Columns

  Mortgage rates jumped by more than half a percent in the wake of the win by President-Elect Donald Trump. On the night of the election, as it became more and more apparent that Mr. Trump was going to win, the stock futures, an indicator of where the Dow Jones might open the next, was down 800 points, which indicated that rates would also drop. When the market opened the day after the election, the market started out flat and ended the day up over 250 points. This was almost a 1,100 swing relative to the projections. Mortgage and treasury …

When I start talking “octo” let me tell you I’m not talking about “octo-mom!” I’m talking about the wonderful and outstanding octo-genarians of Pullman Free School of Manual Training — more fondly known as Pullman Tech. The Pullman Tech Alumni Association held an All-Class Reunion Luncheon on Oct. 14 at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park. I was fortunate enough to be invited to give a short presentation on the current status of Pullman as many of the graduates hadn’t been back to Pullman in many years. Frank Rossi, our well-known South Side entertainer beyond compare, provided the musical …

  It has been said about theatrical reviewing that if the reporter writes about the directing, sets and whatnot, then the dramatic performances were probably not all that great. But I will say that the Chicago Lyric Opera 2016-17 staging of Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” is one of the very best directed and designed productions I have ever seen. At the same time, however, the performance on Tuesday evening, Nov. 1, was sung magnificently, thanks in great part to the Lyric’s wonderful Lucia, soprano Albina Shagimuratova. Solid conducting, choral and instrumental work all combined to make this performance most memorable. …

  When selling or refinancing a home, problems often arise during the appraisal process. If the appraised value is lower than it should be, it will seriously effect your bottom line and it could kill the deal entirely. Appraisals are often based upon recent sales prices of comparable homes in your area, and most appraisers are in your home for only a few minutes. The best thing a homeowner can do to get the highest appraisal possible is to make sure that you’re well prepared before the appraiser walks in the door. Be sure the appraiser knows the neighborhood. This …

  In the course of your research, it’s easy to get involved in too many families at once. For example, if you’re using birth and marriage records to trace your ancestry, you have to find documents for two parents, then four grandparents, then eight great-grandparents, then 16 great-greats, then 32 greats-to-the-third. Only five generations in and you’re now dealing with 62 individuals in 31 families. It’s at this point that some folks decide that genealogy is beyond them. If you start tracing the descendants of these ancestors as well as their siblings and THEIR descendants, you’ve easily expanded your search to …

  Good retirement planning needs to take into account other issues besides cash flow and return on investments. For example, how much thought have you given to things like long-term care and how it will impact your overall health care and in turn your plans for retirement? Many people make the mistake of assuming that Medicare is going to cover all of your healthcare needs, but that’s rarely the case. The reason is that the older a person gets the more complex matters pertaining to their health become. Furthermore, there is often a need for someone to go into nursing …

    December seems to be the month the Fed is most comfortable with. They raised short-term rates in December 2015 for the first time since 2006 and now it looks almost certain that they will raise them again in December 2016. Last year was interesting in that all rates moves up prior to the Fed raising rate in December but in the months following the hike, mortgage and treasury rates actually fell. Mortgage and treasury rates move up or down based on economic reports. The months following last year’s hike showed that economic indicators were average at best and …

    Christmas is once again upon us. It is, of course, a time for wishing the best to everyone. It is also a time for family gatherings where there will be plenty of storytelling with lots of laughter. I’m sure there will also be impromptu debates as to whether the stories are based on real events and retold just as they had happened. Why would there be any question? I’m sure we all remember Ralphie’s Christmas Story and his wish for a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock? If we …

  “Carmen” has been in the very first circle of popular operas for over a century. Anyone with any level of interest in the Grand Art should develop some kind of familiarity with it. As it is with all other very beloved operas, first and foremost “Carmen” is loaded from beginning to end with beautiful and memorable music — solo arias, ensembles, choruses — and even a number of purely instrumental passages that are unforgettable. The music is the creation of composer Georges Bizet, who unfortunately died young (at 36), and before he knew what a triumph “Carmen” had become. …

  On one occasion when Maria Callas was asked which was her favorite operatic role, she said she had two — Violetta, from Verdi’s “La traviata” and the title role from Bellini’s “Norma.” When you think about it, it is hard to imagine two more dramatically and psychologically different characters — the emotionally vulnerable and sickly Violetta, forced to be what she is by the callous “man’s world” that is Paris, and Norma, the super-powerful Druid priestess, who can decide peace or war for her people, and life or death for her subordinate priestesses. It is indicative of the soprano’s …