John T. Reed’s news blog

The WSJ, which pretty clearly said now was not the time to buy a home when mortgage interest rates jumped from 3% to 6%, now seems to be saying that dropping from 7.7% down to 6.63% means it's time to buy. . Say what? . This is idiotic analysis. If you want to buy a house with a mortgage, do it. What you can afford will be determined, as always, by how much you put down and your income available to make mortgage payments. . Did rates used to be lower? Yeah. You used to be younger, too. So what?...

I often say the WSJ is the best sports periodical. Excellent example of that today. "The 49ers Defy Modern Football" googling the title may enable you to read it. . It basically says the 49ers run the tightest offensive formations in the NFL:19.9 yards wide. KC is average at 24.6. Bills were widest at 26.9. . For one thing, there is an advantage to just being different. One of my books is titled the Contrarian Advantage for Football Offense. It about being very different from any other offense in your league. Also about football jiu-jitsu which means altering your offense...

Fox News and Fox Business are a repertory company. That is they have a platoon of “personalities” who handle all subjects..This is a big change from the 1970s and 1980s. Back then the attitude of the media was that they get the best advice from the best in the world on every subject because they can call anyone and they will allow themselves to be interviewed by the top media..The new assumption is that the repertory platoon of “personalities” are omniscient. They can pontificate on anything and everything from military tactics and strategy to stock, real estate, commodities, economics, and...

When there is “nothing” on TV, I sometimes watch an episode of National Geographic’s “To catch a Smuggler.” . That is a misnomer. It is about people crossing an international border. Some are carrying drugs. Some counterfeit brand name stuff. Some more than $10,000 cash that they cannot explain is from a legitimate source or being transported for a legitimate purpose. Some are trying to immigrate into the destination nation by sneaking into the country. . I recommend a diversified portfolio of seven foreign currencies (AUD, CAD, CHF, DKK, NOK, NZD, SEK) to protect against USD hyperinflation. And you need...

My book How to Manage Residential Property for Maximum Cash Flow and Resale Value, 7th edition says you should use the lease created by your state landlord trade association. Realtors, home builders, Apartment Association.Do-it-yourself leases can get you into big trouble. Your state trade association lease is probably created by the top landlord-tenant lawyer in the state, or one of the top three such lawyers. He or she needs to make the lease compliant with state and federal law. Furthermore, they also need to modify the lease whenever the pertinent law changes by way of a new statute or a...