(Rob Carson sent this in. He's snowed in at home today.)

The Federal Reserve’s dramatic cuts to lending rates have so far done little to help South Sound consumers, mortgage brokers in the Tacoma area said Thursday.

Home loan costs did not drop significantly with the Fed’s most recent cut on Tuesday, they say, and loans are still only available to those with excellent credit, lots of equity and proof of employment.

“Our phones are definitely ringing,” said Kevin Tinsley, president of All Tech Mortgage in Lakewood, “but we’re not able to help as many people as we could in previous booms.”

Tinsley said his business is up about 50 percent over a month ago, with much of the interest coming from people who took out loans 10 or 12 years ago and are interested in refinancing.

However, he said, those who want to refinance find the guidelines have changed since they took out their loans.

“There are a few more hoops people have to jump through,” he said. “We’re having to run people’s credit before we can even quote them a rate.”

Tinsley said his clients tend to be in upper income levels but, even so, only about 40 percent of them qualify for the lowest rates.

Jack Hansmann, loan officer at Capital Resources in Tacoma, said the Fed’s rate cuts may have made matters even worse.

“They’re doing the exact opposite of what they should do,” Hansmann said.

Lowering rates makes lenders even less willing to loan, he said.

“When rates get too low, there’s no money in it,” he said. “There’s just risk.”

Darcy Hansen, a loan officer at Financial Services Northwest, Inc. in Tacoma, estimated that the number of people calling her office has doubled since last week.

“Lots of people are calling in,” she said. “There’s a lot of interest out there.”

However, rates available to consumers are directly tied to the fed rates, Hansen pointed out, and they remain basically unchanged since last week.
Even so, there is significant interest among consumers, Hansen said.

“Everyone is under the impression they will come down further.”

Thirteen Macy's stores will be open for 24 hours a day starting this weekend – and they're in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Connecticut and Illinois.

From the news release:

Ron Klein, chairman and ceo of Macy’s East, says “Macy’s is at the top of the list for holiday shoppers. By going 24-hours at 13 key locations and extending store hours at another 5, we are giving our customers extra time to shop when it’s convenient for them and to take the stress out of holiday shopping.”

He goes on:

"Not only will our stores remain open to better serve our customers, but they will be greeted by our dedicated sales associates who voluntarily reworked their schedules during this holiday season to meet our customers’ shopping needs.”

All Macy's stores will close at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Bloomberg News is reporting today that "Ruby Tuesday Inc. will close about 40 restaurants in the third quarter and another 30 over the next several years. Another 35 to 40 stores are being marketed for sale."

I called the corporate offices, but they were closed. I also made quick calls to the three South Sound Ruby Tuesday stores.

• University Place: The manager "is not at liberty to discuss that right now."
• Lakewood: "We'll stay open."
• Puyallup: "That probably will not affect us." Will the store stay open? "That's what I would expect."

Don't worry about all those loud noises coming from the Port of Tacoma tomorrow. Everything's fine. There's nothing to see. Go about your business.

According to a release this afternoon, the port
will be hosting demolition work Friday, and that work "might cause brief noise."

Noise, and possible detours along Taylor Way. Demolition contractors expect to close northern sections of Taylor Way for up to 30 minutes Friday morning as they demolish old structures on the Tideflats.

Businesses on the north end of the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula and residents in Northeast Tacoma might hear noise and feel vibrations between 9:45 and 10:15 a.m. as the contractors cut through old steel structures.

The demolition is part of ongoing work to remove 56 structures from former chemical manufacturers, power plants, warehouses, offices and shipbuilding and lumber milling facilities to make way for the Port of Tacoma’s Blair-Hylebos Peninsula redevelopment plans.

UPDATE from Kathleen Cooper: Port spokeswoman Tara Mattina says contractor R.W. Rhine will be tearing down an steel smokestack that's 220 feet tall. It was part of the city's old steamplant. Workers already have cut a hole in one side of the smokestack, and they'll use torches to cut another hole to bring it down.

Mattina said she's checking with the project manager to make sure the demolition is still a go, what with the weather changing so rapidly. If they decide to delay, we'll post it here.

Looking for work? Maybe something temporary?

We’re about a year away from 2010 and the attendant 10-year cycle of the U. S. Census. As we approach the magic year, the Census Bureau will be hiring 1.4 million people nationwide to help compile the numbers.

Before that, and starting this year, the bureau is hiring 140,000 people to do “address canvassing,” collecting the address of every structure where people live, nationwide.

Locally the bureau is hiring canvassers at around $13.25 an hour, according to Stacy Gimbel, a public affairs specialist with the District of Columbia office of the bureau.

She told me that jobs are open in the South Sound. If you’d like to apply or get more details, visit 2010censusjobs.gov or call 866-861-2010.

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has appointed Stan W. McNaughton to its Seattle Branch board of directors. McNaughton is president and CEO of Seattle-based PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company. The appointment is for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2009.

McNaughton has led PEMCO since 1998. Before joining the company in 1986, McNaughton held positions at the Everett Herald and Price Waterhouse.

McNaughton also serves as chairman of Evergreen Bancorp and is a member of the Washington Roundtable, and works on behalf of the Partnership for Learning, TVW, the Dean's Advisory Board for Seattle University's Albers School of Business and Economics, and the Executive Education Advisory Board for the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington Seattle.

Current Seattle Branch directors Kenneth M. Kirkpatrick, president, Washington State U.S. Bank and James R. Gill, president, Pacific Northwest Title Holding Co. will complete their terms of service on December 31. A second director vacancy will be filled and announced at a later date.

Other members of the Seattle Branch board include Helvi K. Sandvik (chair), NANA Development Corporation; William S. Ayer, Alaska Air Group; Richard Galanti, Costco Wholesale Corporation; Carol K. Nelson, Cascade Financial Corporation; and H. Stewart Parker, formerly of Targeted Genetics Corporation.

The Russell Investments board of directors this week approved two new members, both Tacoma residents.

Joining the seven-member board are Peter Gunning, chief investment officer, and Frank Ryan, chief financial officer.

In addition to the appointments, Edward Zore, parent company Northwestern Mutual president and CEO, will become board chairman.

Russell President and CEO John Schlifske said in a company release, “Both Pete and Frank were chosen for this important role because of their strong leadership and understanding of Russell’s business, and because both have global responsibilities within their respective parts of our business.”

Gunning directs the company’s investment management and research activities across the globe and serves on Russell’s investment, executive and management committees. Before coming to Tacoma he was regional CIO for Russell’s Asia-Pacific region. He joined Russell at their Sydney office in 1996.

Ryan is responsible for Russell’s financial and control functions including accounting, tax, treasury, management reporting and planning. He sits on the management and executive companies and joined the company this year. He previously served as CFO and managing director at the San Francisco office of Barclays Global Investors.

Chrysler announced yesterday that it would idle its plants for a month. Part of the story that intrigued me was the fact that Chrysler's financing arm has warned dealers that it may stop loaning money so dealers can stock their lots.

The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that starting Jan. 1, the auto maker's financing arm also will impose large fees on dealers holding new cars and trucks that are unsold after more than 360 days, and will require the payment of all remaining balances on any used vehicles unsold after more than six months.

This could cost dealers a lot of money, the Journal reported, and some are selling cars at a loss to clear their inventories and avoid the fees.

I've got a call in to a local Chrysler dealer to get its take, but I want to hear from you too: Have you gotten a good deal on a Chrysler lately? Would you buy one if it was steeply discounted? Email me at kathleen.cooper@thenewstribune.com with your thoughts and a daytime phone number.