To all,Last Week in Review   "NO GREAT DISCOVERY WAS EVER MADE WITHOUT A BOLD GUESS." Isaac Newton But even the great mind of Isaac Newton might not have guessed that Bonds and home loan rates would continue on such a volatile course. But let's get bold, and discover what caused the latest rock and roll action in the financial markets, and take a look at what the coming week might have in store.Forces were certainly at work to keep the financial markets from being at rest, starting bright and early on Monday morning. The headlines brought a quick shot in the arm for Stocks, as beleaguered Bear Stearns is now expected to see $10 per share in their buyout, rather than the previously expected $2 per share. Great news for the troubled financial sector at large, but Bonds got battered hard, ... 03/31/2008

I found this article to be very helpful. BuilderRadio interviews David Giannetto, director of J.H. Cohn's Enterprise Performance Management Practice and co-author of The Performance Power Grid.Would you describe your organization's primarily focus as being customer-centric, or product-centric? In his book, The Performance Power Grid, co-authored with Anthony Zecca, David Giannetto asserts that most companies would like to believe they are all about their customers, but are actually more driven by their product and processes than they are by their buyer's desires and buying habits. So, how does a company move from being product or process driven to being customer-centric? In our interview with David Giannetto, he offers these steps:Understand what the customer feels at their first impres... 03/31/2008

To all:"DARLING, I DON'T KNOW WHY I GO TO EXTREMES...TOO HIGH OR TOO LOW, THERE AIN'T NO IN-BETWEENS..." Billy Joel The financial markets endured another week of extreme bipolar behavior, with enormous intra-day mood swings that normally wouldn't be seen over the course of several weeks. While Bonds and home loan rates wildly rocketed higher and plummeted lower on a daily basis throughout the week, fixed home loan rates ended up improved by about .25% for the week overall. And last week...the action started unusually early, stemming from some almost unprecedented weekend actions by the Fed.Last Sunday night, the news broke that the Fed had not only decided to make a move to lower the Discount Rate by .25%, just two days ahead of when their normally scheduled announcement would arrive, b... 03/24/2008

I just want to thank the fine folks at Walmart.  I have been coming to my model at WI 35 and Hwy. 8 and they are always here to help me in and out of the house (since I have MS).  I know there are people that don't always look kindly on them but they provide products at a good price and help the communities they are in.   03/18/2008

I have had MS for 9 years now and found it real hard to accept help from others.  Then a very wise person told me "when you let others help you, you do as much for them as yourself".  It has taken me a lot of time to realize this and I am thankful to be able to hear this and realize people want to help you with the struggle.  All of us need to realize in whatever profession we are in that when we help others it will be a good will gesture but also help us in ways we can't imagine.I have been blessed with the local Walmart helping me get in and out of my model home.  This helps me save lots of needed energy for the day.Thanks, 03/18/2008

To All,Get ready for the wild ride!!  JP Morgan Chase and the Fed just bailed out Bear Stearns over the weekend for pennies on the dollar!  In addition, the Fed just lowered rates on loans to banks by .25%.  While the rate reduction is helpful, it probably will not be received by lenders as something that they are going to pass on to our customers.The Fed will meet this week and most investors feel that they will lower rates by as much as .75%!  This should give our customers a benefit in lowering rates being actually passed on to the consumers.Be ready for a wild ride this week in the financial and financing market!None of us are trusting the banks or the Fed at this time.  As a result, continue to get your customers in and get rid of all of the market risks that are present.  Hold on ... 03/17/2008