MBS Live: MBS Afternoon Market Summary
It might seem a bit counterintuitive in this age of sophisticated technology that an absence of warm bodies could so clearly affect trading conditions.  If TV commercials for one notable bank advertise the fact that it "never sleeps," we could well assume that no one else is sleeping either!  But indeed they are and indeed volume was affected mightily today.  One of the major culprits is the absence of European trading in the overnight and early domestic session.  Domestic bond markets tend to care an awful lot about how Europe is trading these days and we'd imagine their absence has more than a little to do with the flatness of our trading range, let alone the obvious lack of volume.  Things could actually start MOVING tomorrow, in one direction or another.  We wouldn't rule out further strength, but are cautious in expecting such things ahead of Treasury auctions.   
MBS Pricing Snapshot
Pricing shown below is delayed, please note the timestamp at the bottom. Real time pricing is available via MBS Live.
FNMA 3.5
103-20 : +0-05
FNMA 4.0
105-20 : +0-06
FNMA 4.5
107-02 : +0-06
FNMA 5.0
108-19 : +0-05
GNMA 3.5
105-05 : +0-03
GNMA 4.0
108-06 : +0-04
GNMA 4.5
109-16 : +0-04
GNMA 5.0
111-02 : +0-05
FHLMC 3.5
103-13 : +0-05
FHLMC 4.0
105-10 : +0-06
FHLMC 4.5
106-18 : +0-04
FHLMC 5.0
108-04 : +0-03
Pricing as of 4:07 PM EST
Afternoon Reprice Alerts and Updates
Below is a recap of instant Reprice Alerts and updates issued via email and text alert to MBS Live subscribers this afternoon.
1:47PM  :  Unofficial Three Day Weekend Continues Uneventfully
Move along, there's nothing to see here... Really... At this point, today's volume in several sectors is on pace to be the lowest of the year. Like an unfinished, unpainted 2x4, MBS and Treasuries have been flat, boring, and rigid in their sideways support.

MBS continue to favor a range of 103-18 to 103-21 but have held closer to the higher end on average. 10yr yields have bounced around ever-so-slightly in a 2.02 to 2.04 range. Yields ran up into the 1pm hour and almost looked like they would do something interesting, but quickly retreated back into the range.

There's been another slight uptick in yields over the past few minutes, with 10's rising to 2.035, but really, volume is so low we're not going to pay any attention unless yields are at, say, 2.045, and moving higher in high volume.

As far as MBS are concerned, we'd need to see prices below 102-17 in increasing volume before reading too much into it. Right now, we're on pace for the lightest volume full trading day of the year. Today is really more like the last day of a long weekend, or the early hours of Tuesday's overnight session. Even then, the interesting data and events don't really get underway until Wednesday.
Live Chat Featured Comments
A recap of the featured comments from the MBS Live Dashboard's Live Chat feature, utilized by hundreds of industry professionals each day.
Matthew Graham  :  "RTRS- POLL - 7 OF 15 DEALERS SEE FED'S FIRST INTEREST RATE INCREASE IN SECOND HALF 2014, 5 SEE HIKE BEFORE THAT, 3 AFTER"
Matthew Graham  :  "RTRS - POLL - MEDIAN OF 9 DEALERS' ESTIMATES FOR QE3 SIZE $600 BLN ($525 BLN IN MARCH 9 POLL) "
Matthew Graham  :  "RTRS - POLL - 10 OF 11 PRIMARY DEALERS SEE FED ANNOUNCING QE3 PROGRAM IN JUNE, 2012 "
Matthew Graham  :  "RTRS - REUTERS POLL - 11 OF 15 PRIMARY DEALERS SAY THE FED WILL EVENTUALLY ANNOUNCE ANOTHER ROUND OF QUANTITATIVE EASING"
Jason Zimmer  :  "the head of NAIHP Marc Savitt spoke to our asscoication on Thursday and says he has a good feeling about Cordray"
Ira Selwin  :  "You will see more clarity from some investors in regards to this topic shortly Cant give specifics, but it is being addressed by some"
Scott Valins  :  "overall feeling about Cordray is that he is just trying to clean up the mess and has no intention of reinventing the wheel when it comes to audits/compliance etc"
Scott Valins  :  "might "dial back" bits of it"
Scott Valins  :  "Cordray - assessing LO comp rule - haven't made mind up about aspects of it"
Chip Harris  :  "REPRICE: 2:18 PM - Interbank Better"
Matthew Graham  :  "agreed... a tremendous place considering 3/13 to 4/5"
Brent Borcherding  :  "I hear yeah, but it puts us in a good place were volume to increase and move in our direction."
Matthew Graham  :  "indeed, but sadly, it's hard to get too excited about it with this volume."
Brent Borcherding  :  "Yes, back to biz....are we dipping our toes back into the long term trend channel?"
Matthew Graham  :  "just got a volume report for cash market Treasuries (vs earlier mentioned futures) and it's at 60% of recent norms, pretty much a confirmation of the light futures volume."
Matthew Graham  :  "still a lot of folks out, (especially "everyone" in London/Hong Kong), volume still light, settlement still to come, I'd think that each day this week would be progressively better the more that current levels look like they'll last for more than a day."
Michael Tadros  :  "REPRICE: 11:41 AM - Provident Funding Better"
Mike Drews  :  "I don't think lenders were ready to give back that much pricing yet..give it a few days"
Chip Harris  :  "Maybe rates get better later in the week if we hold the current levels?"
Chip Harris  :  "Just looking at INterbank and they are .25 worse than Thursday!"
Scott Valins  :  "I shall"
Ira Selwin  :  "Let us know if there's anything interestign on the call"
Scott Valins  :  "Director Cordray will be addressing specific questions from industry professionals. We will be discussing: LO Comp Appraisals Qualified Mortgage Qualified Residential Mortgage Licensing Examinations Enforcements Consumer Protection and more!!!"
Jeff Anderson  :  "What's it for? The Qualified Mortgage reform stuff?"
Scott Valins  :  "looking forward to hearing Cordray"
Scott Valins  :  "I am IRA"
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