Fri, Sep 25 2009, 1:06 PM
Weak orders for durable goods and a soft advance in new home sales have contributed to a lackluster performance in equity markets today. While a boost...
Thu, Sep 24 2009, 10:49 AM
The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 2.7% in August, pushing the annual rate to 5.10 million units from 5.24 million...
Thu, Sep 24 2009, 8:13 AM
The sharp sell-off in yesterday’s final hour hurt investor sentiment around the globe and contributed to general uncertainty about near-term prospects...
Thu, Sep 24 2009, 1:56 PM
All three equity indexes have extended yesterday’s late day weakness into today. After a modest open, the S&P is trading near the lows of the day, dow...
Wed, Sep 23 2009, 8:39 AM
Stocks are flat and the US dollar is nearing 2009 lows as the Federal Reserve prepares to release its monetary policy statement this afternoon. It’s a...
Wed, Sep 23 2009, 8:06 AM
Mortgage rates fell below 5% for the first time since mid-May last week, leading to increased appetite for refinancing, new loans, and purchases, an i...
Wed, Sep 23 2009, 4:31 PM
Upon release of an upbeat communiqué from the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee, equity indexes jumped up to 11-month highs and the dollar weake...
Wed, Sep 23 2009, 3:02 PM
When Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke called the recession “very likely over” last week, there was some talk about whether his colleagues on the ...
Tue, Sep 22 2009, 12:13 PM
The US dollar continues to weaken after a pause on Monday, boosting appetite for dollar-denominated commodities and pushing share prices up. Crude oil...
Tue, Sep 22 2009, 12:11 PM
Home prices bottomed out in the second quarter but prices are not rising as quickly as forecasters had assumed, an industry survey said Tuesday.
T...
Tue, Sep 22 2009, 8:29 AM
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee begins its two-day monetary policy meeting today. Investors expect policy to remain accommodative well int...
Mon, Sep 21 2009, 11:21 AM
Following a downturn in equity markets across the globe, US stocks opened sharply lower on Monday morning. A fifth straight advance in the Leading Eco...
Mon, Sep 21 2009, 8:30 AM
Equity markets across the globe are in sell-mode this morning, leading the US futures market to point to a lower opening while the US dollar is showin...
Fri, Sep 18 2009, 12:54 PM
The main headline this morning doesn’t come from the markets, which are mixed on light trading, but from the Treasury, which closed its guarantee on m...
Fri, Sep 18 2009, 10:28 AM
Officials from four federal departments and agencies and attorneys general of 12 states met in Washington on Thursday to discuss what was termed an "e...
Fri, Sep 18 2009, 8:24 AM
Take a glance at the schedule and you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a holiday. No data from the US is will hit markets all day, nor are there Tr...
Fri, Sep 18 2009, 4:02 PM
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today announced several significant policy changes that are intended to improve the housing agency's exposure...
Fri, Sep 18 2009, 1:43 PM
The government agency protecting mortgage lenders against losses has been burning through its liquidity as it attempts to stem the rising tide of fore...
Thu, Sep 17 2009, 12:54 PM
Mixed housing and labor reports caused equity markets to flounder on Thursday morning. Early gains were given up, and after a second climb appeared to...
Thu, Sep 17 2009, 9:43 AM
The total number of housing starts came in at 598k, just 2k below the consensus forecast. But, rather than being driven by single-family starts, the n...
Thu, Sep 17 2009, 8:08 AM
Equity futures are pointing up this morning as investors hope to keep the rally going for a fourth straight day. Since Monday the S&P 500 has gained 3...
Thu, Sep 17 2009, 5:56 PM
The goal of the Federal Reserve's agency MBS program is to provide support to mortgage and housing markets and to foster improved conditions in financ...
Thu, Sep 17 2009, 2:28 PM
While the level of new delinquencies on residential mortgage loans has stabilized, the size of the “foreclosure pipeline” continues to grow. Accordin...
Thu, Sep 17 2009, 1:19 PM
Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended September 17 reported the third consecutive week of lower rates for fixed rate mortgag...
Wed, Sep 16 2009, 9:17 AM
Mortgage rates increased slightly last week but still remain at historically low rates. Even so, demand for mortgages, refinancing, and purchases all ...
