I don’t have exact numbers, or any numbers for that matter, but I imagine that many agents and brokers are turning to Amway as a financial bridge during these difficult times. Yes, Amway - based in Michigan. Also known as Quixtar, it is a multi-level marketing company doing business in 90 countries and founded in 1959, prior to the mortgage meltdown. (In fact, 1959 was prior to probably 90% of folks in the mortgage business even being alive.) They reported sales (electronics, jewelry, personal care products, cosmetics, etc.) of $7.2 billion for 2007 – several years of growth. Where do I sign up?

Wachovia will cease mortgage origination in its branches in Illinois as well as 18 other states, and will be doing lay-offs. Their retail branches are expected to remain open. Here is the story for your perusal: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-notebook-0808-aug08,0,7565465.story

Assuming that a mortgage company knows what their closing costs are, where do they rank? The survey includes lenders’ origination fees, title and settlement fees and excluded taxes and prepaid items. A study from Bankrate Inc. shows that North Carolina has the lowest mortgage closing costs in the country, with the average closing cost for a $200,000 mortgage at $2,650 compared to the national average of $3,118. New York is on top at $4,016. Bankrate obtained four to nine “good faith estimates” from the Web sites of lenders, it says. “Researchers selected ZIP codes in some of the largest cities in each state and requested information on the closing costs from a $200,000 loan. They requested fees on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for a borrower with a 20 percent down payment and good credit to buy a single-family home.”

Fannie Mae cuts its dividend and posted its fourth straight quarterly loss: a greater-than-expected $2.3 billion. (That compared with a profit of $1.95 billion a year earlier.) One may recall that Fannie had a loss of $2.51 billion in the first quarter. Fannie’s CEO was quoted as saying, “Volatility and disruptions in the capital markets became even more pronounced in July. In addition, credit performance has continued to deteriorate and, based on our experience in July, we anticipate further increases in our combined loss reserves. Given this volatility and the build-up of our reserve, as well as the uncertainties inherent in the U.S. economy and the housing market, we are taking a series of additional actions that reflect our ongoing focus on conserving and enhancing our capital, as well as managing our credit risk through the balance of this cycle."

“Mr. Mozillo, line 3 is for you…” Countrywide Financial has received subpoenas from the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a formal investigation. Countrywide has been under scrutiny by federal authorities and also faces numerous lawsuits related to its mortgage lending practices.

The U.S. Census Bureau released some interesting county-level news. La Paz County, in Arizona, has the country's oldest population (32% of its population is 65 years or older) while Webb County (Laredo, Texas, on the Mexican border) has the country's youngest population (with children younger than 5 comprising 13% of the population). 302 counties, or nearly one in every 10, are "majority-minority" meaning the county had a population with more than 50% minority residents. Among the majority-minority counties with a minority population of 1 million or more were Bronx, N.Y.; Miami-Dade, Fla.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Queens, N.Y.; Bexar (San Antonio) and Dallas, Texas; San Bernardino, Calif.; Kings (Brooklyn), N.Y.; Harris (Houston), Texas; Santa Clara (San Jose) and Riverside, Calif.; Cook (Chicago), Ill.; and Orange, Calif. Los Angeles County had the largest minority population in the country in 2007. At 7 million, or 71 percent of its total, Los Angeles County was home to one in every 14 of the nation's minority residents.

We had a nice rally yesterday, with rates dropping after a good 30-yr bond auction. Pending Home Sales, known to be volatile, unexpectedly rose 5.3%. That is good news! The index tracks homes under contract that have not yet closed. Foreclosure sales could be distorting this index to the upside, as those that are handled by realtors are counted as sales of existing homes and presumably also get into the pending sales index. This morning we already saw that U.S. productivity grew at a weaker-than-expected 2.2 percent during the second quarter despite a rise in output and lower unit labor costs than during the first quarter, according to the Labor Department. Compared with the second quarter of 2007, non-farm productivity was up 2.8 percent. Unit labor costs, a gauge of inflation and profit pressures closely watched by the Fed, were up 1.3% in the second quarter, much lower than the 2.5% increase during the first three months this year. With no more substantial releases for today (or Monday) the 10-yr stands at 3.94% and mortgage prices are unchanged from yesterday afternoon – which is an improvement from yesterday morning!

A man was driving down the road and ran out of gas. Just at that moment, a bee flew in his window.
The bee said, “What seems to be the problem?”
“I'm out of gas,” the man replied.
The bee told the man to wait right there and flew away. Minutes later, the man watched as an entire swarm of bees flew to his car and into his gas tank. After a few minutes, the bees flew out.
“Try it now,” said one bee.
The man turned the ignition key and the car started right up. “Wow!” the man exclaimed, “what did you put in my gas tank?”

“BP”

Rob