Stampede Time!
Well it's that time of the year again... YEE HAW! I am sure that we're all going to dust off our boots and enjoy the early morning breakfasts and Nashville North stage. So remember to call any of the following numbers below for a ride home. Keep it safe!
Alternatives to Getting Home
KEYS PLEASE: 403-255-4800
DRIVERS CHOICE: 403-243-3358
DRIVERS CHOICE: 403-216-2630
Summer Recipes
Sensational Sirloin Kabobs
After a wild night marinating in a slightly sweet soy sauce and lemon-lime mixture, sirloin steak chunks are skewered with veggies and grilled. You'll want to make these again and again!
Original recipe yield: 8 servings.
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper seasoning
- 4 fluid ounces lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
- 2 pounds beef sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 green bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces
- skewers
- 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, stems removed
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 fresh pineapple - peeled, cored and cubed
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, mix soy sauce, light brown sugar, distilled white vinegar, garlic powder, seasoned salt, garlic pepper seasoning, and lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage. Reserve about 1/2 cup of this marinade for basting. Place steak in a large resealable plastic bag. Cover with the remaining marinade, and seal. Refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight.
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add green peppers, and cook for 1 minute, just to blanch. Drain, and set aside.
Preheat grill for high heat. Thread steak, green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and pineapple onto skewers in an alternating fashion. Discard marinade and the bag.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Cook kabobs on the prepared grill for 10 minutes, or to desired doneness. Baste frequently with reserved marinade during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Classic Spanish Sangria
This is an authentic version of the popular wine drink. You can add any fruit that you want, but I find that apples and pears absorb all the rum. This one is not diluted with carbonated beverages. I have much success with red Burgundy wine and white rum, though spiced rum is nice too.
Original recipe yield: 6 servings.
Prep Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 2 Hours 10 Minutes Servings: 6+
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 1 orange
- 1 1/2 cups rum
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine
- 1 cup orange juice
DIRECTIONS:
Have the fruit, rum, wine, and orange juice well chilled. Slice the lemon, lime and orange into thin rounds and place in a large glass pitcher. Pour in the rum and sugar. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours to develop the flavors.
When ready to serve, crush the fruit lightly with a wooden spoon and stir in the wine and orange juice. Adjust sweetness to taste.
Blackberry Spinach Salad
This is an excellent brunch salad that's very easy to throw together. This tastes great without a dressing, but some people like a bacon dressing or a nice balsamic vinegar.
Original recipe yield: 8 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups baby spinach, rinsed and dried
- 1 pint fresh blackberries
- 6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1/2 cup edible flowers (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, toss together baby spinach, blackberries, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, green onion, and walnuts. Garnish with edible flowers.
Have a great and safe summer!
What’s New?
Credit Solutions From Your Mortgage Professional
Your Mortgages has focused on this topic with one goal in mind – to help people from all walks of life get a fresh start with their personal finances. We do this by providing solid financial education with simple intelligent budgeting tools that impact their lives forever.
Your Mortgages realizes the importance money plays in our everyday lives and the stress that comes from not being able to meet all of your monthly obligations. By first helping you to reduce your current debt, Steve Faux will start you down the path of financial freedom, you develop a sensible foundation to ensure debt matters stay within your control.
We have now added this to our many other services available and would encourage you to take a moment to review the information on the web site. You may know someone who could use a little turn around?
What else?
We will now be adding to our News Letter a "Featured Property" of the month. This will help those looking for property in Calgary and have not made the connections needed to find the home they are in need of. It is a fast driving market and without some guidance, along with the resources to find those home, you may never feel prepared. Good luck, enjoy and feel free to contact the Real Estate agent in the listing. Remember, the services are free when you are purchasing. This will start in the next issue (August).
Assessment of the Market
A Brief Assessment Of The Economy And Implications For Interest Rates And The Mortgage Market
In May 2000, during the FOMC meeting of the US Federal Reserves, the Fed’s Chairman Mr. Greenspan said: ”The risk of moving 50 basis points today are not very large because I think the underlying momentum in the economy remains very strong”. And indeed, the Fed went ahead and raised rates by 50 basis points. Eight months later, the US economy was in a recession. Clearly, the Fed made a policy monetary error by overshooting and raising rates much too aggressively — in a way that triggered an economic recession.
In fact, recent economic research show that all economic recessions over the past 40 years were helped by monetary policy errors or overshooting.
