Two different numbers just came out that are significant.  They have nothing to do with each other, but hey - why break this into two posts.

First, the Fed dropped the discount rate to 5.75%.  This is the rate that the Federal Reserve charges banks to borrow money.  The result will probably be a drop in interest rates for home loans.  I think the Fed made the decision to drop the rate because of the ongoing "crisis" with many lenders and how this has messed up the stock market.

The second number that really struck me showed the annualized rate of job growth in Austin is over 4.5%.  That is an awesome figure and is one more sign that the Austin economy is in good shape.