MBSonMND: MBS RECAP
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FNMA 3.5
96-28 : +0-24
FNMA 4.0
100-27 : +0-19
FNMA 4.5
103-29 : +0-13
FNMA 5.0
106-13 : +0-09
GNMA 3.5
98-10 : +0-24
GNMA 4.0
102-22 : +0-21
GNMA 4.5
105-25 : +0-14
GNMA 5.0
108-09 : +0-10
FHLMC 3.5
96-23 : +0-25
FHLMC 4.0
100-23 : +0-19
FHLMC 4.5
103-26 : +0-13
FHLMC 5.0
106-10 : +0-10
Pricing as of 4:01 PM EST
Afternoon Market Updates
A recap of MBS Market Updates provided by MND Analysts and streamed live to the MBSonMND Dashboard .
Friday Brings More Econ Data and an Early Close
Bond markets close at 2pm EST tomorrow in honor of The Memorial Day Holiday (closed all day on Monday). Despite the shortened hours, 3 economic reports are packed in, and in evenly spaced increments to boot! Personal Consumption Expenditures will be released at 830am, probably the best candidate for the headliner of the day. But following at 9:55am is no slouch: Consumer Sentiment with Pending Home Sales shortly thereafter at 10am. After today hosted the highest volumes of the year in TSYs, technical considerations could be in play just as much economic data, if not more so. 3.095 is a short term support level to be tested, with 3.14 above that. Holding either of them is a good thing, but it remains to be seen what kind of volume we get on the shortened day. Point being, prices and yields may move in what seems like a significant way, but if it's not supported by volume, we won't be reading anything into it.

2:56PM  :  Forging New Annual Highs. Positive Reprices Continue
Both MBS and TSYs have extended gains and keep pressing into the best territory of the year, despite a rallying stock market, despite universal recent cries of "overbought," and despite what many considered an appropriate time for bonds to give back a bit of recent gains, things just keep improving. Traders call this betting against the consensus a "fade," and the current rally past 3.14 in 10yr TSYs has been an epic example. 10yr yields are currently at 3.064 after breaking 3.09+ resistance today and even bouncing off it as a supportive pivot. FNCL 4.5's are 11 ticks up on the day at 103-27 after recently having broken 103-24 resistance that contained them since 11am. Reprices for the better have already been seen in fairly high quantities and not only may more follow, but some lenders may come back for a 2nd helping depending on initial release time and 1st reprice time/aggressiveness.
1:45PM  :  ALERT: Positive Reprices Still Possible Following Strong Auction
To call today's 7yr note auction "strong" is putting it mildly. But even so, the reaction seen in bond markets is merely one of confirmation. Drawing on the ongoing Greek debt drama as well as weaker than expected economic data, this morning saw heavy volume and good gains. Normally, we'd expect a bit of a bearish concession heading into a TSY auction, or expect the auction to be a bit on the weak side if it had been preceded by such a rally. So the strength of the auction is confirming yields that might otherwise be too aggressive all things being equal. In other words, a lot of the "post-auction rally" actually occurred before the auction with the results merely confirming it. If that sounds like a bad thing, it's not. It's a big deal for 10yr notes to have broken out of the 3.095 range that had contained them, and to have done so in insanely high volume (on pace for the highest day of the year). FNCL 4.5 MBS have been holding rock-steady near their highs, deviating less than a tick from 103-24 since the auction. That's 8 ticks up on the day and enough for reprices for the better. Some have already been seen, and others should follow if current levels are maintained.
1:37PM  :  No Shortage of Demand in Final Auction of Week
Treasury just finished its final auction of the week with a $29 billion 7-year note offering. The fundraising process went smoothly, completing the 2s/5s/7s trifecta with ease even though the curve continues to trade at extremely overbought levels. Demand as measured by the bid to cover ratio was 3.24 bids submitted for every one accepted by Treasury. That is the highest BTC ratio we have on record for 7s. Bidders were willing to pay up for this issue as demonstrated by the 2.429% auction high-yield vs. the 1pm "When Issued" yield of 2.438%. Direct buyers were the top star, taking down a well above average 13% of the issue and 30.5% of what they bid on. Directs tendered about $4bn more than usual here which indicates a burning desire to add inventory (short covering!). Indirects were average participants but like directs they tendered about $4bn more than normal. The Dealer award was slightly below average even though they tendered almost $6bn more than usual. The larger than normal size of tenders from dealers, directs and indirects is the headline, it means there were many willing buyers, they just wanted cheaper prices/higher yields. There is clearly no shortage of demand for our debt! The bond market hasn't rallied on in the aftermath but that's OK because we're holding near session bests regardless of stocks, which just printed new intraday highs themselves.
