Latest news with #DanRichards
USA Today
03-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Refinance applications surge as mortgage interest rates tick down
Americans are seizing any opportunity to refinance their mortgages. In the week ending June 27, applications to refinance rose 7%, the Mortgage Bankers Association, an industry group, announced on July 2. Rates for home loans fell to the lowest since April that week, with the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 6.79% nationwide. Refinance applications were a whopping 40% higher than a year earlier. In contrast, applications for purchase mortgages were unchanged. The big jump in refinance application volumes is somewhat surprising given the small move in rates. 'Despite the small decline, mortgage rates continue to hover in the same 6%-7% range seen over the past year,' pointed out Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow, in a statement following the release. 'Rates remain stuck in this range, reflecting competing economic signals: signs of a gradually cooling economy argue for lower rates, while persistent inflation supports upward pressure." "Homeowners are looking for any chance to save money on their housing costs, and even small savings can make a difference right now given the total cost of housing," said Dan Richards, President of Flyhomes Mortgage, in an email exchange with USA TODAY. "That's part of what's driving the recent uptick in refinancing," Richards continued. "A lot of people who bought in the last few years have been waiting for mortgage rates to fall below that 'magic' 6% mark to refi, but another year has passed and it's becoming clear that rates in the 6-7% range are the new normal." Many economists, including Zillow's Ng, expect rates to make little moves from here, and traders in mortgage futures now expect the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average about 6.7% in November, according to the ICE Mortgage and Housing Market Research team.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Refinance applications surge as mortgage interest rates tick down
Americans are seizing any opportunity to refinance their mortgages. In the week ending June 27, applications to refinance rose 7%, the Mortgage Bankers Association, an industry group, announced on July 2. Rates for home loans fell to the lowest since April that week, with the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 6.79% nationwide. Refinance applications were a whopping 40% higher than a year earlier. In contrast, applications for purchase mortgages were unchanged. The big jump in refinance application volumes is somewhat surprising given the small move in rates. 'Despite the small decline, mortgage rates continue to hover in the same 6%-7% range seen over the past year,' pointed out Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow, in a statement following the release. 'Rates remain stuck in this range, reflecting competing economic signals: signs of a gradually cooling economy argue for lower rates, while persistent inflation supports upward pressure." "Homeowners are looking for any chance to save money on their housing costs, and even small savings can make a difference right now given the total cost of housing," said Dan Richards, President of Flyhomes Mortgage, in an email exchange with USA TODAY. "That's part of what's driving the recent uptick in refinancing," Richards continued. "A lot of people who bought in the last few years have been waiting for mortgage rates to fall below that 'magic' 6% mark to refi, but another year has passed and it's becoming clear that rates in the 6-7% range are the new normal." Many economists, including Zillow's Ng, expect rates to make little moves from here, and traders in mortgage futures now expect the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average about 6.7% in November, according to the ICE Mortgage and Housing Market Research team. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Refinance applications jump on lower mortgage rates Sign in to access your portfolio
Travel Weekly
17-06-2025
- Travel Weekly
Israel-Iran conflict makes leaving Israel difficult
Since the war between Israel and Iran escalated on June 13, Global Rescue has been working to evacuate clients in Israel, and indications point to a shrinking window of time in which to do that, said CEO Dan Richards. He is encouraging those who wish to leave to do so soon. Meanwhile, the Israel Ministry of Tourism said it would help travelers register for departure flights. A digital registration form is being distributed to tour operators, hotels, tour guides and other industry stakeholders. The ministry of tourism said there are approximately 38,000 visitors in Israel. The form asks for the traveler's full name, phone number and email address. The ministry will consolidate the list in a digital vault and transfer it as needed to the National Security Headquarters and the Ministry of Transportation to coordinate flights, the ministry said. David Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv is currently closed. Richards said border crossings to neighboring countries Jordan and Egypt have been open periodically, as has airspace in those countries (Israeli airspace is closed). Global Rescue has been taking advantage of those options to get people out. "We urge everybody that wants to leave or that is concerned about escalation of the conflict to do it and do it now," Richards said. The beginning of the conflict was "intense," he said, followed by a moderation over the next 36 hours or so. In that time, Global Rescue was able to extract a number of clients. But over the last 12 to 18 hours there has been an "intensification," Richards said on Tuesday. "It's certainly not guaranteed that this window is going to stay open, and in fact we expect there to be a reduction and/or closing of this window in the not-so-distant future," Richards said. Richards said maritime evacuations are possible if Israel allows vessels to depart its waters. Global Rescue has experience in maritime evacuations in the Middle East. However, leaving via boat "is not going to be a pleasant alternative for anybody." In addition to helping extract clients, Global Rescue is supporting those who are opting to shelter in place. The company is a communications hub for those on the ground, the CEO said. It also provides physical help. For instance, a client group was in a bomb shelter when an Iranian missile struck nearby. They needed assistance clearing debris and rubble to get out. Global Rescue provides medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to companies, governments and individuals. "We try and find the best and safest methods of getting people from the places where they are to the places that they want to go," Richards said. To do that, Global Rescue employs an intelligence team to analyze publicly available information, as well as team members on the ground sharing proprietary information. Using a combination of those sources, Global Rescue finds the safest method to extract clients, or support them if they are sheltering in place. The work can be complicated, especially when factoring in border crossings. "There are all kinds of logistical considerations and potential problems that are present in prosecuting these kinds of odds," Richards said. Global Rescue employs people on the ground who are experienced in navigating volatile and dangerous environments, according to the CEO. Most are ex-military personnel with with experience in special operations.
