Axiom Financial Market Watch

Axiom Financial Market Watch Report

This is Your Victory

Congratulations! We polled you, you cast your vote, and here’s your winner! I for one am excited and have hope for change for a more united, driven America under Obama’s great worldwide leadership qualities and ambition. I hope we all can put aside our differences, work together, and give him our patriot duty of support as he leads our great nation. We should all give him the opportunity to prove himself, and pray he doesn’t fail us, as our previous two presidents have done. I have hope for a brighter future in America under his leadership.

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama spoke at a rally in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, after winning the race for the White House Tuesday night. The following is an exact transcript of his speech.

Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who’ve been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. Watch Obama’s speech in its entirety »

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Sen. McCain.

I congratulate him; I congratulate Gov. Palin for all that they’ve achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation’s next first lady Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the new White House.

And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother’s watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you’ve given me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best — the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

To my chief strategist David Axelrod who’s been a partner with me every step of the way.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

And I know you didn’t do this just to win an election. And I know you didn’t do it for me.

You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage or pay their doctors’ bills or save enough for their child’s college education.

There’s new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can’t solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it’s been done in America for 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let’s remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those — to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That’s the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we’ve already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

What is the Electoral College Anyway?

Americans elect the President and Vice-president through a method of indirect popular election. On November 4, 2008, voters cast their ballots for a presidential candidate. However, votes actually count towards a group of electors who pledge to vote for a specific candidate when the Electoral College meets in December. The “Electoral College” is the unofficial term coined in the 1800s for the group of citizens selected by the people to cast votes for President and Vice President.

The presidential/vice-presidential pair who wins the popular vote in any given state receives all of the state’s number of Electoral College votes. In the end, the winner of the race is the candidate who receives a majority (270) of the 538 Electoral College votes. The results of the 2008 election won’t be official until the President of the Senate counts the votes out loud at a special joint session of Congress held on January 6, 2009.

Did you know there is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States? Some States, however, require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories—electors bound by State law and those bound by pledges to political parties.

Utah has 5 electoral votes, but the electors for Utah are not bound by State law to cast their vote for a specific candidate.

For the official word on the Electoral College, visit the government website at: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html

2008 Election Has Interesting Facets

Incumbent President George W. Bush is ineligible for re-election per the 22nd Amendment, which limits a president to two terms, and incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney has declined to run for the office. These facts make the 2008 presidential election the first since 1928 in which neither an incumbent president nor an incumbent vice president is a candidate, and the first since 1952 in which neither is a candidate in the general election. In the 1928 election, President Calvin Coolidge did not seek re-election, and Vice President Charles Dawes was not on good terms with party leadership. In 1952, both President Harry Truman and Vice President Alben Barkley ran for their party’s nomination, but they dropped out early.

All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives are up for election.

The 33 seats in the United States Senate Class 2 are up for election, plus special Senate elections in Mississippi and Wyoming. The resignation of Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, and the death of Wyoming Senator Craig L. Thomas, (both Class 1 senators) mean that both of those states’ senate seats are up for election.

Eleven of the fifty United States governors are up for re-election. Eight incumbent governors are running for re-election, while the retirements of Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware, Matt Blunt of Missouri, and Mike Easley of North Carolina leave those governatorial positions open. The incumbent governor of Puerto Rico, Anibal Acevedo Vila, is also up for re-election.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Axiom Financial Market Watch Report – Week of November 2, 2008

Axiom Market Watch Report – Week of Sept 14, 2008

Rare Combination: Low Rates & Distressed Properties

WATCH OUT for falling rates!!  Finally some sanity has returned to the long term mortgage rates. Between yesterday and today interest rates have come down over 1/2% on the 30 year fixed rate loans.  This could be just the boost we’ve been looking for, for months to get us back into a stable market.  If you are sitting on the fence waiting for that perfect time to buy, now is that time. 

Rates are the lowest they’ve been this year.  There is a large inventory of homes to pick from.  Sellers are very negotiable.  Banks with short sales and foreclosed properties are dumping properties to get rid of them.  This may be the best time to buy in the past decade, but it probably won’t last long.

Lenders are still very stingy with approvals and documentation requirements are severe.  They should loosen up with time once the market stabilizes a bit.

Enjoy these new rates.  We hope they will stay around for awhile.

100% Financing Still Available!

We have recently been approved as 1 of 5 lenders in the state of Utah to offer Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac Conventional loan financing to 103% of the purchase price of the home.  This is a conventional first mortgage at 95% of the purchasing price and a second mortgage of 8% to cover the down payment and closing costs.  The first mortgage is offered at traditional 30 year fixed rates and the second mortgage will always be a set 2% over the first mortgage rate.  This is not a double underwritten file!  The same lender and underwriter approves the first and second mortgage simultaneously.  It is run through Fannie Mae’s Direct Underwriting Service on line as are all other conventional loan programs.  There is no guess work with the approvals.  They are automated.  There is an income limit which is set at 140% of the area median which puts us at about $85,000.  Minimum FICO score is 620.

We have been working hard on becoming an approved lender for this Fannie Mae product as it is right now one of the only 100% plus financing products available.  Of course we still offer VA and USDA however obviously the best part of this new product is that everyone is that it is not “area” specific and you do not need to be a veteran.

Even in areas that are determined a “declining” market, the program will lend 98%.  The 5% reduction in loan amount applies only to the first mortgage.  Fortunately NONE of Utah is pre-determined declining for this program. Not even St. George.

Michael Riley

President

American Lending Network, Inc.

1256 S. State #201

Orem, Utah 84097

 

801-223-9800

801-223-9876 FAX

801-361-5300 CELL

800-261-9802

Report: Utah real estate sees increase in affordability

by UAR

Home prices in Salt Lake City and other parts of Utah are more affordable than they’ve been in years, according to a national report released Aug. 19. The Housing Opportunity Index, which is published by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo, said second quarter home prices in the Salt Lake metro area were more affordable than they’ve been since 2005.

The report said that during second quarter 2008, nearly 55 percent of all new and existing homes were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $65,300. The availability of affordably priced homes hasn’t been this high since the third quarter of 2005 when 58 percent of homes were considered affordable.

Of all the Utah metro areas reported, Ogden-Clearfield had the highest affordability ranking in the state, with 68 percent of homes being affordable to those earning the median income. That’s up from about 61 percent in the first quarter.

The Provo-Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area also saw improved affordability in the second quarter although there were fewer affordable homes in the area compared to Salt Lake and Ogden. Provo-Orem, however, is showing real improvement in terms of affordability. As recently as the third quarter of 2007, only 22.5 percent of homes were affordable to those earning the area’s median income. Now nearly 50 percent of homes are considered affordable.

Even St. George has seen huge affordability gains. In 2006, only 16 percent of St. George homes were affordable; now that number has jumped to nearly 37 percent.