A place where economics, financial markets, and real estate intersect.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Morning Report - Mel Watt is speaking at the MBA conference today

Vital Statistics:

Last Change Percent
S&P Futures  1879.1 -1.9 -0.10%
Eurostoxx Index 2930.4 -31.8 -1.07%
Oil (WTI) 83.08 0.3 0.40%
LIBOR 0.231 0.001 0.26%
US Dollar Index (DXY) 85.1 -0.013 -0.02%
10 Year Govt Bond Yield 2.19% -0.01%  
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA 104.9 0.1
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA 103.8 0.1
BankRate 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage 3.95

Markets are lower this morning after IBM withdrew its 2015 forecast. Bonds and MBS are up small. 

Earnings will dominate the week. Tonight we will hear from mortgage REIT CYS investments. Later this week homebuilder PulteGroup will report, along with more regional banks. Apple will report after the close today. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association Conference will be going on today and tomorrow. Secondary desks and dealers will probably be understaffed until Thursday. 

Mel Watt is expected today to unveil new measures to increase access to credit in the mortgage market this week. The biggest one is a new Fannie Mae product for the first time homebuyer with a 3% down payment. Another is a program which gives the first time homebuyer a break on mortgage insurance if they go through a counseling program. FHFA is also expected to make some clarifications regarding buyback risk. 

Why were US stocks rocked so violently last week on European weakness? Remember the old adage - during a crisis, you sell what you can, not what you want to. US stocks remain the most liquid risk asset. On a side note, almost $1 trillion worth of Treasuries traded on Wednesday last week, a record. That is looking more and more like the big capitulation trade and should be the top of the bond market for a while. 

No comments:

Post a Comment