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Read the Fine Print in Your Retirement Plan Few of us know all the mechanics of our 401(k) or other retirement plans. Don’t be caught off-guard when changing jobs or getting ready to retire. Here are some important things to know about your plan: Trading limits. Many plans allow you to move money at any time, but some strings are usually attached. It’s generally not advisable to move long-term retirement savings around for short periods of time. If you do want to switch from time to time, keep in mind that your plan may allow only a set number of trades each week, month, quarter, or year. Account valuations. Find out how often the value of your retirement account is calculated. You can get the most out of your money by timing your departure. Most companies value everything the day you retire, but some value your account weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Withdrawal options. Know how to access your money when you need it. Some plans don’t allow retirees to keep their money in place. Instead, they pay out a lump sum to be reinvested elsewhere. Other plans allow retirees to take a stream of payments (so it serves as an income source) while the rest of the money stays in the plan. Be sure to do your homework before your retirement party. Print This Article Also in this issue... Are You Ready for That Promotion? World's Most Powerful People 3 Strategic Questions Forget Knitting and Shuffleboard

Are You Ready for That Promotion? Being offered a promotion is almost always flattering, but accepting it may not always be the best choice for you and your career path. Here are some things to keep in mind when considering a promotion: Are you ready to make the step up? Your boss may be impressed with your recent performance on the job, but does that mean you’re prepared to assume more or different responsibilities permanently? Moving ahead before you are comfortable may lead to career-damaging mistakes. Do you want the additional responsibility? How would the new position change your responsibilities and lifestyle? Would you be expected to work longer hours? Travel more frequently? Supervise others? Manage high-profile (and high-stress) projects? Try to envision how your everyday work and home life would change if you took on the new role. Where could you go from here? The promotion you’ve been offered may represent a step up in the organization, but then what? Could you advance further, or would you be stuck on a plateau? Would you rather make a lateral move to a different department with more room for advancement? Will the role take you away from what you really love? You must consider whether a new job with different responsibilities, and the benefits and pay raise that might accompany the position, would be enough to fill the void if you must let go of other work you truly enjoy. If you decide to turn down the promotion, meet with your boss personally and let him or her know how flattered you are to be considered for the role. Explain how much you enjoy working for the company and how glad you are to know your contributions are valued. Then, make it clear that you cannot accept this particular offer at this time. If your boss presses to understand your motivation for refusing the promotion, emphasize that you believe staying in your present position is better for you - and the company. Communicate with your boss frequently about what you’d like to accomplish at the company and what training and experience you need to become a better employee overall. Print This Article World's Most Powerful People Every year, Forbes makes a list of the most powerful people in the world drawn from government, business, religion, and other fields. In 2012, President Obama topped the list, but since then, Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved up to number one. Here are the prominent people who made the top 10: Vladimir Putin - Russian President Barack Obama - U.S. President Xi Jinping - General Secretary of Communist Party of China Pope Francis - Bishop of Rome Angela Merkel - German Chancellor Bill Gates - Co-Chair and Trustee of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Ben Bernanke - Federal Reserve Chairman Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud - King of Saudi Arabia Mario Draghi - President of European Central Bank Michael Duke - CEO of Wal-Mart Print This Article 3 Strategic Questions You can’t make sound strategic decisions for your organization unless you have a solid understanding of what makes it special and unique. Answer these three fundamental questions: What value do you provide customers? This is the reason you’re in business - to fill a need for people better than anyone else can. Why should people come to you and not the next business down the road? The answers will let you identify strengths and set priorities more effectively. What value do you offer your workforce? If you want to attract and retain good people, you have to offer something other employers don’t. A competitive salary is just the start. Employees also appreciate a work atmosphere that encourages innovation, creativity and trust. What do you have to do better than anyone else? The first two questions lead naturally to this third one. How can you continue to distinguish yourself from your competitors? How can you measure your success in these areas? Re-examine your answers every few months to make sure you’re staying on top of the trends in your industry. Print This Article Forget Knitting and Shuffleboard Some people dream of never working again once they reach retirement. Others - more than you might think - are happy to keep on working. A study conducted by a national life insurance company has found that 40 percent of people planning to retire this year would be happy to keep working past their 65th birthday if given the opportunity. That figure represents 48 percent of men and 32 percent of women. Money isn’t the main motivator, either. The primary motivation for 68 percent of this year’s retirees is the desire to remain physically and mentally active, although 39 percent just don’t like the prospect of sitting at home, and 54 percent say they simply enjoy working. However, most don’t want to put in the same hours: only 13 percent would be willing to work full-time after age 65. About 10 percent would consider starting their own business once they retire, and 5 percent are interested in doing more volunteering. Print This Article

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE!!

