Jobs ADP private jobs for July +114,000. It is hard to get an accurate estimate for Friday’s BLS jobs report from the ADP report, and BLS is what counts. Last month BLS private jobs was 100,000 less than ADP. Also, it is likely that there will be a continuing loss of public jobs at the
Factory Orders
Factory Orders for May were +0.8% which almost makes up for a -0.9% in April. This datum however is below consensus. The ongoing discussion about the Greek debt situation misses the point that there is continuing concern about much sovereign debt be it Greece, the other PIIGS nations, Japan, China, or the U.S. Default of
Rates Benefit on Stock Weakness The drop in the equity markets yesterday, and possibly again today, certainly helped the flow of funds into “safer” investments – such as Treasuries and MBS’s. But we also had some economic news of note, the first being Pending Home Sales. The index was up 5.3% in March, with sales
Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but have to check when you say the paint is still wet? That kind of person had better read the next paragraph. For anyone who originates loans for a living, or knows someone who does, or who didn’t comment during the HVCC
GM filed for bankruptcy a few days ago. A buddy told me, “This would be bad news if anyone had actually bought a GM car in the last five years. They say that the company will emerge from bankruptcy in three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first.” There are some witty folks out there.
Factory Orders Up 1.8%, Stocks Rally How ‘bout this market? Yesterday rates moved higher, and prices lower, after Factory Orders increased 1.8% in February, following a downwardly revised 3.5% drop in January, and six consecutive monthly decreases. So why wouldn’t rates come down? US stock markets continued their rally, and in fact most overseas stock
Watching rates go up for no sustainable apparent reason is about as much fun as putting away Christmas ornaments and taking the tree to the curb. As they say, “A rising tide raises all boats”, and low rates have helped every lender still in the ring, big or small, regardless of geographic concentration. U.S. Bank’s
GMAC will cut 5,000 jobs (60% of its employees) at Residential Capital, and shut its 200 GMAC Mortgage retail offices. Announcements went out saying that, in spite of eliminating their retail and wholesale channels: GMAC is committed to maintaining and growing the Correspondent Channel, supported by the Warehouse Division. The Conduit is actively buying loans
STATE OF MORTGAGE BANKING Parent’s like to think that their son or daughter might go into the same profession in which they work. I got my son’s report card in the mail on Saturday, and three teachers had written comments about him. They were, “Since my last report, your child has reached rock bottom and
Former NBA star Latrell Sprewell joined Michael Vick and Jose Canseco by giving up/losing his home according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc unit RBS Citizens NA foreclosed on the property May 12, when Sprewell failed to show up in court to contest the proceedings. Sprewell once turned down a
This market is tougher than a $3 steak! When the heck are mortgage prices going to improve? Why is the 10-yr Treasury down into the 3.5% range, yet conforming/conventional 30-yr loans, eligible for FNMA and FHLMC, back up into the 6% range? The widening that is occurring out to these levels, which statistically speaking happens
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
Rates are up another .125% this week (the third week in a row) on inflation fears that are coming from higher fuel prices and higher costs reported by manufacturers this morning. The Fed’s job is to slow the money supply (with higher rates) before inflation becomes an issue. So when markets see signs if inflation,
Rates/commentary for the week of December 1, 2003. Investors fled bonds and piled up on stocks to kick off this first trading week following Thanksgiving. Sinking bond prices pushed yields up, translating into a rate increase (since last week) of about 0.25%. Holiday shoppers didn’t disappoint over the weekend, and manufacturing data released this morning