Oil Prices, Government Shutdowns and Mortgages

If only, if only. If it weren't for a handful of revolutions/evolutions in the Middle East and rising oil prices ($108 a barrel this morning) the U.S. economy might be humming along at a nice clip. Then again, even with oil prices rising by so much the past two months hiring has picked up. But how long can it last? At some point it has to hurt the economy unless your line of work is oil production. (The 'silver lining' here is that home prices in Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska should stay firm or rise nicely.) Now, we have a government shutdown looming. If you don't think a weeklong closure of the Federal government (do I hear two weeks? Three?) will hurt the economy then you can stop reading this now. Federal workers will be furloughed — thousands of them. And they have mortgages too. Instead of negotiating a real budget deal — one that mixes true budget and entitlement cuts with tax increases (there, I said it) — this morass could last for quite some time. It's a good thing the FHA program isn't funded by the nation's taxpayers. Oh wait…it is. Good luck to all you first-time homebuyers out there — and the bankers and brokers (what's left of them) who offer FHA loans…