Worldwide Financial Planning

With this column comes a complimentary mortgage review with the Worldwide Financial Planning Mortgage Director, Pat Greene. Pat will also be able to provide you with the latest copy of our Mortgage Interest Rate Guidance Report.

On average, the members of the rate setting committee see US rates falling from 5.5% to 4.75% during the course of next year. This is a big shift in tone in just three months.

Markets move around, that’s just it. Avoiding buying at the top of excitable sentiment is a good plan, just as is selling at the negative end.

European government bonds led the rally following comments from several ECB members that appeared to confirm the view that the bank has finished hiking following the rapid slowdown in inflation. This was supported by lacklustre European economic growth.

When you apply for a mortgage, try to avoid making your way around lenders and applying to each of them. Each time you do that, there is a search created against your name, which lowers your credit rating, particularly if you are turned down.

Better news for inflation and a gradual slowdown in economic activity raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may be able to engineer a soft landing, and bond markets are now hoping for rate cuts in the first half of next year. This caps a good month for markets and fixed income and global equities made significant gains.