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... Confirming the insight of the Hibernian bard, the housing market happily kept growing in December. Existing Homes Sales went up 1.0%, to a 4.87 million annual rate. For all of 2013, 5.09 million existing homes were sold, up 8.9% from 2012, and the best annual sales level since 2006. Yes, existing home sales have slowed over the past few months, but this situation is not expected to last. Analysts observe that a lack of inventory has been leading some potential existing home buyers to purchase new homes instead. Existing home inventories, in fact, dropped 9.3% in December, close to all-time lows. 

Observers see more homes coming onto the market this year, as prices move higher. Right now, existing home median prices are up 9.9% versus a year ago, to $198,000. Average prices are up 8.6% over last year. The FHFA index of prices for homes financed with conforming mortgages went up 0.1% in November. This was the smallest hike in 16 months, but the index is up 7.6% over a year ago. Economists expect home prices to keep edging up, though not as much as last year. They feel that as home builders ramp up, the additional supply will slow the rate of price gains compared to last year.

BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK... Don't get caught up responding to crises. Instead, have a plan for proactively tackling projects each day. Commit time for every task, then set aside an extra block for unexpected events.

>> Review of Last Week

DOWN DOWN DOWN DOWN... Those four words perfectly describe the four days of the Dow's performance during a trading week shortened by Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 suffered their worst weekly losses in more than a year. The tech-y Nasdaq fared better but still lost ground for the week. Some observers explained all the downward motion as merely the start of a stock market correction, following the record setting performances we saw last year. Others felt it reflected continuing economic concerns.

Those worries began with China, thanks to our interconnected global economy. The HSBC Flash PMI reading indicated Chinese manufacturing contracted slightly in January, plus there were concerns over the health of the Chinese shadow banking system. Over here, Existing Home Sales and Leading Economic Indicators were each up slightly, but less than expected. Although weekly jobless claims were up by 1,000, the four-week moving average dropped again from the previous reading, which is definitely a positive.

The week ended with the Dow down 3.5%, to 15879; the S&P 500 down 2.6%, to 1790; and the Nasdaq down 1.7%, to 4128.

Tumbling stocks sent bond prices skyward, with Treasuries in particular registering solid gains. The FNMA 3.5% bond we watch ended the week up .86, to $101.06. In Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending January 23, national average fixed mortgage rates drifted a tick lower for the second week in a row. "Reports that inflation remains subdued" were given as the reason for the decline. Remember, mortgage rates can be extremely volatile, so check with your mortgage professional for up to the minute information.

DID YOU KNOW?... The latest Fed Beige Book reported that most Federal Reserve districts witnessed increased residential sales activity, construction, and home prices from late November to the end of 2013.

>> This Week’s Forecast

NEW AND PENDING HOME SALES, GDP, MIDWEST MANUFACTURING SLIP, THE FED MEETS... December New Home Sales and Pending Home Sales should be off a bit, as well as overall economic growth in Q4, according to the GDP – Advanced reading. The important Chicago PMI is forecast to show a slower rate of expansion for manufacturing in the Midwest. Wednesday's FOMC Meeting will tell us how the Fed will taper their bond buying program, although the Funds Rate isn't expected to budge.

Other notable reports include Personal Spending, which is predicted to slow a little in December. But Core PCE Prices should show inflation is still under control.

>> The Week’s Economic Indicator Calendar

Weaker than expected economic data tends to send bond prices up and interest rates down, while positive data points to lower bond prices and rising loan rates.

Economic Calendar for the Week of Jan 27 – Jan 31

Date	Time (ET)	Release	For	Consensus	Prior	Impact
M Jan 27	10:00	New Home Sales	Dec	457K	464K	Moderate
Tu Jan 28	08:30	Durable Goods Orders	Dec	2.1%	3.4%	Moderate
Tu Jan 28	10:00	Consumer Confidence	Jan	77.5	78.1	Moderate
W Jan 29	10:30	Crude Inventories	1/25	NA	0.990M	Moderate
W Jan 29	14:00	FOMC Rate Decision	Jan	0%–0.25%	0%–0.25%	HIGH
Th Jan 30	08:30	Initial Unemployment Claims	1/25	325K	326K	Moderate
Th Jan 30	08:30	Continuing Unemployment Claims	1/18	3.000M	3.056M	Moderate
Th Jan 30	08:30	GDP – Advanced	Q4	3.0%	4.1%	Moderate
Th Jan 30	10:00	Pending Home Sales	Dec	–0.2%	0.2%	Moderate
F Jan 31	08:30	Personal Income	Dec	0.2%	0.2%	Moderate
F Jan 31	08:30	Personal Spending	Dec	0.2%	0.5%	HIGH
F Jan 31	08:30	PCE Prices - Core	Dec	0.1%	0.1%	HIGH
F Jan 31	08:30	Employment Cost Index	Q4	0.4%	0.4%	HIGH
F Jan 31	09:45	Chicago PMI	Jan	58.0	60.8	HIGH
F Jan 31	09:55	U. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment – Final	Jan	80.4	80.4	Moderate

