Register or Sign in        Email This Page     Link To This Page    
Visit MND at MBA in NYC!
33,875
# of User Comments
 

Send Article via Email

REGISTERED USERS:
Can forward to 6 email addresses at a time. Register or Login

PREMIUM SUBSCRIBERS:
Get the additional advantage of
Co-branded Emails and Landing Pages - Learn more about Premium Subscribtions

Your Name: 
Your Email: 
I want to forward this to
(Enter Email Address Below) :
Include a Personal Message (optional)

Please add 6 and 1 and type the answer here:
Leave this field blank.
Email Preview Below:
This feature is available to Premium Subscribers. Learn More About Co-branded Email and our Other Co-branded Services.
 
This email was sent to you by:
Anonymous |
Mortgage News Daily

Message:   YOUR MESSAGE HERE
Email alerts, such as this one, are a free service provided by Mortgage News Daily. If you would like to receive an alert when important news breaks please register to join our community.

Register with Mortgage News Daily - Registration is free and offers many benefits.
Manage your Email Alerts - Once you're registered, you can manage all MND email alerts on one page, turning subscriptions on or off with one click.

About MND:
Mortgage News Daily combines the expertise of some of the housing industry's leading minds with the power of social media to offer an always lively, constantly evolving web community. MND communicates breaking news, streams video, and provides expert opinion and commentary to a community of interested market professionals and curious consumers.
Consumer Level Inflation Tame in February. Emergency Jobless Benefits Hit Record High
Posted to: MBS Commentary
Thursday, March 18, 2010 8:42 AM

Forward this email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Good Morning.

Inflation data has hit screens. The Consumer Price Index was UNCHANGED in February (+0.0018)...this is cooler than consensus forecasts which called for a 0.1% gain. The CORE CPI print, which strips out food and energy, rose 0.1% in February---on the screws. Year over year, the consumer price index is up 2.1%, slightly below economist expectations for a read of +2.3%. Ex-food and energy, consumer price levels were up 1.3% YoY.

GASOLINE was a big contributor to weakness...don't expect that category to be so helpful next month---gas prices have been on the rise lately. Housing prices were all unchanged.  Overall, another round of tame inflation data.

[Image or graph removed from email. View full article with images]

Jobless Claims data was also released.

New claims fell by 5,000 to 457,000 in the week ending March 13. This is slightly worse than consensus forecasts which called for 455,000 new jobless claims. The four week moving average of new unemployment benefit claims fell to 471,250 from 475,500 in the previous week. Continued Claims rose to 4.579 million from 4.567 million in the previous week (revised higher from 4.558 million). This was worse than estimates for 4.54 million.

Emergency/Extended Benefits rose by 352,784 to 6.044 million. Compare that to 2,091,693 one year ago.  THIS IS A RECORD HIGH.

[Image or graph removed from email. View full article with images]

The BLS noted no seasonal distortions in the data...like bad weather.

Here is a recap:

[Image or graph removed from email. View full article with images]

Below is a table of individual states with an increase or decrease of more than 1,000 new claims (unadjusted). Notice what industry is listed repeatedly: CONSTRUCTION

[Image or graph removed from email. View full article with images]

PLAIN AND SIMPLE: Inflation data was dovish, supportive of exceptionally low Federal Reserve interest rate policy for an "extended period".  Jobless claims were worse than expected and still stubbornly high. A lack of job creation is evident via the growing use of emergency unemployment benefits (at a record high).

This all seems bond bullish and stock bearish right?

Well..the 10 yr note yield initially fell a few bps in an attempt to take out the overnight yield low, but that test failed and positive progress was quickly capped by profit taking. The 10 year note is now -0-02 at 99-26 yielding 3.649%....still holding onto yesterday's gains.

[Image or graph removed from email. View full article with images]

The FN4.5 played follow the leader with its benchmark big brother.  After an initial knee jerk move higher in price,  positive progress reversed course and we are now sitting at the lows of the day. The FN 4.5 is currently -0-01 at 101-02 yielding 4.377%. The secondary market current coupon is 4.327%. The current coupon yield is 67.8bps over the 10 year TSY note yield and 65bps over the 10 yr swap.

Prices have broken out of the originator friendly trend channel but 101-02 should act as support into this downtrade.

[Image or graph removed from email. View full article with images]

Contrary to how one might expect the market to react to two sets of bearish data, stocks are not losing their luster (portfolio managers are chasing index returns thanks to gains in large cap stocks). The S&P is basically unchanged at 1166. The DXY (dollar index) is +0.49%. Oil prices are attempting a rebound rally after an overnight retracement..

In regard to rates...while we have given back a portion of recent improvements, there is a layer of support under the market. Now we wait and watch for buying at the lows....

REPRICES FOR THE WORSE AT 101-00. REPRICES FOR THE BETTER AT I AM NOT SURE YET.

 NEXT EVENT: LEADING INDICATORS AND PHILLY FED AT 10AM




More from MND:

 

If you would like to opt-out of receiving email forwards from this person please click here to remove your email address.

Forward this email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

 

More From MND

Mortgage Rates:
  • 30 Yr FRM 3.89%
  • |
  • 15 Yr FRM 3.25%
  • |
  • Jumbo 30 Year Fixed 4.12%
MBS Prices:
  • 30YR FNMA 4.5 106-23 (0-02)
  • |
  • 30YR FNMA 5.0 108-03 (0-02)
  • |
  • 30YR FNMA 5.5 108-30 (0-01)
Recent Housing Data:
  • Mortgage Apps 23.07%
  • |
  • Refinance Index 26.40%
  • |
  • Purchase Index 10.33%
X
Track Mortgage Rates Daily with our Free Daily Rate Updates. There are several ways to follow daily rate movements, including:
Email Address:   Zip Code:  
RSS - Subscribe to our Daily Rate Update RSS Feed.
Twitter - Follow our Daily Rate Update on Twitter.
Facebook - Follow our Daily Rate Update on Facebook.
Bookmark - Bookmark our rates page and visit daily for updates.
Mobile Apps - There's an App for this too. Learn more about our Mobile Apps.