Are the Bank of Canada and the Fed in a process of overshooting now? From reading newspaper headlines about recent economic numbers, one might get very confused about the right course of action for both Central Banks. For example, over the past two weeks, we got an array of good news such as strong employment numbers and housing activity. But we also got many bad news such as slowing exports, further decline in manufacturing activity, and disappointing retail sales. Which numbers should we believe?
My experience is that reacting to media reports is a sure recipe for over reacting and potentiality making the wrong move.
It is very clear that the economy is strong — with the labor market even stronger. The Bank of Canada has been raising rates and indicated that more "may" be needed. From the language of the Bank we learn that the Bank, at this point, does not see a need to “aggressively" raise rates, but will do it on a very gradual basis.
Also, note that the Bank knows that the impact of today's rate hikes will be felt only 8-10 months from now. The lag effect is something that is missed by the popular media.
A reasonable guess is that the Bank will move by another 50 basis points and that the 5-year rate will further rise by 20-25 basis points — all within the coming 3-4 months or so. (There is a risk of about 25% probability that the Bank will move by 75 basis points. This risk reflects the potential inflationary impact of rising wages in Western Canada and their impact on wage pressures in the rest of the country. The likelihood is that productivity growth will rise fast enough to offset any wage-related inflationary pressures. Nevertheless, this is probably the most significant risk to the forecast.)
The Bank will also take a close look at the Fed. And it is widely expected that the Fed will not go beyond an additional 25 basis points from now. The story here is the fact that the US economy is widely expected to soften in late-2006 and into 2007, reflecting the lag impact of higher interest rates, a leveling off in the housing market, and the impact of higher energy prices.
We then might enter a period of not much movement in both short and long-term rates as the Bank assesses the situation and examines to what extent previous rate hikes are starting to impact the economy.
Beyond that, it is very possible that by mid-late 2007 the market will start factoring in a possible rate cut by the Bank. (This might be more so if the Bank ends up raising rates by 75 basis points.) We do not view it as a major downward trend in rates, but probably some fine-tuning of rates — of say, 25-50 basis points (not unlike what the Bank did in the past).
This means that in 18 months from now, both short and long-terms rates might not be very different than their current levels. (After rising and falling roughly by the same magnitude.)
Implications: Shifting now from Variable to Fixed mortgage rates will probably be proven a mistake 5 years from now, albeit not a big one. While variable rate mortgages will not be as attractive as it used to be in the past five years and the savings will not be as significant (at least in the next 2-3 years), they will continue to outperform. The likelihood is that we are getting closer and closer to the end of the tightening cycle.
Benjamin Tal
Senior Economist, CIBC World Markets
Steve's Rates
| Mortgage Term | Steve's Rates | Bank Rates |
|---|---|---|
| Variable Rate | 3.25% | 5.50% |
| 6 Month Closed | 5.00% | 5.55% |
| 1 Year Closed | 5.70% | 5.75% |
| 2 Year Closed | 5.26% | 5.90% |
| 3 Year Closed | 5.25% | 6.00% |
| 4 Year Closed | 5.29% | 6.15% |
| 5 Year Closed | 5.25% | 6.30% |
| 7 Year Closed | 5.49% | 6.95% |
| 10 Year Closed | 5.62% | 7.40% |
| 15 Year Closed | 5.99% | n/a |
| 18 Year Closed | 6.05% | n/a |
| 25 Year Closed | 6.15% | n/a |
Rates are subject to constant change, for the best rates call 667-9816.
Resources
Business Supporting Business — Thank You:
Insurance
Canyon Insurance covers all your needs, ask for harry Mason
hmason@canyoninsurance.ca
Musician
claytoni@telus.net
Senotrini Spa & Wellness
www.scentorinispa.com
Time Business Machines
wflanagan@timebusiness.com
Two Amigos Moving
www.twoamigos.com
Friends Supporting Friends — Thank You:
Evan William's Group
www.evanwilliamsgroup.com
Otis & Huckleberry
www.otishuck.com
For your Recreational Investments — www.buycanadaproperty.com
WFG SECURITIES OF CANADA
George Negrette
Mutal Fund Representative
P:403-809-7885
E: gnegrette@shaw.ca
A Quote to Note:
"We cannot change who we are…………………but we can change who we become!"
- The Lion King
Contact
At Prolink Mortgage Inc., I have over 30 lending financial mortgage institutions in Canada. With Steve Faux sourcing the best rates and the best products to suit your needs!
Direct Line — 403.667.9816
Direct Fax — 403.509.1007
Email — steve@yourmortgages.ca
Visit www.yourmortgages.ca for more resources.
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