>> Federal Reserve Watch   

Forecasting Federal Reserve policy changes in coming months... The focus of this week's FOMC meeting will be on what the Fed will do about tapering its bond buying program. Economists do not expect the super low Funds Rate to budge. Note: In the lower chart, a 1% probability of change is a 99% certainty the rate will stay the same.
Current Fed Funds Rate: 0%–0.25%

After FOMC meeting on:	Consensus
Jan 29	0%–0.25%
Mar 19	0%–0.25%
Apr 30	0%–0.25%

Probability of change from current policy:

After FOMC meeting on:	Consensus
Jan 29	<1 span="">
Mar 19	<1 span="">
Apr 30	<1 span="">

Market Report January 2014

	"If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade." Tom Peters. The markets were closed Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and the economic calendar was light, but last week still brought an opportunity, as home loan rates reached some of their lowest levels in months. Despite the quiet calendar, there was news to note in the housing arena. The National Association of Realtors reported that Existing Home Sales rose by 1 percent from November to December to an annual rate of 4.87 million units. This was the first monthly gain in three months. For all of 2013, there were 5.09 million existing home sales, which was 9.1 percent higher than 2012. The housing market continues to rebound, though at a modest pace. Meanwhile on the labor front, weekly Initial Jobless Claims were reported at 326,000, up 1,000 in the latest week and nearly in line with expectations. Initial Jobless Claims have been trending lower since the distortions brought on by seasonal holiday hiring. The labor markets were pointed in a positive direction up until the weak December Jobs Report. The Fed will be watching closely to see if the December report was an anomaly...or a sign of things to come. What does this mean for home loan rates? The housing and labor arenas are two key areas that the Fed is monitoring, as it decides whether to further taper its Bond purchases. Remember that the Fed is now purchasing $40 billion in Treasuries and $35 billion in Mortgage Bonds (the type of Bonds on which home loan rates are based) each month to stimulate the economy and housing market. This figure is down from the $85 billion in Bonds and Treasuries the Fed had been purchasing last year. The Fed has stated that its decision to further taper these purchases will be dependent on economic data. The upcoming Fed meeting on January 29-30 will be closely watched, as investors will be waiting to see if the Fed will taper these purchases further. This decision could have a big impact on Mortgage Bonds and home loan rates, and it's a key story to watch this week and throughout the year. The bottom line is that now remains a great time to consider a home purchase or refinance, as home loan rates remain attractive compared to historical levels. Let me know if I can answer any questions at all for you or your clients.

Forecast for the Week

	A busy economic calendar is ahead. Plus the Fed meets. In housing news, New Home Sales will be released on Monday, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index on Tuesday, and Pending Home Sales on Thursday. We'll get a sense of how the consumer is feeling with Consumer Confidence on Tuesday, followed by the Consumer Sentiment Index on Friday. Also on Tuesday, Durable Goods Orders for December will be released. Look for Weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Gross Domestic Product on Thursday. Ending the week, Friday brings a slew of key reports, including Personal Income, Personal Spending, the inflation-measuring Personal Consumption Expenditures, and Chicago PMI. In addition, the Federal Open Market Committee meeting kicks off on Tuesday, with the monetary policy statement set for delivery on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. EST. Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result. The chart below shows Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which are the type of Bond on which home loan rates are based. When you see these Bond prices moving higher, it means home loan rates are improving — and when they are moving lower, home loan rates are getting worse. To go one step further — a red "candle" means that MBS worsened during the day, while a green "candle" means MBS improved during the day. Depending on how dramatic the changes were on any given day, this can cause rate changes throughout the day, as well as on the rate sheets we start with each morning. As you can see in the chart below, Bonds have been on an improving trend, meaning home loan rates have also improved. The Fed meeting could have a big impact on the markets this week and I'll be watching closely to see what happens. Chart: Fannie Mae 4.0% Mortgage Bond (Friday Jan 24, 2014)

The Mortgage Market Guide View...

