ability to gain an education.

For the Pell Grant and the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, I thank you.

Libor Schmibor

It's all crazy now. TARPs funds rolling through the system, mostly being used by recipients to buy smaller banks on the cheap. Insurance companies are even getting into the "buy a bank cheap" fray. There is a total disconnect between the 10 year Treasury Yield and the Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) market that seems to be here to stay. Jumbo rates are as high as they've been in years, conforming rates aren't that great either, frankly. Unemployment is shooting up, while retailers are telling us "no one has any money out there" with their declining numbers.

What's a lowly loan officer to do?