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Licensed in:
MD, DC, VA, DE,
PA, NC & FL |
Affiliations:
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June 2007 |
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Rates Still At Historic Lows |
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| Dear Ellen, |
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Last week's roller coaster rate ride had everyone holding off on locking a loan. Cautious optimism for the moment as rates opened lower this week. There are many factors that govern interest rates and this week's Housing Starts data will likely make an impact, a positive one we hope.
Do you want to learn more about interest rates? Give Ellen a call at 301-728-5505 and she will set up time to review "All that you wanted to know about interest rates but were afraid to ask"!
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| Donating Stock To Charity
by Joseph Kapp, Financial Planner
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If you are thinking about making a donation to a charity, you might want to consider making a gift of appreciated stock or mutual fund shares rather than a cash donation. A gift of  appreciated property often provides increased tax benefits, along with the satisfaction of contributing to a cause you believe can make a difference.
Tax Benefits
Charitable contributions of appreciated securities provide two potential income-tax advantages. The first is a charitable deduction - generally for the fair market value of the securities at the time of the contribution, subject to certain tax law limits. The second benefit is that you are not taxed on the capital gain that would result if you sold the property.
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Mortgage Rates on the Rise
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 Mortgage bond prices fell last week pushing mortgage interest rates higher. Inflation fears continued to dominate trading. Significantly stronger than expected retail sales data caused concern. Fortunately some buyers emerged mid-week after the recent rundown in prices and helped rates bounce back a bit from the lows earlier in the week.
For the week, interest rates on government and conventional loans rose by about 1/4 of a discount point.
The housing starts data on Tuesday will be the most important event this week. Leading economic indicators and the Philadelphia Fed data will also be important.
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We've added a link to our new blog which you can access from our web site or click here. We hope you enjoy the information that is presented and please send us your suggestions for topics you are interested in learning about.
All the best,
Ellen
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