On April 2, 2012 all information regarding federal registration will be moved out of the current NMLS Resource Center to a new site that is specific to the NMLS Federal Registry. This will include all Quick Guides, instructions and reference materials that pertain to Federal Registration. Starting April 2, the NMLS Federal Registry Resource Center will be available at: http://fedregistry.nationwidelicensingsystem.org.

Nothing too alarming going on here, but negative reprice...

Ostensibly conflicting messages from Fed speakers... What's with that?! Mixed signals from the FOMC can cause volatility, and mortgage rates are not fans of volatility in underlying markets.

When Dallas Fed Pres Fisher (non-voter) says stuff like: "We will not support further quantitative easing under these circumstances because there's a lot of money lying on the sidelines, lying fallow," and "I don't see what more would do," you have to wonder if he's purposely trying to avoid tuning in to Bernanke's messages from earlier this week.

At the first George Washington University lecture, Bernanke gave a history lesson, citing the failures of the central bank in the 1930's that ultimately resulted in a major aftershock to the initial market crash preceding the Great Depression.

Bernanke said the Fed "did not use monetary policy to prevent deflation and the collapse in output and employment,” and “did not adequately perform its function as lender of last resort, allowing many bank failures and a resulting contraction in credit," concluding, "We will want to keep these lessons in mind as we consider the Fed’s response to the crisis of 2008-2009.”

In short, Bernanke doesn't necessarily disagree with the more hawkish Fed members on whether or not MORE QE is NEEDED (assuming economic metrics continue to hold or improve), but perhaps some of the more hawkish Fed members should do more to at least acknowledge that there's an argument to be careful about pulling back too quickly that goes beyond the simple question of whether or not the economy is improving.

Although growth is "slower than we would like," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told Fox Business Network, "it's gaining momentum."

"We will not support further quantitative easing under these circumstances because there's a lot of money lying on the sidelines, lying fallow," he said according to a transcript provided by the network. "We don't need any more monetary morphine." "The real problem in our country is job creation and prosperity," he said. "And we need to get better fiscal policy to complement what we at the Fed have done, because it's not working as effectively as it should."

With rates near zero, pushing borrowing costs lower simply will not create more jobs, Fisher said.

"I don't see what more would do," Fisher said. "And I especially could not justify it if the economy continues to improve along the path which has been indicated recently."

(Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending is still too weak to ensure a satisfactory rate of economic growth, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

"Right now, in terms of debt and consumption, we're still way low relative to the pattern before the crisis," Bernanke told students in the second of two lectures at The George Washington University. "We lack a source of demand to keep the economy growing."

Earlier in the day, 10yr yields tested a break below...

It would seem that traders or algorithms (or both)...

Over the first three days of the week, Conventional 30yr Fixed Rates averaged 4.08% and 15yr Fixed 3.30%. Last week's averages were 3.92% and 3.16% respectively.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) surveys lenders each week on the rates and points for their most popular 30-year fixed-rate, 15-year fixed-rate, 5/1 hybrid amortizing adjustable-rate, and 1-year amortizing adjustable-rate mortgage products. The survey is based on first-lien prime conventional conforming mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. In addition, the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) products are indexed to U.S. Treasury yields and lenders are asked for both the initial coupon rate and points as well as the margin on the ARM products.

The survey is collected from Monday through Wednesday and the results are posted on Thursdays. Average rates and points (and margin for ARMs) for each product are reported for the nation and the five Freddie Mac regions.

* LEI +0.7 vs Consensus +0.6 and Last Month +0.2

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.7 percent in February to 95.5 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent increase in January and a 0.5 percent increase in December.

Said Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board: “Continued broad-based gains in the LEI for the United States confirm a more positive outlook for general economic activity in the first half of 2012, although still subdued consumer expectations and the purchasing managers’ index for new orders held the LEI back in February. The CEI for the United States, a measure of current economic conditions, has also been rising as employment, income, and sales data all continue to improve. Industrial production, however, has not yet picked up strongly.”

Added Ken Goldstein, economist at The Conference Board: “Recent data reflect an economy that improved this winter. To be sure, an unseasonably mild winter has contributed to many of the recent positive economic reports. But the consistent signal for the leading series suggests that progress on jobs, output, and incomes may continue through the summer months, if not beyond.”

U.S. house prices were unchanged on a seasonally adjusted basis from December to January, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. The previously reported 0.7 percent increase in December was revised downward to reflect a 0.1 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in January, U.S. prices fell 0.8 percent. The U.S. index is 19.2 percent below its April 2007 peak and roughly the same as the February 2004 index level.

The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from December to January ranged from -1.7 percent in the West South Central division to +4.7 percent in the West North Central division.

The overnight session was largely positive for bond...

*Claims down to 348k vs 354k consensus
*previous week revised from 351k to 353k
*4 week moving average from 355.75k to 355k
* claims lowest since Feb 2008

In the week ending March 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 348,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 353,000. The 4-week moving average was 355,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 356,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending March 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 2.7 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 10 was 3,352,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,361,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,385,750, a decrease of 13,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,398,750.

