Lou Barnes

Contributor

After five years as Marketing Manager of a mountaineering clothing and equipment manufacturer and retailer (a great way to enjoy your 20s), Lou Barnes built 45-broker, two-office Spruce Real Estate in Colorado from 1978-83, spending most of his time guiding the firm through extremely high interest rates. The world of money was more fun for him than real estate, and Barnes sold Spruce and joined investment banking ranks for five years as Managing Partner of RCM Government Securities, a broker-dealer working on the early flow of mortgages to Wall Street and their related derivatives. Two of those years involved work on the heart of the savings and loan meltdown -- one of the "consultants" commuting to Texas, Arkansas and other Southwestern garden spots (fortunately, he spoke the language: his family were Okies), he was asked to figure out how deep the hole was going to be. He wrote one of the earliest accurate estimates of the ultimate cost in 1986, and was one of the first to address the necessary asset workouts. Some people thrive in a career on airplanes, and Barnes was not one of them. In 1988 the homebody began another career as a mortgage banker in Boulder, just in time to catch the terrible peak of foreclosures afflicting the greater "Oil Patch" and "Savings and Loan Belt." The firm, Boulder West, survived and thrived as a small mortgage bank -- very old-fashioned, strictly "A" paper, and based on long-term relationships with Realtors and past clients. Even with that strength, Boulder West closed in 2009, and Lou and many of his colleagues joined far-larger Premier Mortgage Group. As a marketing tool and for sanity, Lou has written a weekly column on the financial markets every Friday for 20 years.

Opinion

Rates plunge upon December manufacturing surprise, and a new year's forecast

Economics, not politics, impacts the bond markets the most

Jan 3

Opinion

2019 and beyond: A look back

Leaders of federal administrations always take credit for roaring economies, but the reality is more complex

Dec 27

Opinion

No worries for markets over Christmas holidays

As per tradition, markets are quiet around this time of year, plus a holiday reading recommendation

Dec 20

The Fed signals that interest rates won't change through 2020. Really?

This December is packed with news, but markets remain unperturbed. That begs the question — what really matters?

Dec 13

Latest employment news is too good for a rate drop

The latest jobs report is good; most other factors are stable. The economic wild card is the uncertain prospects of the outcome of the trade talks with China.

Dec 6

Markets poised for lower rates

The greatest threat to the global economy is trade friction with China

Nov 22

Mortgage rates rising? Look again

The information technology revolution continues to break old assumptions behind economic modeling

Nov 15

Mortgage rates are back at July levels

The trade war damage in the US outside of manufacturing and farms has been undetectable

Nov 8

Good news from bonds and mortgages? Read and smile

The economy keeps humming along