-
Written by: Bill Berliner--Principal, Berliner Consulting & Research Paul Jacob--Director of Research, BOM Capital LLC While the level of new delinquencies on residential mortgage loans has stabilized, the size of the “foreclosure pipeline” continues to grow. According to recent reports from RealtyTrac, just under two million homes in
-
Levels in the capital markets appeared to have stabilized over the past few months. Treasury yields have remained in a fairly tight range, as have yield spreads for mortgage-backed securities. In particular, MBS yield spreads have remained quite stable since mid-June. The spread of the Fannie Mae current coupon over the interpolated 5-10 Treasury has
-
I read the recent discussions and proposals for changes in the mortgage industry (from Jeff Wirsing and Brian Brady) with great interest. One doesn't have to agree with any or all of the proposals to appreciate the effort and thought that went into their articles. While I'm not a direct participant in the mortgage market, I have some thoughts
-
Back from vacation in Hawaii…certainly my definition of Paradise. *An interesting item in today’s news is a story on Bloomberg that homeowners getting involved in loan modification programs can expect a serious drop in their credit scores. It makes sense that a person’s credit score should drop after seeking a mod, since they can’t
-
By Monday’s close, it looks like the sharp upward move in rates that began in earnest after Memorial Day has run its course. A combination of factors has acted to hold 10-year yields under the 4% level; in addition to a re-assessment of economic prospects going forward, the inflation data (Producer and Consumer prices) has remained friendly toward
-
It was another rough ride in fixed income markets last week, Treasury prices slumped, MBS bids deteriorated, and mortgage rates continued to move higher. As of Thursday's close, the Bankrate.com national average for 30-year fixed-rate conforming-balance loans was 5.70%, a 20 basis point increase from the prior week and 70 basis points higher than
-
The Treasury and MBS markets have remained highly volatile, with Thursday's price action (in front of the Employment report on Friday) continuing their erratic behavior. The standard deviation of the 10-year yield over a 60-day period (a good measure of volatility, I believe) is the highest it's been since mid-March, right around the time that
-
MND Special Report on MBS "Black Wednesday" Part I MND Special Report on MBS "Black Wednesday" Part II The Treasury market has been in absolute disarray this week, as evidenced by the wild bouncing around on Thursday. The yield on the 10-year has bounced between a low of around 3.58% this morning (at around 9:30 a.m. EDT) and a high
-
Intermediate Treasury rates have pulled back from the brink, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury dropping by more than 20 basis points from its highs. While the Fed's program of "qualitative easing" did not result in huge purchases, it appears that the possibility of large-scale buying by the Fed did give yields a sufficient downward
-
Based on the market's recent price action, it looks like both Wall Street and the Fed are trying to defend the market around its current levels. I'd suspect that the target level for the 10-year note is below 3.20%, consistent with the notion that 3.25% is a danger point for the market that the authorities don't want to test. The Fed has