Scheduled Data:

  1. Chicago PMI at 56.7, down slightly from last month, but within consensus range
  2. NAPM index down an additional 1.3% to 404.0. Eighth Contraction in last nine months
  3. Case Shiller: 20 city index down .88% from June to July. This is good for a YoY decline of a record 16.35%. (who called a bottom in late '07?)
  4. Consumer Confidence in at 59.8 after last month's 58.5. Bet that survey was conducted before yesterday?

Putting that data aside for the moment, there is more to report:

Out of the shadows, as unexpected as increased capital market leverage, and just as deadly, the MBS ninja strikes! Well, it's not all that dramatic really, but just some "color" from the street. The Ninja reports a reasonable amount of originator selling (remember, for our purposes, "originator" refers to the lenders that are funding your deals and subsequently securitizing and passing through to the secondary market) which is keeping MBS from outperforming treasuries so far today, however, compared to the swap market, MBS are, in fact, tighter a bit.