Delayed maintenance can really bite you, and your clients. PG&E’s equipment has been blamed for starting a 100,000 acre fire that killed approximately 100 people and is now resorting to blacking out areas of its grid to avoid future incidents (they are estimated to be liable for $30B and it is speculated they will not survive). While climate change and huge swaths of rural land make it challenging for PG&E other companies employ monitoring technology and keep shrubs trimmed along their lines.
Rates – were volatile this week and ended slightly lower.
Fed – The Fed Funds rate was cut by 0.25% this week which lowers the rate on HELOC’s and the rate at which banks lend each other money. Fed Chair Jerome Powell was positive on the economy and is not worried about inflation. He doesn’t anticipating taking the 3 cuts back and is going with a wait-and-see” position saying the recent cuts are an ‘insurance policy’.
Inflation – the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report, the Fed’s favorite inflation measure dropped from 1.4% to 1.3%. Low inflation numbers are good for mortgage rates.
Jobs – 128,000 jobs were created in October. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly in spite of job creations as the labor force increased more than there were jobs created. Hourly earnings are up by 0.1% to 3% and the weekly earnings (actual take home dollars) remained stable at 2.7% year over year increase. The pool of available labor is at its lowest level since Dec. 2000