With the actual results/announcement of the FOMC meeting not arriving until Wednesday and with the only piece of scheduled economic data being Housing Starts at 830am, we'd expect bond markets including MBS to be driven primary by the stock lever and perhaps to a greater extent, any new developments out of Europe.

As 10yr notes dug into the lower 1.9's on a few occasions today and MBS touched their concrete ceilings around 101-25 in Fannie 3.5's and 104-19 in Fannie 4.0's, we're anxious about getting a bullish enough cue from data, headlines, or even following the FOMC to break through previous resistance. Anxious =/= impossible though, so we'll see what we'll see. For a detailed look at the entire week of economic events, see the following link:

Especially for rates that end up in 3.5 MBS coupon buckets like 4.0 and 4.125% 30yr fixed, there's already a slight chance of previous reprices for the better being taken back as 3.5's have lost 9 ticks from previous highs where several lenders repriced for the better. 3.5's are currently at 101-17 and 4.0's are down 6 ticks from their highs, currently at 104-13. It's a bit early to think that reprices for the worse are on the way, but the downtick is something to be aware of if you were considering locking tonight anyway.

It's getting to be about that time where reprices for the better should be coming in greater numbers. The day started off good for MBS and has just been exceedingly stable and positive throughout.

Fannie 4.0's are up 16 ticks at 104-18
Fannie 3.5's are up 22 ticks at 101-25

A few reprices for the better have already been reported and more may follow. Certainly, it seems that waiting until closer to lock cut-off could make sense on a day like today, but something about those MBS levels should look familiar.

Indeed those represent the "Concrete Ceiling mentioned in the MBS commentary on a few recent occasions. In short, if MBS are able to close more than a tick or two higher than current levels, it'd be the first time ever. With high risk events on the horizon and a decent amount of current positivity owing to fickle European headlines, holding out for incremental improvements in MBS is riskier at these levels than, say, Friday's 104-00 levels. Just something to keep in mind if you see some rate sheet gains that look enticing.

(Reuters) - The regulator of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said mortgage relief programs that stop short of allowing principal write down still deliver results for homeowners seeking to avoid foreclosure without steep costs for taxpayers.

Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward DeMarco said a Federal Housing Administration program that allows principal write-downs may be right for some mortgage investors but is not the best approach for loans financed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"We believe the programs we have in place provide borrowers the same benefit in the sense of reducing a monthly mortgage payment to an affordable amount but do so without imposing as big an ultimate loss on taxpayers as an immediate write-down of principal would result in," DeMarco said in an interview with CNBC. (Reporting by Mark Felsenthal, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)