PATIENCE…A VIRTUE ADMIRED IN THE DRIVER BEHIND YOU AND SCORNED IN THE ONE AHEAD...And Bond Traders have exercised just about as much patience as they can stand, as they buckle up and anxiously await the big events of the coming week. A “Triple Lindy” of major events is in store: the highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting, the official transfer of power in Iraq, and the always-volatile Jobs Report.

Over the past week, Traders have had little to chew on, but caught a few pieces of information that helped push Bonds slightly higher and home loan rates very slightly lower. Remembering that bad or disappointing economic and geopolitical news supports Bonds moving higher, Mortgage Bonds caught a “flight to quality” lift due to the continued series of bombings in Iraq, now directed at police stations and security offices. This activity is raising very serious concerns that the June 30th transfer of power may not go as smoothly as hoped. Further, just days prior to an upcoming NATO summit that President Bush is scheduled to attend, a bomb blast killed four people in Istanbul, Turkey.

On an economic front, Bonds got another small boost on a pair of weaker than expected reports, Durable Goods and Initial Jobless Claims. Interestingly, New Home Sales came in at a record high of 1.369 million, but Traders seemed to just give it a yawn. With the heavy slate of news and events scheduled for the week ahead, Traders showed little conviction in their positions, as they tread water through most of last week.

The result for home loan rates? By and large, unchanged to only very slightly improved on most products.

“LEVERAGE”…WE ALL KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, BUT DO WE REALLY KNOW HOW TO PRACTICALLY APPLY IT TO ACHIEVE GREATER SUCCESS IN OUR OWN LIVES? BE SURE NOT TO MISS THIS WEEKS SPECIAL FEATURE, AS NATIONALLY RENOWNED SPEAKER, AUTHOR AND SALES TRAINER TODD DUNCAN WRITES ESPECIALLY TO MMG WEEKLY READERS ABOUT USING “THE LAW OF LEVERAGE” TO ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS AND PROPEL YOUR CAREER TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

After a major lack of excitement in Bonds or interest rates last week, get ready...this week has some real blockbuster headlines. Wednesday brings the highly anticipated Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, and the financial world will be hanging on the edge of their seats at 2:15pm ET to hear what Greenspan and the Fed decide to do with short-term interest rates. A .25% increase is anticipated, and anything different would shake up the markets considerably.

Also on Wednesday - the world will be anxiously watching to see how smooth the transition of power will occur between US-led Coalition forces and the new Iraqi government. The recent slate of bombings has certainly heightened concerns. Will the rebellion against the newly formed Iraqi government become worse than it already is or will it quiet down? Initial impressions and events of the day could significantly influence stock and bond markets around the globe.

And if that weren’t enough, the Economic Calendar finally brings some movers and shakers this week, including the volatile Jobs Report on Friday. With all the action this week, remember that negative news of a geopolitical or economic nature will cause Bonds prices and home loan rates to improve. But the market will be impossible to predict this week, with all the “wild cards” in play. Bottom Line: Rates will likely remain stable until Wednesday, when the action will ensue. Keep tuned to the news, and remember that bad news benefits rates and vice versa.

THIS WEEK’S SPECIAL MORTGAGE MARKET VIEW FEATURES NATIONALLY RENOWNED SPEAKER, AUTHOR AND SALES TRAINER TODD DUNCAN, WRITING TO MMG WEEKLY READERS ABOUT USING “THE LAW OF LEVERAGE” TO MAKE YOUR CAREER GOALS AND DREAMS A REALITY.

In business and in life, sharing your goals and dreams with the right people can be the difference between average and above-average success. That’s because accountability produces the leverage necessary to follow through with your aspirations. This is the essence of one of my laws of High Trust Selling called the “Law of Leverage”, which states that you’re less likely to fail when you’ve told others you will succeed.

Leverage ensues when you share your goals with the right people, people who are the “dream stokers” in your life, not the “dream chokers”. They must be people who have hearts for seeing you succeed and hands for helping you do so. They can be sales managers or spouses, friends or coworkers, mentors or professional coaches. What’s most important is that you have confidence that they care about who you are, and who you desire to become.

To best leverage your career you must employ it in three areas...

1. Personal Leverage: Enlisting personal leverage begins when you commit your plans to paper. In other words, recording your goals and dreams is your first act of commitment in following through on them. Then you must give your dreams a date. That’s because dates make you find a way to follow through, rather than fumbling with excuses. They get the planning process underway whether you like it or not.

2. Associate Leverage: Your next step in leveraging must occur on an associate level. It is here where true accountability takes place, where you must do the work of recruiting partners who will help your career, not hinder it. It is vital that your partners be people who aren’t afraid to ask you the hard questions, the questions that stretch your mental capacity to its peak, the questions that elicit actions beyond what you are currently doing. Your partners must take your success and satisfaction personally - they must find fulfillment in your fulfillment.

3. Professional Leverage: The highest echelon of leverage takes place on a professional level. Professional leverage results when you employ the services of a coach or mentor. It is in this type of accountability relationship that your skills are best honed and your plans find their most productive path. Without professional leverage I would still be looking up the mountain of success. And the same is true of you. The sooner you enlist professional leverage in your career, the more successful you will be.

One thing is certain: If you want to be better tomorrow than you are today, you must leverage your career. Enlisting leverage as a salesperson is about ceasing to sell solo by reaching out to others who will help you succeed on a level you could not reach alone. It’s about becoming more vulnerable in accountability relationships so that you can be more valuable in client relationships. And when it’s all said and done, leveraging your sales career will have been about maximizing your sales success so you could maximize your life.

To Your Success,

Todd Duncan

For more information on the Law of Leverage and High Trust Selling, visit www.hightrustselling.com.

After the recent drought of economic news, the calendar really gets a tidal wave of action this week. In addition to many reports of note scheduled for release, remember that this week also brings us the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting on Wednesday; also the day that the official transfer of power in Iraq is to take place. Friday’s market-moving monthly Jobs Report will follow up these major events, which has been a heavy hitter over the past several months. But unless the report has a surprise in store, its volatile influence could be overshadowed by the other major happenings of the week.

Remember, as a general rule, weaker than expected economic data is good for rates, while positive data causes rates to rise.

For the week of June 28 – July 02, 2004