Morning Report: Small business confidence remains strong

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2372.0	1.0
Eurostoxx Index	374.3	1.1
Oil (WTI)	48.3	-0.2
US dollar index	91.7
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.60%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	101.03
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	102.5
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	4.21

Stocks are flat this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are flat as well.

Should be a quiet day in the markets as the FOMC meeting begins and most of the Northeast gets buried with snow. 

Inflation remains tame at the wholesale level, as the producer price index rose at 0.3% MOM and 2.2% YOY. Ex food and energy, the index rose 0.3% and 1.5%. The core index was up 0.3% and 1.8% MOM / YOY respectively. 

Small Business optimism slipped in February, but remains close to 43 year highs, according to the NFIB. Optimism on the regulatory front, along with the potential for tax reform drove the increase. The job openings component of the index hit levels not seen since 2000, and a tight labor market is squeezing margins for business owners who don't yet have to confidence to pass on those increased costs to customers. Small businesses continue to report higher sales, and we are beginning to see businesses invest in plant and equipment, something that has been dormant since 2007. 

CoreLogic takes a look at the foreclosure crisis 10 years on. A total of 7.8 million homes were lost to foreclosure, and at the peak of the crisis, there was 1.5 million foreclosed homes in inventory. 

The Congressional Budget Office scored the GOP's healthcare plan yesterday. It basically is as expected: cheaper and covers less people. A few GOP defections in the Senate will kill it.