We truly got lucky today.  The May Institute of Supply Management report not only showed that manufacturing activity, while contracting, had not contracted as much as analysts had expected, but also that inflationary pressures are rising for manufacturers.  Normally this news would have caused bonds to fall in price and increase in yield.  What saved the day were several high profile management shakeups at Wachovia and WAMU which drove the stock market into negative territory and pushed money into the relative safety of bonds.  It is important to note that the improvement we are hoping for in the market may be very short lived.  We recommend having your loan set up and ready to lock with the lender you think you are going to use.  If you would like to be ready to lock with us, the first step is to be pre-approved. You can access a short application form at http://www.ironharbor.com/xSites/Mortgage/IronHarbor/Content/UploadedFiles/Iron%20Harbor%20Short%20Application.pdf .