Spectator
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
The night has a thousand eyes
From a young age – ten perhaps – the author Dan Richards has had a strained relationship with night-time. Grappling with insomnia, he would take 'the homeopathic approach to [his] waking nightmares', rereading Moominland Midwinter despite its existential terrors. Even now, he writes, he finds it easier to sleep when he is not at home. This has, for better or worse, given him time to think – and lots to think about – while not much else was going on. In the avowed spirit of Auden/Britten's Night Mail, Richards now invites us to follow him across 'an usual threshold at an unusual hour', exploring nocturnal life on the streets of Westminster or on North Sea ferries, meeting wildlife preservationists carving out 'dark corridors' for bats, or investigating the damage done to our 'finely balanced circadian timepieces' by getting just a couple of hours of disturbed sleep. From poorly paid social workers to hand-picked search-and-rescue crews, to Michael Fassbender playing millionaire boy racer, Overnight – to crib from one Night Mail review – creates adventure from things that happen every night of our lives. In this book about 'love, care and service' (with unavoidable pandemic overtones, given its time of writing), some of Richards's subjects live for their work while others are more ambivalent. But all are doing jobs which aren't your normal nine-to-five, often unpaid and rarely – pace Fassbender – with much glamour to them. Richards writes: 'I am moved and comforted to know that people are watching over me during the hours of darkness', or simply doing 'things that need to be done before the rest of us awake'.
Travel Weekly
14-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Can travel advisors defy economic gravity?
Arnie Weissmann I cannot remember a time when we've been presented, on an almost daily basis, with credible data that contradicts data from 24 hours earlier. The contradictions can even come in simultaneously from the same source. In the May 13 Bloomberg Morning Briefing, for example, a Goldman Sachs analyst was predicting an 11% gain in the S&P 500 over the next 12 months, while an item just a few inches down cited an assertion that an economic slowdown is likely. The two aren't an apples-to-apples comparison, but it's also impossible that they can both be correct. Reading item after item that yo-yo between optimistic and pessimistic makes planning more than a little difficult; either you revise the trajectory of your business on a daily (hourly?) basis or resign yourself to living with uncertainty and relying on your gut to distinguish signals from static. Most of the incoming information could be categorized as either "sentiment" or "behavior." As examples of sentiment, last month the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to its lowest level in five years. And its consumer-based Expectations Index, which looks at short-term sentiment about income, business and labor market conditions, fell to its lowest level since October 2011. Those who survey sentiment assume that sentiment drives future behavior and may in fact be more predictive of the future than data that reflects recent past behavior. Global Rescue's recent Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey found that 72% of its client base believes that Americans will be perceived more negatively abroad due to recent U.S. international policy proposals. The company's CEO, Dan Richards, concluded that "travelers aren't just weighing destinations based on beauty, cost or convenience. Perceived hostility or cultural friction is becoming a deciding factor -- and that creates a challenge for travel professionals, policymakers and tourism boards alike." On the other hand, quarterly earnings reports, though backward-looking, reflect recent behavioral reality and can reveal patterns and expose underlying trends. In travel, however, public companies' earnings reports suggest that there is no one travel trend. (Or, perhaps, even a single travel reality.) Recently, Sabre reported that air bookings declined 3% year over year. For the quarter, Disney parks and experiences went up 13%, and American Express Global Business Travel reported decreased demand. Royal Caribbean Group revenue rose more than 7%, while Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings revenue dropped about 3%. Let me know if you spot a trend there. Of course, neither sentiment nor past behavior can ever be fully predictive; life simply holds too many unknowns. Milan Kundera wrote in a 1995 essay that when looking backward, everything is crystal clear, and progress seems to have taken an obvious path. But the present -- never mind the future -- is shrouded in fog. No one knows what even the next moment might bring. As it turns out, travel companies do have a few more predictive tools than owners in most other business sectors because they have a lens into the future courtesy of their business already on the books. And any shift in booking behavior is easily ascertained by comparing current booking velocity with previous years. Recent stats from Travelsavers, as reported by Travel Weekly's Jamie Biesiada, suggest that new bookings are trending positive: premium ocean cruising is up 21%, river cruising is up 15%, contemporary ocean cruising is up 13%, luxury cruising is up 5%, guided vacations are up 11%, fun-and-sun vacations are up 5% and FIT travel is up 4%. It's likely that there are advisors who are doing better or worse than those affiliated with Travelsavers, but all travel advisors have another advantage over even other players in travel: They have greater insight into their upcoming cash flow. Ironically, one of the most frustrating aspects of the advisor commission payment system -- that advisors mostly get paid after the travel occurs -- also gives them more visibility into their cash flow than companies that operate on a shorter payment cycle. Because travel boomed last year, payments coming in through the rest of this year from those bookings can provide a bridge that may help advisors get past the current climate of uncertainty. The incredible post-pandemic travel boom also seemed to demonstrate that for most people, travel has become a right, not a privilege, and uncertainty has not at this point kept most people from booking vacations. It's very possible that even if other areas of the economy suffer, travel advisors will be able to defy economic gravity. And more than other businesses, travel retailers can tune out a lot of the static that comes in daily. The data they mine from their own businesses is likely more relevant and accurate than any professional forecasters' or pollsters'. All that said, for benchmarking purposes, Travel Weekly is asking readers to share what they're seeing in their businesses. Until those results are in: Onward through the fog!
