Fri, Feb 5 2016, 4:49 PM
Mortgage rates were mostly unchanged today, though a few lenders were microscopically higher in cost . That's an uncommon result for the day of th...
Thu, Feb 4 2016, 8:20 AM
It used to be that the first Thursday of every month provided a fairly reliable chance of volatility . That was during the days when Europe was an e...
Thu, Feb 4 2016, 5:18 PM
Today was a so-called "inside day" for bond markets, meaning prices and yields remained INSIDE yesterday's range of prices and yields. Economic dat...
Thu, Feb 4 2016, 4:35 PM
Mortgage rates held their ground at 8-month lows today. This time around, it was far less eventful than yesterday's session, which saw lenders chan...
Wed, Feb 3 2016, 7:34 AM
Yesterday's morning notes laid out an ominous technical comparison to last January and we promptly proceeded to have the best rally of the year. Ther...
Wed, Feb 3 2016, 6:19 PM
Two days ago, we were able to refer to Monday as the best day of the year, as long as you forget about the Friday before it. Today is the new 'best ...
Wed, Feb 3 2016, 4:54 PM
Mortgage rates had a far more tumultuous day despite ultimately hanging on to the lowest levels in more than 8 months. Whether you wanted to be h...
Tue, Feb 2 2016, 7:34 AM
When things have been unexpectedly as good as they have been for as long as they have been, one of the side-effects can be increased anxiety about the...
Tue, Feb 2 2016, 5:42 PM
Surprise! It's another mega-rally day. Depending on your yardstick, this is the 5th or 6th mega rally so far this year. Considering there have on...
Tue, Feb 2 2016, 4:35 PM
Mortgage rates only paused for a brief moment of reflection yesterday before continuing with 2016's trend of improvement. Today's gains bring them ...
Mon, Feb 1 2016, 7:33 AM
The weeks that contain the first Friday of any given month have a flavor all their own. Several of the month's most important pieces of economic da...
Mon, Feb 1 2016, 5:41 PM
In a way, today was the best sort of losing day for bond markets. If you factor out last Friday, today was the best trading day for bond markets in...
Mon, Feb 1 2016, 4:33 PM
Mortgage rates were in line with the best levels in 8 months as of last Friday. Although they moved slightly higher to begin the new week, today ...
Fri, Jan 29 2016, 7:33 AM
You can't step 2 feet out your front door in 2016 without being pelted by news regarding the close correlation between stocks, bonds and oil. Heck, I...
Fri, Jan 29 2016, 5:11 PM
For the end of any given day, bond markets closed at their best levels since April. If we look at only month-end closing levels, today was the best ...
Fri, Jan 29 2016, 4:39 PM
Mortgage rates were at 3 month lows yesterday and today have moved in line with 8-month lows. For most lenders, there was a day or 2 in October tha...
Thu, Jan 28 2016, 8:26 AM
If we take the awesome part of 2016 for granted and simply focus on our most timely challenges, we find bond markets struggling to make any further im...
Thu, Jan 28 2016, 5:41 PM
Stocks gained a bit of ground today. Oil prices were significantly higher--building on a strong 3-day bounce. But on both accounts, bond markets d...
Thu, Jan 28 2016, 4:42 PM
Mortgage rates moved down modestly today, but it was enough to bring them to the lowest levels seen in exactly 3 months. There were only a few days...
Wed, Jan 27 2016, 7:33 AM
Today brings one of those Fed policy announcements where we can already be reasonably sure of the outcome, but where the subtleties could still prov...
Wed, Jan 27 2016, 6:10 PM
Today's Fed announcement was decidedly more downbeat than the previous iteration and markets reacted accordingly. There was never any real chance t...
Wed, Jan 27 2016, 5:30 PM
Mortgage rates pulled off a come-from-behind victory following today's Fed Announcement. This time around, the Fed wasn't at all likely to make a...
Wed, Jan 27 2016, 2:05 PM
(NOTE: removals are struck-through and additions are underlined)
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in October Dece...
Tue, Jan 26 2016, 8:17 AM
Last week ended with bond markets looking like they were at risk of bigger, longer-term bounce back toward higher rates. The catalyst was/is the "ris...
Tue, Jan 26 2016, 5:22 PM
Bond markets held their ground today, which is quite the accomplishment considering stocks rallied. Rates and stocks have been strongly correlated...
