Companies taking steps big and small to reduce impact Charlotte Business Journal Juile Bird Feb 20, 2009 Promoting environmental sustainability isn't exactly small potatoes for Duke Energy Corp. But potatoes do play a role. The company cafeteria stocks utensils made from potatoes and soy oil, plates made from plant fibers and cups made from corn. Everything is compostable, from SpudWare froks and spoons to the vegetable-based lining inside the cups. ...Online lending network LendingTree has switched to green cleaning and maintenance products at its Ballantyne Corporate Park headquarters....LendingTree also bought copiers that go into energy-saving mode after idling for five minutes. Motion detectors in the conference rooms and bathrooms shut off lights automatically, says spokeswoman Allison Vail.
Rates flat in anticipation of housing plan Bankrate.com Holden Lewis Feb 19, 2009
There wasn't much change in mortgage rates this week, as the industry awaited details of the Obama administration's housing plan. ...Yields on 10-year Treasuries have fallen about 40 basis points in the last three weeks, without an equivalent decline in mortgage rates, observes Cameron Findlay,chief economist for LendingTree.com. "It's the risk premium," he says. "People are saying, 'I want the safety and security of Treasuries. But mortgages? I'm not loving you. If I buy a mortgage, I want to be compensated for it, and I want to be compensated more.'"
Mortgage Rate Trend Index Bankrate.com Feb 19, 2009
This week (Feb 19 - Feb 25) the experts say: Mortgage rates will most likely fall, or at worst stay flat.The spread between 10-year Treasuries and interest rates today is at approximately 250 basis points. Assuming the 10-year Treasury is at 2.65 percent, we can expect interest rates around 5.15 percent. Since mid-December 2008, that spread has been as high as 327 basis points. Borrowers comparing the debt market (10-year Treasuries) with interest rates will need to be cautious because this spread has been getting wider in recent weeks. With news of the stimulus package along with overseas woes, U.S. debt prices have been driven higher (yields lower) all while mortgage interest rates have reamined relatively unchanged. This means the wider spread is the risk premium banks demand from borrowers for perceived exposure in the mortgage market, suggesting things are getting worse, not better. - RATES UNCHANGEDCameron Findlay, Chief Economist, LendingTree.com, Charlotte, N.C.
LendingTree branches out Charlotte Business Journal John Downey Feb 13, 2009 In a troubled mortgage market, LendingTree's parent Tree.com, Inc. is looking - cautiously - to expand. It plans to use LendingTree's high visibility and strong brand to remake the company into a general financial-services Web operation consumers will consult daily. The company took a key step in that direction last week. It bought a small consumer budget and financial-management site called JustThrive.com that it will fold into the LendingTree family. Tree.com Chief Executive Doug Lebda says the ultimate goal is to create a full spectrum of financial services on a cluster of Web sites that consumers will use frequently - not just when they're shopping for a loan.
Mortgage Rate Trend Index Bankrate.com Feb 12, 2009 This week (Feb. 12 - Feb. 18) the experts say: Mortgage rates probably will fall, or at worst remain about the same.Just following the small debt market sell-off last week (prices down, rates up), we are now faced with the opposite side of the coin, where perception caused by the lack of confidence in Secretary Geithner's plan has cleared the way for a debt market rally. Prices are now increasing and bond yields declining, but as for mortgage interest rates, don't expect to see the decline in line with bond yield changes. We see flat interest rates with declining bond yields for the near term, resulting in wider yield spreads. RATES UNCHANGEDCameron Findlay, Chief Economist, LendingTree.com, Charlotte, N.C.