	6 Things to Know About Going Paperless Digital files are your best weapon in the battle to conquer clutter. By Lisa Gerstner, Kiplinger.com 1. Stop paper buildup in its tracks. Sign up to receive online statements and bills from utilities, banks, credit card issuers and other service providers. To help stay on top of payments, sign up for your bank's bill-paying service. Or link your accounts to Manilla.com. The tool, which includes a mobile application for Android and iPhone, organizes and stores documents online and sends alerts when bills are coming due. 2. Scan, scan, scan. A good scanner can eliminate a mountain of paper. The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 desktop scanner ($405 on Amazon.com) connects wirelessly to your PC, creates searchable PDFs, and can handle two-sided scanning. Once you've digitized those documents, take them, along with all the other unwanted items sitting on your desk or dining room table, straight to the shredder. Your community may sponsor periodic mass shredding events. A good shredder for home use is the Fellowes Powershred W-11C ($66 at Amazon.com). 3. Prepare a backup plan. Save important documents in multiple places in case your computer fails, says Julie Bestry, president of Best Results Organizing, in Chattanooga. In addition to keeping copies on an external hard drive or a flash drive, store documents using secure "cloud" services. Dropbox, for example, lets you save 2 gigabytes of data free (and you can share folders with other users). With Google Drive, you can store up to 15GB of files as well as create text documents, spreadsheets and slide shows. The free online tool Evernote lets you save PDFs, clip articles from the Web and create text documents. File items in folders and add tags for easy searching. 4. File it on the fly. A scanner that fits into a bag or suitcase can be useful for, say, digitizing handouts while you're at a conference, says Erin Rooney Doland, editor in chief of Unclutterer.com. For example, the 12-ounce Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 ($180 on Amazon.com) can process letter-size documents as well as receipts, postcards and business cards. And plenty of mobile apps can help you keep paper to a minimum, too, though they may not provide the image quality that a scanner does. With the free version of the CamScanner app (for Android, iPhone and Windows Phone), you can snap photos of documents with your phone's camera and convert them to PDFs. The CamCard Free app lets you photograph business cards and store and file the contact information. With the free Bump app (for Android and iPhone), you can share your contact information by tapping your phone with phones of other app users. 5. Get a handle on receipts. To organize all of your receipts and track spending, try OneReceipt for iPhone, which lets you snap pictures of receipts and save them by using the free app or e-mailing them to your account. The tool can also automatically pull electronic receipts from your e-mail account. Not sure the store will accept an image of a receipt? Hang on to the original. 6. Paper still has a place. In addition to Social Security cards, and certificates of birth, death and marriage, you'll want to keep estate documents, medical records, insurance policies, proof of mortgage and other loan payoffs, and titles and deeds for cars and homes. Reprinted with permission. All Contents ©2014 The Kiplinger Washington Editors. Kiplinger.com. Economic Calendar for the Week of January 27 - January 31 Date ET Economic Report For Estimate Actual Prior Impact Mon. January 27 10:00 New Home Sales Dec NA   464K Moderate Tue. January 28 08:30 Durable Goods Orders Dec NA   3.4% Moderate Tue. January 28 09:00 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Nov NA   13.6% Moderate Tue. January 28 10:00 Consumer Confidence Jan NA   78.1 Moderate Wed. January 29 02:00 FOMC Meeting Jan NA   0.25% HIGH Thu. January 30 08:30 Jobless Claims (Initial) 1/25 NA   NA Moderate Thu. January 30 08:30 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Q4 NA   4.1% Moderate Thu. January 30 08:30 GDP Chain Deflator Q4 NA   2.0% Moderate Thu. January 30 10:00 Pending Home Sales Dec NA   0.2% Moderate Fri. January 31 08:30 Personal Spending Dec NA   0.5% Moderate Fri. January 31 08:30 Personal Consumption Expenditures and Core PCE Dec NA   0.1% HIGH Fri. January 31 08:30 Personal Consumption Expenditures and Core PCE YOY NA   1.1% HIGH Fri. January 31 08:30 Employment Cost Index (ECI) Q4 NA   0.4% HIGH Fri. January 31 08:30 Chicago PMI Jan NA   60.8 HIGH Fri. January 31 08:30 Consumer Sentiment Index (UoM) Jan NA   80.4 Moderate Fri. January 31 08:30 Personal Income Dec NA   0.2% Moderate

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As your mortgage professional, I am sending you the MMG WEEKLY because I am committed to keeping you updated on the economic events that impact interest rates and how they may affect you.

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