Fixed and ARM rates are up slightly this week on mortgage bond weakness. Factory orders came in stronger than expected today, and bonds took this as a subtle sign that the Fed may only cut 25 basis points instead of 50. They’ve already cut 175 basis points in the past 4 months, and it typically
January 2008
With the market getting continually more challenging this year, there’s one reason our spirit will never break … a funk album that came out last October and it just keeps giving the unrelenting good vibe no matter how many times you listen to it. The album is a debut from an LA funk troupe called
This week, The Daily Show continued it’s parade of second-rate talent since A-list talent (rightfully) won’t cross a picket line to appear on the show. CNN’s personal finance editor Gerri Willis was on to: “decipher the gibberish that can be heard on other financial programs.” But she was the one spitting gibberish. After reviewing a
“Subprime” was the word of 2007 as voted by the American Dialect Society. As we kick off the 2008, “Ride The Storm” is our proposed phrase of 2008. The phrase isn’t to trivialize or oversimplify market issues. It’s to be realistic about the current economic cycle in America. Market Inevitabilities We’ve been discussing a real
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, along with the House, Senate and White House, has crafted a broad election year economic stimulus package which includes $150 billion in household and business tax breaks, and proposals to up conforming mortgage limits from $417,000 to as much as $729,250. The tax cuts could take a few months, but the
Conforming rates (on loans up to $417k) are down about .25% and Jumbo rates (on loans above $417k) are also down about .25% this morning following the Fed’s surprise intermeeting rate cuts. They came on the back of non-US equity markets dropping 5-10% yesterday and the Dow opening down 464 points. The Fed cut both
Glad to say that my first WeeklyBasis of 2008 is good news! Fixed and ARM rates are down .375% from pre-holiday levels, and it seems to be sticking because of continued recession signals implicit in recent economic data. The volatility I talked so much about in the 4Q2007 may return and make me eat those
As we get up to speed this year, Rob Chrisman will be joining The Basis Point as a writer of a column called Daily Basis. It’s a daily round-up of mortgage industry and market data. Rob has been writing this for years, and now he’s got a new home and hopefully a bigger audience for