Wed, Sep 16 2009, 8:25 AM
For the second day in a row, markets began with a rough start yesterday but made steady climbs throughout the afternoon and ended on positive tones. T...
Wed, Sep 16 2009, 3:26 PM
HR 3146, passed the House of Representatives on a voice vote Tuesday afternoon. The bill permits flexability in hiring and compensating staff, provide...
Wed, Sep 16 2009, 1:54 PM
Stocks are higher again today, marking gains in eight out of the last nine trading sessions. A boost to industrial production and a tame inflation rep...
Tue, Sep 15 2009, 12:58 PM
Retail sales posted their strongest monthly gain in three years and other fresh news was mostly supportive of growth in the third quarter, but market ...
Tue, Sep 15 2009, 8:26 AM
A slow and steady climb from a poor opening helped US equity markets close on a positive note yesterday, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.63% to a new 11-mo...
Mon, Sep 14 2009, 8:34 AM
The week begins on a light note with no major data scheduled for release. However, one week ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meeti...
Mon, Sep 14 2009, 2:04 PM
With no fresh data to trade on, US equity markets took a cue from global exchanges and opened lower this morning. Leading up to the day’s key event, a...
Fri, Sep 11 2009, 8:27 AM
The benchmark S&P 500 has gained 52% since early March and investors continue to be optimistic about buying equities. The last five days have seen con...
Fri, Sep 11 2009, 1:38 PM
As of 12:30, all three markets had fallen into the negative, albeit modestly. The Nasdaq is down 0.46% to 2,074, the Dow is trading 0.38% lower at 9,5...
Fri, Sep 11 2009, 1:34 PM
Fitch Ratings has released the criteria by which it rates Servicers' Advance Receivables Trusts (SARTs); a derivative based on the recovery by a servi...
Thu, Sep 10 2009, 12:50 PM
In late August, Wall Street was worried that the March to August run-up in equity prices had become overheated, but since September 2 the Dow has adde...
Thu, Sep 10 2009, 8:24 AM
US stock markets are looking for a flat open after the S&P 500 moved up 0.78% yesterday, but prices could change quickly depending on the outcome of t...
Thu, Sep 10 2009, 1:04 PM
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported that average interest rates edged down during the most recent weeks for which data is available.
Accordi...
Wed, Sep 9 2009, 9:56 AM
Fitch Ratings has projected a dramatic increase in defaults among some $189 billion in Option ARM mortgages as 88 percent of these recast by the end o...
Wed, Sep 9 2009, 8:50 AM
It’s another day of slow economic news but, unlike yesterday, US markets are looking down, potentially ending three days of gains. Globally, European ...
Wed, Sep 9 2009, 8:27 AM
Demand for mortgage loans and refinancing surged last week, spurred by a drop in mortgage rates, an industry survey said. Purchases also saw the large...
Wed, Sep 9 2009, 3:40 PM
Rep. Barney Frank has warned loan servicers that their performance is increasing chances that cram down legislation will pass. At the same time, a Tr...
Wed, Sep 9 2009, 1:32 PM
Despite a slow open, equity markets have been quietly climbing higher on Wednesday, helped out by a series of minor but positive headlines that are bo...
Tue, Sep 8 2009, 8:23 AM
Extending on two days of gains before the long weekend, equity futures are looking higher on Tuesday with the benchmark S&P a full 1% up. Globally, eq...
Tue, Sep 8 2009, 2:21 PM
Markets are moving sideways in what has been a slow day day on Wall Street. After having digested nonfarm payroll cutbacks over the long weekend, inv...
Fri, Sep 4 2009, 8:16 AM
The decline in July’s nonfarm payrolls was the smallest in 11 months, so the Employment Situation report for August should bring optimism to markets s...
Fri, Sep 4 2009, 2:40 PM
The Commission of the FHA responded this morning to an article in the Wall Street Journal that stated the agency was nearing the trigger point mandate...
Thu, Sep 3 2009, 8:21 AM
Looking ahead to today, the key releases concern the labor market and consumer spending, two areas crucial to any hopes of a V-shaped recovery. So whi...
Thu, Sep 3 2009, 6:14 PM
The Federal Reserve today reported on their weekly purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS). In the five trading days between August 27 an...
Thu, Sep 3 2009, 4:57 PM
According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended September 3, most mortgage rates declined from the week before. Fannie M...
