“When I was young man, I met a girl in Tennessee who turned out to be a moonshiner’s daughter. That was a long time ago. But I love her still.” The Commentary is going out this morning from a Buc-ee’s in Northern Georgia (on my way northward to Ohio), economic activity is active. Are high rates in my rear-view mirror, with lower rates down the road? Mortgage rates and U.S. Treasury yields have climbed further, with the 10-year bond reaching 4.36% and mortgage rates near 7%, as investors anticipate potentially inflationary policies from President-elect Donald Trump, such as tax cuts and tariffs. With better economic data, perhaps a too-dovish Fed, and more policy details from the Trump administration are higher Treasury yields and worse mortgage pricing a surprise? Today at 2PM ET/11AM PT “Mortgage Matters: The Weekly Roundup” presented by L1 has Jess Medema, who runs secondary marketing for Altra CU, discussing what happens behind the scenes in a secondary department and what originators should know about rates & pricing. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s is sponsored by Floify. Floify is an easy-to-configure point-of-sale platform that allows each branch or loan officer to customize its look and feel to meet the needs of their lending team, homebuyers, and market. Today’s features an interview with Experian’s Joy Mina and Ivan Ahmed on how lenders can navigate a tight market, from rates to equity.) Lender and Broker Software, Services, and Products