12:26PM  :  IMF threat to withhold Greek aid spooks markets
LUXEMBOURG/ATHENS, May 26 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund may withhold the next slice of aid to Greece due next month, the head of euro zone finance ministers said on Thursday, spooking markets with the prospect of default. European stocks extended losses and safe haven bond futures gained after Jean-Claude Juncker said the IMF expected the European Union to step in if it were unable to release the June aid tranche, but that would be impossible. Greece's finance minister said this week that if the next 12 billion euro payment was not forthcoming, the country would be unable to meet its obligations and would default. "If the Europeans have to acknowledge that the disbursement from the IMF on June 29 cannot be operationally implemented, then the expectation of the IMF is that the Europeans would step in for the IMF and take upon themselves the IMF's portion of the financing," Juncker told a conference in Luxembourg. "That won't work because in certain parliaments -- Germany, Finland and the Netherlands and others too -- there is no preparedness to do so," he said. (By Axel Threlfall and Renee Maltezou)
12:19PM  :  MBS Holding Annual Highs. 7yr Auction Approaches
In flat-out defiance of the stock lever, TSYs and MBS are holding onto their heady new levels today despite S&P's return to breakeven levels. 10yr notes made it well into the 3.07's but have since moved slightly higher to 3.085. The technical inflection point is in the mid 3.09's. FNCL 4.5's are up 8 ticks on the day at 103-24, their best levels of the year. Reprices for the better have been reported and more may follow if current levels hold. The 7yr TSY Auction happens in about 45 minutes and could be a market mover. The default assumption is a challenging auction due to this morning's rally making yields ostensibly less and less enticing. Then again, we'd mostly rallied into yesterday's 5yr auction, which saw the lowest yields of the year met with the best demand in nearly 2 decades, so we'll wait to count hatched chickens at 1pm.
11:16AM  :  New MBS Commentary Post

Featured Market Discussion
A recap of the featured comments from the Live Discussion on the MBSonMND Dashboard .
Ira Selwin  :  "WF price change - 2nd today"
Jill Statz  :  "PF just repriced again....25 better on the day now"
Matthew Graham  :  "incidentally, this also puts support around 2.85, so the evidence is rather overwhelming as far as something around there being at least a technical target for resistance"
Matthew Graham  :  "I should mention, there is another viable trendline, coming off the lows of late 2008, connecting 2010 lows to form a triangle with aforementioned downtrend."
Matthew Graham  :  "indeed"
Andrew Horowitz  :  "can you post that yearly chart?"
Matthew Graham  :  "puts resistance between 2.9 and 2.8 between now and the end of 2012"
Matthew Graham  :  "it is indeed the guilty until proven innocent trend of a stagnant, weak economy that has persisted with some opposition since the crash"
Matthew Graham  :  "I don't see any other way to look at the market in the long term except by that trend channel"
Matthew Graham  :  "initial crash breaks it and 2010's "re-crash" breaks it"
Matthew Graham  :  "Then you have a line that is perfectly parallel to that beginning with early 2008 yield lows"
Matthew Graham  :  "it's a moving trend that generally rests along the high yields from 2007 to now and catches a mid 2007 pivot point where it was resistance"
Matthew Graham  :  "you gotta go back to late 2007 to get a long run support level"
Andrew Horowitz  :  "i would look for short term range of 3.00-3.09"
Matthew Graham  :  "strategically, I think 3.14-ish is the only place it makes sense to set support"
Matthew Graham  :  "and I don't think that's too wide a spread. Just depends if we're talking short, mid, long term"
Matthew Graham  :  "BTW, we cracked new territory in 10yr contract volume, a staggering and eye-watering 2.02 million contracts"
Andrew Horowitz  :  "TB that is too wide a spread"
Matthew Graham  :  "(resistance is lower altitude on charts of YIELD, opposite of price)"
Matthew Graham  :  "2.85 resistance"
Matthew Graham  :  "let's say 3.095 is tested as support now"
Tom Bartlett  :  "I believe 3.07 becomes resistance and 2.85 support on 10 yr?"
