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.

Fed returns to inflation fighting

Katrina fades from economic radar

Sep 26

Fed: More interest-rate hikes imminent

Bond-market weakness exerts pressure

Sep 19

Katrina's fury won't impact interest rates

Fed more concerned about rising energy prices

Sep 12

Katrina's reach on bond market

Treasury rates take nosedive; mortgage rates slide

Sep 6

Real estate rates ride energy-market roller coaster

Weak home sales, high gas prices cause distress

Aug 29

Fixed-rate home loans escape Fed's wrath

But rising cost of money has some fearing recession

Aug 15

Job gains boost real estate rates

Fed expected to hike key funds rate Tuesday

Aug 8

Economic strength puts pressure on real estate rates

Fed could raise key funds rate past 4.5%

Aug 1

Federal funds rate could top 4% by year-end

Economy, inflation to fuel more interest-rate gains

Jul 25

Fed's action finally expected to hike long-term rates

Economic slowdown 'nowhere in sight'

Jul 18

Fed may be 'overdoing' interest-rate hikes

Struggling bond market hints at economic distress

Feb 21

Real estate rates headed for self-correction

Fed will likely raise key funds rate in May

Feb 14

Real estate loan market dodging bullets

But Fed funds hike does no harm

Feb 7

Fed poised to hike key funds rate

Payroll report arrives next week

Jan 28

Real estate rates sink to 10-month lows

Shortage of new home loans impacts bond market

Jan 21

Downward trend seen in real estate rates

Fed tightening may be hindering economic growth

Jan 14

Real estate rates slide on shaky job gains

Fed contemplates monetary tightening

Jan 10

Forecast brightens for real estate rates, economy

Unemployment poised to stall interest-rate hikes

Jan 3

Economy posts 'firm' growth

Investment returns give hope to Social Security changes

Dec 28

Fed tightens against housing bubble fears

Double-digit price gains 'not sustainable' in '05

Dec 17

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