Wed, Nov 18 2009, 8:00 AM
Sitting comfortably at 13-month highs, equities are beginning the day moving sideways ahead of data on inflation and the housing market.
The Dow lo...
Tue, Nov 17 2009, 8:08 AM
Equity markets are looking down before the bell but the losses are modest compared to the Monday rally.
S&P 500 futures are off 2.1 points to 1,10...
Tue, Nov 17 2009, 4:36 PM
Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the formation of an interagency task force to investigate and prosecute financial fraud. The group will ...
Tue, Nov 17 2009, 1:29 PM
The November Housing Market Index was unchanged from October's downwardly revised level of 17. The component gauging current sales conditions and the...
Tue, Nov 17 2009, 1:17 PM
National credit agency TransUnion reported today that, while mortgage delinquency rates continue to rise and have reached record levels, the rate of i...
Mon, Nov 16 2009, 7:59 AM
The week begins with a bang but ends with a whimper. A storm of data hits markets on Monday with retail sales an hour before the opening bell, plus th...
Mon, Nov 16 2009, 5:14 PM
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke today spoke at the Economic Club of New York. The topic of his speech was the Outlook for the Economy and Policy...
Fri, Nov 13 2009, 8:10 AM
With the Dow climbing for six consecutive days and breaking fresh 13-month highs, the 0.91% sell-off yesterday was prompted more by timely profit-taki...
Thu, Nov 12 2009, 8:48 AM
In this week's release, which reports on loan application activity for the week ending November 6, 2009, demand for new mortgage loans increased 3.2% ...
Thu, Nov 12 2009, 8:28 AM
In terms of data releases the week is only beginning now. Stocks have been rising this week led by the Dow hitting a 13-month high Tuesday and continu...
Thu, Nov 12 2009, 5:15 PM
The Federal Reserve today reported on their weekly purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS). In the four trading days between November 5 a...
Thu, Nov 12 2009, 2:02 PM
The annual independent audit report of FHA capital reserves published today shows that, while the reserve ratio has dropped below the level mandated b...
Thu, Nov 12 2009, 2:01 PM
Mortgages continued to hold firm with average rates below 5 percent for both long and short term loans. The 30-year FRM has now been below 5 percent ...
Tue, Nov 10 2009, 10:01 AM
The Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officer Survey for October shows that banks are still tightening their lending standards, although not with the freq...
Tue, Nov 10 2009, 8:09 AM
Investors look hesitant to keep the rally going. The S&P 500 has climbed 5.5% on six straight days of gains and the Dow hit a 13-month yesterday at 10...
Tue, Nov 10 2009, 4:42 PM
The Treasury Department announced Tuesday morning that its Making Home Affordable Program (HAMP) now has more than 650,000 mortgage modifications unde...
Tue, Nov 10 2009, 2:02 PM
We've been getting a lot of questions about the particulars of the Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension. While I wish we could take credit for the abundanc...
Mon, Nov 9 2009, 8:11 AM
The week ahead is extremely light on new data, with virtually nothing from the US hitting markets until the jobless claims report on Thursday morning....
Fri, Nov 6 2009, 12:31 PM
Fannie Mae reported a loss of nearly $19 billion in the third quarter due largely to credit-related expenses. The resulting deficit has prompted FHFA...
Fri, Nov 6 2009, 7:59 AM
Trading is cautious ahead of the month’s most important indicator. Equities jumped more than 2% on Thursday on optimism for the labor market and posit...
Fri, Nov 6 2009, 1:43 PM
President Barack Obama signed into law this morning legislation extending the $8,000 tax credit beyond its current November 30 expiration date. The b...
Thu, Nov 5 2009, 10:25 AM
In the week ending October 31, 2009, jobless claims fell to 512,000 from 532,000 in the previous week, which was revised higher from 530,000. Economis...
Thu, Nov 5 2009, 8:08 AM
The US Senate OK’d an extension of the first-time home-buyer tax credit that was to expire at the end of this month. The incentive will now expire six...
Thu, Nov 5 2009, 5:04 PM
In the five trading days between October 29 and November 4, the Federal Reserve purchased a total of $16.00 billion agency MBS. A gradual slowdown in ...
Thu, Nov 5 2009, 2:57 PM
The House of Representatives has voted to pass legislation extending the first time home tax credit until April 30, 2010.
Last night the Senate vot...