On April 2, 2012 all information regarding federal registration will be moved out of the current NMLS Resource Center to a new site that is specific to the NMLS Federal Registry. This will include all Quick Guides, instructions and reference materials that pertain to Federal Registration. Starting April 2, the NMLS Federal Registry Resource Center will be available at: http://fedregistry.nationwidelicensingsystem.org.

Over the first three days of the week, Conventional 30yr Fixed Rates averaged 4.08% and 15yr Fixed 3.30%. Last week's averages were 3.92% and 3.16% respectively.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) surveys lenders each week on the rates and points for their most popular 30-year fixed-rate, 15-year fixed-rate, 5/1 hybrid amortizing adjustable-rate, and 1-year amortizing adjustable-rate mortgage products. The survey is based on first-lien prime conventional conforming mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. In addition, the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) products are indexed to U.S. Treasury yields and lenders are asked for both the initial coupon rate and points as well as the margin on the ARM products.

The survey is collected from Monday through Wednesday and the results are posted on Thursdays. Average rates and points (and margin for ARMs) for each product are reported for the nation and the five Freddie Mac regions.

On April 2, 2012 all information regarding federal registration will be moved out of the current NMLS Resource Center to a new site that is specific to the NMLS Federal Registry. This will include all Quick Guides, instructions and reference materials that pertain to Federal Registration. Starting April 2, the NMLS Federal Registry Resource Center will be available at: http://fedregistry.nationwidelicensingsystem.org.

Nothing too alarming going on here, but negative reprice...

Ostensibly conflicting messages from Fed speakers... What's with that?! Mixed signals from the FOMC can cause volatility, and mortgage rates are not fans of volatility in underlying markets.

When Dallas Fed Pres Fisher (non-voter) says stuff like: "We will not support further quantitative easing under these circumstances because there's a lot of money lying on the sidelines, lying fallow," and "I don't see what more would do," you have to wonder if he's purposely trying to avoid tuning in to Bernanke's messages from earlier this week.

At the first George Washington University lecture, Bernanke gave a history lesson, citing the failures of the central bank in the 1930's that ultimately resulted in a major aftershock to the initial market crash preceding the Great Depression.

Bernanke said the Fed "did not use monetary policy to prevent deflation and the collapse in output and employment,” and “did not adequately perform its function as lender of last resort, allowing many bank failures and a resulting contraction in credit," concluding, "We will want to keep these lessons in mind as we consider the Fed’s response to the crisis of 2008-2009.”

In short, Bernanke doesn't necessarily disagree with the more hawkish Fed members on whether or not MORE QE is NEEDED (assuming economic metrics continue to hold or improve), but perhaps some of the more hawkish Fed members should do more to at least acknowledge that there's an argument to be careful about pulling back too quickly that goes beyond the simple question of whether or not the economy is improving.

Although growth is "slower than we would like," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told Fox Business Network, "it's gaining momentum."

"We will not support further quantitative easing under these circumstances because there's a lot of money lying on the sidelines, lying fallow," he said according to a transcript provided by the network. "We don't need any more monetary morphine." "The real problem in our country is job creation and prosperity," he said. "And we need to get better fiscal policy to complement what we at the Fed have done, because it's not working as effectively as it should."

With rates near zero, pushing borrowing costs lower simply will not create more jobs, Fisher said.

"I don't see what more would do," Fisher said. "And I especially could not justify it if the economy continues to improve along the path which has been indicated recently."

(Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending is still too weak to ensure a satisfactory rate of economic growth, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

"Right now, in terms of debt and consumption, we're still way low relative to the pattern before the crisis," Bernanke told students in the second of two lectures at The George Washington University. "We lack a source of demand to keep the economy growing."

Earlier in the day, 10yr yields tested a break below...

It would seem that traders or algorithms (or both)...

Over the first three days of the week, Conventional 30yr Fixed Rates averaged 4.08% and 15yr Fixed 3.30%. Last week's averages were 3.92% and 3.16% respectively.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) surveys lenders each week on the rates and points for their most popular 30-year fixed-rate, 15-year fixed-rate, 5/1 hybrid amortizing adjustable-rate, and 1-year amortizing adjustable-rate mortgage products. The survey is based on first-lien prime conventional conforming mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. In addition, the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) products are indexed to U.S. Treasury yields and lenders are asked for both the initial coupon rate and points as well as the margin on the ARM products.

The survey is collected from Monday through Wednesday and the results are posted on Thursdays. Average rates and points (and margin for ARMs) for each product are reported for the nation and the five Freddie Mac regions.

* LEI +0.7 vs Consensus +0.6 and Last Month +0.2

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.7 percent in February to 95.5 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent increase in January and a 0.5 percent increase in December.

Said Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board: “Continued broad-based gains in the LEI for the United States confirm a more positive outlook for general economic activity in the first half of 2012, although still subdued consumer expectations and the purchasing managers’ index for new orders held the LEI back in February. The CEI for the United States, a measure of current economic conditions, has also been rising as employment, income, and sales data all continue to improve. Industrial production, however, has not yet picked up strongly.”

