My Schedule…and A Little Extra:   In my house we have both Hanukkah and Christmas (guess which holiday came from my side of the family) and so we get two celebrations each year.  This year more than most I really enjoyed getting a tree since I was out-of-town and my wife went with the kids without me.  I’m just kidding…a little.  I do enjoy watching the kids decorate it though.  But more than anything, I truly enjoy having it in our family room…it’s nice (a picture of my family room on the left).  And after 10 years of marriage (or is it 11?) I’ve become comfortable to our own family tradition this time of year and now feel safe that I won’t explode into flames for being sacrilegious.  I truly enjoy this time of year.  But I hear a lot of grumbles…this time of year is particularly challenging in our line of work since lending timelines get too far extended while simultaneously the pressure to end the year strong bears down on us.  And then there’s the excessive shopping of unnecessary purchases (I’m going stocking stuffer shopping this afternoon…ugh).  But c’mon!  It’s a joyous time of year…a time when there’s a great reason to be happy and jolly.  My son asked me this morning how many more sleeps until Christmas…I told him two more sleeps until grandma and grandpa visit, then one more sleep till Christmas Eve and then one more sleep until its Christmas…four more sleeps!  I’m going to embrace the holiday, and damn it, I insist you do too! 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

My Schedule: Available all day…need to buy stocking-stuffers this afternoon.

My Market Watch:  Bonds are doing better today which means pricing is better.  This is on the news that the vote in the House for the Fiscal Cliff Plan was cancelled…yes cancelled because there was not enough support and they knew it.  They would rather cancel the vote than surely have it denied.  As I have said, passing the Fiscal Cliff Plan will bode well for stocks, but not bonds.  Well, since the vote was cancelled, stocks are doing terrible and bonds are responding well.  The inverse relationship between the stock market and bond market is holding true.  Nonetheless, there is tremendous pressure for them to get something done so don’t be surprised to see something passed next week after the holidays.  When that happens I predict the stock market will jump and the bond market will worsen…that means rates/pricing will get worse.  So again, after the holiday weekend, I advise you take the opportunity to have conversations with your clients to explain the situation.  My Disclaimer