Thu, Nov 5 2009, 2:02 PM
Both long and short term interest rates declined during the week ended November 5 according to data released by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. All rates...
Thu, Nov 5 2009, 1:36 PM
Fannie Mae announced on Thursday that some borrowers who cannot otherwise qualify for loan modifications may be able to remain in their homes for a ye...
Wed, Nov 4 2009, 7:53 AM
In last week's release, which reported data for the week ending October 23, mortgage application activity fell 12.3% even as mortgage rates dropped fr...
Wed, Nov 4 2009, 7:48 AM
Risk is back on the table. As investors await labor data, a key survey on the services sector, and of course the policy announcement from the central ...
Wed, Nov 4 2009, 7:39 PM
The Senate today voted unanimously Wednesday night to extend the $8,000 tax credit for home buyers beyond its scheduled November 30, 2009 expiration d...
Wed, Nov 4 2009, 3:43 PM
Although this may not be necessary, I am going to over-analyze the FOMC statement and relate it to mortgage rates.
Tue, Nov 3 2009, 7:46 AM
For a packed week Tuesday is pretty light, but that hasn’t stopped equity futures from dropping sharply lower. Markets in Europe are the likely culpri...
Mon, Nov 2 2009, 11:01 AM
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in September, rose 6.1 percent to 110.1 from a reading of 103.8 in...
Mon, Nov 2 2009, 10:16 AM
The institute for supply management released the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business this morning. "Economic activity in the manufacturing sector exp...
Mon, Nov 2 2009, 8:15 AM
Volatility in the stock market left equities in a state of pessimism last week. The S&P 500 lost 4.02% in the five trading sessions, including a 2.81%...
Mon, Nov 2 2009, 1:12 PM
Mortgage bankers reported a substantial increase in per-loans profits during the second quarter of 2009 and an increase in loans, especially refinanci...
Fri, Oct 30 2009, 12:56 PM
The resolution would extend the present conventional loan limits for Fannie and Freddie through the 2010 calendar year at 125 percent of local median ...
Fri, Oct 30 2009, 8:20 AM
Upbeat earnings and the +3.5% GDP report helped US stocks jump around 2% yesterday, though the gains weren’t enough to wipe out losses from earlier in...
Thu, Oct 29 2009, 7:52 AM
quities were slashed yesterday after the new home sales report posted an unexpected 3.6% decline for September. The S&P 500 fell 1.95%, the Nasdaq she...
Thu, Oct 29 2009, 3:00 PM
The Federal Reserve today reported on their weekly purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS). In the five trading days between October 22 a...
Thu, Oct 29 2009, 2:59 PM
Mortgage rates for the last week have remained relatively unchanged according to information released by Freddie Mac from its weekly Primary Mortgage ...
Thu, Oct 29 2009, 1:15 PM
While we generally try to avoid getting caught up in political poo throwing, we know many are anxiously awaiting news from Capitol Hill regarding the ...
Wed, Oct 28 2009, 8:09 AM
Shares in the S&P 500 have fallen for three consecutive days and on Wednesday futures are extending those losses ahead of fresh data and more Q3 earni...
Wed, Oct 28 2009, 7:26 AM
In last week's release, which reported data for the week ending October 16, mortgage application activity fell 13.7% as mortgage rates rose from 5.02%...
Wed, Oct 28 2009, 3:42 PM
This month single family new home sales fell for the first time since March. The annual pace of new homes sales was 402,000 sales per year, well below...
Tue, Oct 27 2009, 12:12 PM
This month, the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index continued to improve as prices in 17 of 20 metro cities increased in August, albeit at a slower pace...
Tue, Oct 27 2009, 7:44 AM
US equities are mixed in this morning’s future session after shares fell more than 1% on Monday. S&P 500 and Dow futures are each looking slightly up,...
Mon, Oct 26 2009, 7:55 AM
Eight trading days have passed since the Dow crossed 10,000 for the first time in over a year. Yet mixed data and third-quarter earnings since then ha...
Fri, Oct 23 2009, 11:14 AM
The House Financial Services Committee passed the Consumer Financial Protection Act on Thursday. The legislation will consolidate regulation of finan...
Fri, Oct 23 2009, 8:02 AM
Equity futures are flat to slightly lower this morning after shares in the S&P 500 jumped 1.06% yesterday. Today markets will received fresh data for ...
