Idea Quote of the Day:“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

It’s hard for rates to go down when the Dow is doing so well. (I’m taking about the stock market ‘dow’, not Tony Dow who played Beaver’s brother). It’s at the 15,000 mark now and while experts say there should be a downfall it just hasn’t happened yet. So…

Rates remain higher than where they’ve been but they are still super attractive. A 30-year fixed remains in the mid-3s with ARM rates about a point lower. Now is a good time to refinance to an ARM if you are only going to stay in your place another 1-5 years. What’s that? You don’t want to pay fees, you say? Okay; for any purchase or refinance loan over $240k I will waive all lender fees – a $1,295 savings! Please tell your family, friends, coworkers, Cubs fans…and okay, even Sox fans too – that this deal won’t last forever.

Wuss’up This Week: We’ve got a busy week with economic reports being released that can move interest rates in either direction. Today we have Capacity Utilization, which is expected to come in at 78.3%. A figure above 85% is viewed as inflation. Inflation to rates is like Kryptonite to Superman (that sort of sounded like an ACT question, didn’t it? Actually, I would’ve gone to Harvard if they were all like that). Tomorrow we have Weekly Jobless Claims (expected at 335k) and Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is expected up 0.1%. The CPI is also a measure of inflation. Tomorrow we have BPI (Barry’s Pants Index) – expected waist size 34 – which is also a measure of inflation.

“Did’ja Know: Zimbabwe has the worst inflation in the world at 6.5 sextillion percent! (my son would giggle at that word ‘sextillion’ – ahh, the joys of parenthood). Want to know nine other interesting facts about money?

Idea Quote of the Day 2:“I admit I thought cloning Wanda Sykes 10,000 times was a dumb idea, but it looks like the TSA managed to hire all of them.” – Eli Braden (@EliBraden)

Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed Melissa Gilbert last week. Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Chaka Khan mousepad? Simply email me the answer to this week’s “Who Am I?” question. Good luck: “Later this week I turn 43. Those arms on the cover of that book are not real, but the scar is. Outside of those two things you might find me beautiful (#80 on Maxim’s Hot List in 2002, and one of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People in 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2009) or you might find me funny (see SNL and presidential elections), but you won’t find me to be mean – although I did write and star in a movie about high school cliques.”

Naked Quote of the Day:“I always say: To be well dressed you must be well naked.” – Oscar de la Renta

You really think your generation is better?? When I was a kid I got my music for free on Napster! Still, here’s a fun timeline of iTunes, which just turned ten.

Not a lot of earthshattering economic news coming out this week, although we do have three reports on employment being released: today’s ADP Employment (expected 132k), tomorrow’s Weekly Jobless Claims (expected 329k), and Friday’s biggie, the April Employment Report (expected 110k new jobs, unemployment rate at 7.6%). Two months ago this report came in great for the economy and rates shot up. Last month it came in horrible which helped rates drop. My prediction is that this Friday’s report will come in as expected, but last night in a fight my wife told me, “You are never right! Never!” so who knows…

Interest rates have cooperated though, as 30-year fixed rates are in the low-to-mid 3s with ARM rates about a point lower. And hey – don’t forget about our friend the 15-year fixed which is in the high 2s. Pay off your mortgage early and retire before all your friends. And don’t forget…

For any purchase or refinance loan over $240k I will waive all lender fees – this is a $1,295 savings!!! Cinco de Mayo all year long, Mortgage Fans!

Naked Quote of the Day 2:“Is it ‘butt’ naked or ‘buck’ naked? Either way, this dentist appointment is making me very uncomfortable.” – Jenny Johnson (@JennyJohnsonHi5)

Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed “We Are the World” last week. Want to be entered into a drawing to win Undead cookie cutters? Simply email me the answer to this week’s “Who Am I?” question. Good luck: “It was on this day in 1992 that my solo album Diva went to # 1 on the UK album charts. Before that, I was in a hugely successful band in the mid-80s. Our first hit in 1983 was like a dream as it hit #1 on the US charts, and the video got plenty of MTV play with my orange hair and androgynous look. In the early 2000s VH1 voted me The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive – I’m not kidding. Would I lie to you?”