Bank One signs coming down, deadline set for Chase replacements

Crews will be busy this weekend and all next week, preparing to replace all the Bank One signs in the state with new Chase signs, reflecting the merger between JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank One.

Workers will be power-washing the Bank One name off of the roof at Chase Field so that it can be repainted. And the Chase and octagon logo will soon adorn the top of the tallest building in downtown Phoenix, the Chase Tower on the northeast corner of Central Avenue and Monroe Street. Workers took the Bank One logo off the 38-story building last week.

All 5,000 Bank One signs across Arizona will be replaced with Chase signs by Dec. 12. To celebrate the day, about 600 Chase workers will form the world's largest human octagon, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, around the tower and then release balloons into the air.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is a global financial services firm with assets of $1.2 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.