Steve Chizmadia  :  "Stearns reprice"
Christopher Stevens  :  "all I know is I am sick of renegotiating rates for people right now. time to start collecting lock in fees again."
Adam Quinones  :  "nah. convexity concerns are limited until you guys tell me the levee has broken...aka when all your old refis come out of the woodwork for 4.25 C30s."
Christopher Stevens  :  "did the levee break AQ"
Steve Chizmadia  :  "PRMG and Steward just repriced as well"
Jill Statz  :  "another improvement from Flagstar just came through also"
Mike Drews  :  "another FAMC price change coming"
Ken Crute  :  ".25% improvment "
Victor Burek  :  "flagstar better"
Steve Chizmadia  :  "Plaza reprice"
Rob Clark  :  "citi reprice"
Matthew Graham  :  "I understand it's fashionable in the world of armchair MBS analysis to look at whatever is "the closest coupon over par." Heck, I even used to be on of "those guys," but if the lenders who are originating MBS based on the loans people are currently locking and closing are doing so predominantly in 4.5's still, then it's still 4.5's. I want you guys to know this isn't some arbitrary decision, but a very clear reality based on factual reports of what's actually being produced. Tons of credit to"
Matthew Graham  :  "not so much about a price on the 4.5 as it is about the price of the 4.0, difference between the two, and actual confirmation based on origination statistics that the big 5 are creating a majority of new supply in 4's rather than 4.5's which currently lead by a factor of 5-7"
Shane  :  "MG - in your opinion, is there a certain price to hit on FN 4.5 before switching our focus to FN 4.0....or is the entire decision based on origination as you mentioned earlier. "
Adam Quinones  :  "i think we';re turning Japanese I really think so...thx to Dodd-Frank"
Brent Borcherding  :  "I think when a boat sinks it can fill with air and breach the surface one more time before it sinks all the way..."
Brett Boyke  :  "I had a past client call me yesterday, he said I see your comments on MND which I follow to get a sense of where rates are"
Matthew Graham  :  ""might," yes"
Matthew Graham  :  "just sayin this too: take a look at most recent live update at 12:26pm for a layer of complication regarding today's rally. In short, this adds some confusion to the issue as to how much of the rally is motivated by potentially temporary flight-to-safety buying. Granted, EU contagion has the potential to be more than temporary, but as such drama unfolds, the tendency is to knee-jerk the initial reaction and moderate into ongoing information."
Tom Bartlett  :  "MG-Do you think we might see the 10 yr with a 2 handle in our near future?"
Brett Boyke  :  "From Gleacher's co-head of rates, Russ Certo -

I don't know from what level but I have a strong sense that the 10 year note will have a 2% handle in the coming days/week. It may be extremely difficult to get long bumping up at 200 day moving avgs, in the midst of supply (5yr note auction just came 1.7 bps through 1pm levels.) and we have $35 billion 5yr equivelants in the form of a 7 year auction tomorrow. We also have ANOTHER refunding announcement right after the long weekend for more 3"

Aaron Buyside Meyer  :  "Anyone who sells to ING they came out this morning with a bulletin that reads anything over 102% of the mortgage balance listed on the credit report will now be consider a "cash out" transaction. We all know the balance on the credit report isn't the payoff and not to mention closing costs on top of that could easily be more than 2%, clients might have out of pocket expenses"
Terry Colabrese  :  "5th 3rd reprice"
Oliver S. Orlicki  :  "pfg +125"
Brett Boyke  :  "chase reprice"
Adam Quinones  :  "STRAUSS-KAHN LAWYERS SAY CONCERNED ABOUT HIS RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL AFTER POLICE LEAKS Today 11:46 - STRAUSS-KAHN LAWYERS SAY HAVE INFORMATION THAT COULD "GRAVELY UNDERMINE THE CREDIBILITY" OF THE HOTEL MAID "
Jason Zimmer  :  "CK...one of my LOs just ran <620 through DO and DO send ineligible because FICO was under 620...DO now requires 620"
Justin Bayle  :  "my secondary, who I don't take lock advice from, just sent this out with rates: As reported this morning by Reuters, the U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury debt yields has dipped under the 200-day moving average and is curerntly at 3.07%. This is the lowest yield since early December as safe-haven buying pushed prices higher. It is very unusual for there to be a rally such as this right before a 3 day weekend. And just like a bungee cord, when it snaps, its going to bounce hard and fast! So man"