Added Ken Goldstein, economist at The Conference Board: “Recent data reflect an economy that improved this winter. To be sure, an unseasonably mild winter has contributed to many of the recent positive economic reports. But the consistent signal for the leading series suggests that progress on jobs, output, and incomes may continue through the summer months, if not beyond.”

U.S. house prices were unchanged on a seasonally adjusted basis from December to January, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. The previously reported 0.7 percent increase in December was revised downward to reflect a 0.1 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in January, U.S. prices fell 0.8 percent. The U.S. index is 19.2 percent below its April 2007 peak and roughly the same as the February 2004 index level.

The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from December to January ranged from -1.7 percent in the West South Central division to +4.7 percent in the West North Central division.

The overnight session was largely positive for bond...

*Claims down to 348k vs 354k consensus
*previous week revised from 351k to 353k
*4 week moving average from 355.75k to 355k
* claims lowest since Feb 2008

In the week ending March 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 348,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 353,000. The 4-week moving average was 355,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 356,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending March 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 2.7 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 10 was 3,352,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,361,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,385,750, a decrease of 13,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,398,750.

* LEI +0.7 vs Consensus +0.6 and Last Month +0.2

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.7 percent in February to 95.5 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent increase in January and a 0.5 percent increase in December.

Said Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board: “Continued broad-based gains in the LEI for the United States confirm a more positive outlook for general economic activity in the first half of 2012, although still subdued consumer expectations and the purchasing managers’ index for new orders held the LEI back in February. The CEI for the United States, a measure of current economic conditions, has also been rising as employment, income, and sales data all continue to improve. Industrial production, however, has not yet picked up strongly.”

Added Ken Goldstein, economist at The Conference Board: “Recent data reflect an economy that improved this winter. To be sure, an unseasonably mild winter has contributed to many of the recent positive economic reports. But the consistent signal for the leading series suggests that progress on jobs, output, and incomes may continue through the summer months, if not beyond.”

U.S. house prices were unchanged on a seasonally adjusted basis from December to January, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. The previously reported 0.7 percent increase in December was revised downward to reflect a 0.1 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in January, U.S. prices fell 0.8 percent. The U.S. index is 19.2 percent below its April 2007 peak and roughly the same as the February 2004 index level.

The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from December to January ranged from -1.7 percent in the West South Central division to +4.7 percent in the West North Central division.

*Claims down to 348k vs 354k consensus
*previous week revised from 351k to 353k
*4 week moving average from 355.75k to 355k
* claims lowest since Feb 2008

In the week ending March 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 348,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 353,000. The 4-week moving average was 355,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 356,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending March 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 2.7 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 10 was 3,352,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,361,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,385,750, a decrease of 13,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,398,750.

Ostensibly conflicting messages from Fed speakers... What's with that?! Mixed signals from the FOMC can cause volatility, and mortgage rates are not fans of volatility in underlying markets.

When Dallas Fed Pres Fisher (non-voter) says stuff like: "We will not support further quantitative easing under these circumstances because there's a lot of money lying on the sidelines, lying fallow," and "I don't see what more would do," you have to wonder if he's purposely trying to avoid tuning in to Bernanke's messages from earlier this week.

At the first George Washington University lecture, Bernanke gave a history lesson, citing the failures of the central bank in the 1930's that ultimately resulted in a major aftershock to the initial market crash preceding the Great Depression.

Bernanke said the Fed "did not use monetary policy to prevent deflation and the collapse in output and employment,” and “did not adequately perform its function as lender of last resort, allowing many bank failures and a resulting contraction in credit," concluding, "We will want to keep these lessons in mind as we consider the Fed’s response to the crisis of 2008-2009.”

In short, Bernanke doesn't necessarily disagree with the more hawkish Fed members on whether or not MORE QE is NEEDED (assuming economic metrics continue to hold or improve), but perhaps some of the more hawkish Fed members should do more to at least acknowledge that there's an argument to be careful about pulling back too quickly that goes beyond the simple question of whether or not the economy is improving.

Although growth is "slower than we would like," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told Fox Business Network, "it's gaining momentum."

"We will not support further quantitative easing under these circumstances because there's a lot of money lying on the sidelines, lying fallow," he said according to a transcript provided by the network. "We don't need any more monetary morphine." "The real problem in our country is job creation and prosperity," he said. "And we need to get better fiscal policy to complement what we at the Fed have done, because it's not working as effectively as it should."

With rates near zero, pushing borrowing costs lower simply will not create more jobs, Fisher said.

"I don't see what more would do," Fisher said. "And I especially could not justify it if the economy continues to improve along the path which has been indicated recently."

(Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending is still too weak to ensure a satisfactory rate of economic growth, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

"Right now, in terms of debt and consumption, we're still way low relative to the pattern before the crisis," Bernanke told students in the second of two lectures at The George Washington University. "We lack a source of demand to keep the economy growing."