Tue, Jan 26 2016, 5:21 PM
Mortgage rates did something they haven't done all year today. They actually improved in the face of a stock rally. In fact, it was the third be...
Mon, Jan 25 2016, 7:33 AM
This week has the potential to begin fairly slowly. Market participation will undoubtedly be affected on some level by the massive snow storm that h...
Mon, Jan 25 2016, 5:41 PM
If you don't live in the Northeast and if you don't read/watch the news, there was a big snow storm. In New York City, for instance, it was the 2nd ...
Mon, Jan 25 2016, 4:33 PM
Mortgage rates moved slightly lower today, recovering some of Friday's losses. Those losses introduced the risk that 2016's dominant trend towa...
Fri, Jan 22 2016, 7:32 AM
Enquiring minds want to know... In fact, even inquiring minds are fairly curious as to whether or not the pleasantly surprising bond market rally wil...
Fri, Jan 22 2016, 6:24 PM
Bond markets continued to do the exact same thing they've been doing all year: follow stocks/oil. Today was the first day of the year that stocks h...
Fri, Jan 22 2016, 6:02 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher at their quickest pace of 2016 today. Rates have been faithfully following the slide in equities prices, albeit at a ge...
Thu, Jan 21 2016, 7:32 AM
Historically, any time we see the biggest bouts of selling in equities markets, a conversation about "safe-haven" assets is usually not far behind. ...
Thu, Jan 21 2016, 5:29 PM
Today was the 4th day of the year that stocks closed higher than they opened. In other, far from coincidental news, it was also the 4th day of the ...
Thu, Jan 21 2016, 4:38 PM
Mortgage rates held mostly flat today, and that's an accomplishment! Lenders set mortgage rates based primarily on the prices of mortgage-backed-se...
Wed, Jan 20 2016, 7:32 AM
If you've been tuned in to any reasonable extent--and no one would blame you if you weren't--you're already well aware that Bonds have been on fire ...
Wed, Jan 20 2016, 5:36 PM
The S&P closed at its lowest level since April 2014 today and intraday prices were at their lowest levels since February 2014. If yesterday's $28/bar...
Wed, Jan 20 2016, 5:01 PM
Mortgage rates fell today , bringing them back in line with the lowest levels in more than 2 months and very near the best levels since late April 20...
Tue, Jan 19 2016, 7:32 AM
Stocks and bond yields don't always follow each other, but their correlation is not only undeniable so far in 2016, it's been the most important bond ...
Tue, Jan 19 2016, 4:54 PM
For the 3rd time this year, the S&P avoided making new intraday lows, and for the 3rd time this year, mortgage rates moved higher. I am not a fan of ...
Tue, Jan 19 2016, 3:54 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher today, but remained near the lowest levels in more than 2 months. Friday's drop was uncharacteristically sharp and put ...
Fri, Jan 15 2016, 7:32 AM
It's been an utterly hopeless week for domestic economic data so far, with nary a top tier report in sight. Not only that, but after last week's ADP ...
Fri, Jan 15 2016, 4:00 PM
What's a risk meltdown? What's a "risk market" for that matter? This is just a shorthand term for anything investors are normally buying when stoc...
Fri, Jan 15 2016, 2:56 PM
Mortgage rates surged lower at the quickest pace of the year today as stocks and oil prices continued suffering heavy losses. At present, investors...
Thu, Jan 14 2016, 7:32 AM
Sometimes all the analysis and planning in the world can't prepare you for how something actually transpires. More than a few traders had plans headi...
Thu, Jan 14 2016, 5:24 PM
Bond markets only managed to hold steady today, and it felt like the worst day of the year . There are mortgage-specific reasons for that, however, ...
Thu, Jan 14 2016, 4:54 PM
For the first time this year, mortgage rates spent the second straight day without moving any lower. While that may sound like a bad thing, it ...
Wed, Jan 13 2016, 7:33 AM
Yesterday's bond market rally came out of left field, not just for market watchers, but for market participants as well. In fact, one of the driving...
Wed, Jan 13 2016, 5:41 PM
10yr yields fell 1.4bps today and Fannie 3.0s ended the day 3/32nds better in price. Those stats could describe any bland, uneventful day for bond ...
Wed, Jan 13 2016, 4:57 PM
Mortgage rates held their ground today, keeping them near the lowest levels in more than 2 months. There were no major economic reports, but financ...
