| Last | Change | |
| S&P Futures | 2324.5 | -19.5 |
| Eurostoxx Index | 374.0 | -1.3 |
| Oil (WTI) | 47.62 | -0.35 |
| US dollar index | 89.4 | |
| 10 Year Govt Bond Yield | 2.35% | |
| Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA | 102.06 | |
| Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA | 103.32 | |
| 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage | 4.17 |
Stocks are lower after the Trump reflation trade is being unwound. Bonds and MBS are up.
Not much in the way of data this week - probably the biggest number is the final revision to Q4 GDP on Thursday. We will have a lot of Fed-speak however.
The Republican House couldn't agree on a replacement for Obamacare and pulled the vote. This puts Trump's planned infrastructure spend and tax cuts in jeopardy as reduced spending on healthcare was the pay-for. That said, tax reform will probably be easier as there is bipartisan agreement that the current corporate tax structure isn't really working for anyone. Tougher will be individual tax reform, where Republicans want to lower rates in exchange for reduced deductions. The mortgage interest deduction will stay, but the deduction for state and local taxes may not.
Even though the markets are re-adjusting their forecasts for fiscal stimulus, central bankers still seem committed to getting off the zero bound. Amidst all the furor in the US over the last month, Europeans have completely re-assessed what they think the ECB is going to do, taking the implied probability of a rate hike by the end of the year from a long shot to a coin toss.
In the aftermath of the Obamacare vote, the next thing to watch for is whether the regional Fed banks and strategists start taking down their estimates for 2017 GDP. Remember, the Fed's forecast of 2-3 hikes this year was predicated on fiscal stimulus, which now looks less likely.
Treasuries remain under some selling pressure as Japanese fund managers sell. Note that speculative short positions in Treasuries were pretty high going into this defeat on healthcare, so interest rates may be pushed lower as hedge funds unwind the trade. Not sure how long that lasts, but this is good news for homebuyers entering the Spring selling season.
Home prices are just shy of their 2006 peak, according to the Black Knight Financial Services Home Price Index. In December, they rose 0.1% MOM and 5.7% YOY. The report has a good state-by-state analysis too.
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