Attack of the FHA loan files? Most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. So by my calculations, that means that this Sunday here in the U.S. most of us “fall back” and it
October 2009
Overall Personal Consumption Expenditures, the Fed’s favorite measure of consumer inflation, were 0.1% in September and -0.6% year-over-year through September. Excluding volatile oil and food costs from the readings, “Core” PCE price index for September was unchanged at +0.1% and +1.3% YOY through September. The Fed looks closely at Core PCE excluding food and energy
According to the police, a Texas woman lived in an apartment with her dead boyfriend for a week. Know why he didn’t marry her? Cold feet. And speaking of cold, here we are at the World Series…baseball in November in the Northeast. Lots of folks in mortgage banking like numbers and statistics, so here is
Advance 3Q2009 GDP came in today at +3.5%, and after four consecutive quarters of economic contraction (a 60yr record for consecutive GDP declines), 3Q shows a significant rebound in this first of three readings—the next reading will be November 24. Consumer spending typically accounts for two-thirds of GDP and while personal consumption expenditures increased +3.4%
Advance 3Q2009 GDP came in today at +3.5%, and after four consecutive quarters of economic contraction (a 60yr record for consecutive GDP declines), 3Q shows a significant rebound in this first of three readings—the next reading will be November 24. Consumer spending typically accounts for two-thirds of GDP and while personal consumption expenditures increased +3.4%
Some days the best thing about my job is that my chair spins! (Sad but true.) But then along comes items like this. Who would have ever thought FHA compliance and underwriting issues would have made it to mainstream videos-–- Youtube bliss not to be missed. MBAA Selling DC Headquarters Building The MBAA has been
The S&P Case Shiller August 2009 report of existing home sales showed year-over-year -11.3% price declines averaged across 20 major metropolitan areas (see table below). Notable declines for the year-over-year period were Las Vegas -29.9%, Phoenix -25.1%, and Detroit -22.6. Notably, San Francisco’s YOY decline decreased from -22.0% in June to -17.9% in July, then
The United States is a great country, but… Over the weekend I was talking to my two kids about not spending more money than you have. “Neither one of you makes much money, so you shouldn’t go out and buy stuff that you can’t afford – talk to your grandparents who lived through the Depression.”
The United States is a great country, but… Over the weekend I was talking to my two kids about not spending more money than you have. “Neither one of you makes much money, so you shouldn’t go out and buy stuff that you can’t afford – talk to your grandparents who lived through the Depression.”
As George Soros announced a $50m campaign to fund efforts to squash free market zealotry among market participants and politicians, Robert Johnson, the former Soros Fund Management managing director he’s chosen to head the effort had this to say: “The Keynesians were romantic about the possibilities of governments. The free-marketers were romantic about the possibilities
As George Soros announced a $50m campaign to fund efforts to squash free market zealotry among market participants and politicians, Robert Johnson, the former Soros Fund Management managing director he’s chosen to head the effort had this to say: “The Keynesians were romantic about the possibilities of governments. The free-marketers were romantic about the possibilities
Is there ever a day that mattresses are not “on sale”? Securities are always for sale. I love this kind of talk: “Agency MBS reversed course this week as much of the coupon stack underperformed against duration hedges.” That is what I received from a buddy who works for a large investment bank. What the
Do the “Alphabet Song” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” have the same tune? And did you just try singing the two songs? New Appraisal Regs On Way Out? Generally speaking, mortgage folks are a pretty optimistic bunch, although “trust but verify” is an approach that many use in their business lives. It turns out that
Following two months of declining rates that took us back to all-time rate lows not seen since May, rates climbed about .25% in the past two weeks. There are three main reasons for this: (1) the Fed has trimmed its weekly buying of mortgage bonds from about $25b per week to $20b per week. Less
Why are you IN a movie, but you’re ON TV? In the TV yesterday, at least the financial news networks, was the Fed’s Beige Book which comes out eight times a year and summarizes the Fed’s twelve districts. So do mortgage companies want the economy to do well, and run the risk of higher rates,
Fortune reports that big bank deposits have outpaced loans in the year ended June 30, 2009. These two graphs from the story show loan/deposit stats among top banks and market share of deposits for big vs. rest of banks—also below are key stats from the story. This isn’t to say it’s all Evil Banker Greed,
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