What is new besides Vice Presidential nominee Palin’s 17-yr old unmarried daughter being pregnant? Not much is new with mortgages, aside from rates being higher this morning. A farmer won $50 million in the multi-state lottery. When his local newspaper asked him what he was going to do with the money, he replied: “I’m going
ISM Manufacturing Index
It seems that not a day goes by without someone asking, “Why are the numbers on a telephone key-pad reversed from those on a computer keyboard?” I don’t know why, but if one is really curious, or for that matter hadn’t even noticed until I just wrote that, click here. MARKET & ECONOMY UPDATE Why
Fixed and ARM rates open this week approximately even over last week. We had a run up in rates in the two weeks leading up to last Wednesday’s FOMC announcement that they were holding the overnight bank-to-bank Fed Funds Rate at 2%, but increased credit crunch pressures have weighed on the market. As stocks have
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
As 2006 ended, most economists and Fed officials were expecting the economy to be crippled by high energy prices plus weak housing and manufacturing. But so far in 2007, wages and employment are increasing, energy costs are dropping, and even housing is holding up in many areas. All of this means rates have climbed and
Since the Fed rate pause on September 20, fixed and ARM rates have come down about .25%. The logic driving rate markets lower is that the Fed’s 4.25% of rate hikes from June 2004 to June 2006 have beat inflation out of the economy. But since inflation data lags the economy by about six months,
As expected, rates open this week only slightly higher. This is a huge week for rates, beginning Tuesday with the year’s first and Alan Greenspan’s last Fed meeting, where we can expect the overnight Fed Funds Rate to go from 4.25% to 4.5%. This would put Fed Funds and the 10-yr Treasury bond yield at
In the past three weeks, fixed and ARM rates are up about .375%. Last week, the yield on the 10-year note (a critical benchmark for fixed mortgages and intermediate-term ARMs) was up 0.19% to hit 4.60%, which is just shy of the 4.69% high of 2005 which came on March 23. We may see more
After the positive jobs growth data Friday, rates are up for the fifth straight week – bringing the total to about +.5%. More jobs and stronger manufacturing data mean the economy is improving. So investors are more confident in the markets and seek higher returns from stocks. They sell bonds to buy stocks, and this
Rates open this week up another .125% across the board, bringing the 4 week total to about +.45%. Last week I said Friday’s 2Q GDP (economic growth) figures would help determine whether rates would keep moving up or not. GDP was 3.4%, right at expectations. But the hot housing and manufacturing data caused investors to
Rates/commentary for the week of January 5, 2004. Happy New Year to everyone, and welcome to the second-best year ever (behind 2003) for new and existing home sales according to NAR’s chief economist. During the last two weeks of 2003, fixed and ARM rates rose by .125% because of positive economic data. As I’ve mentioned