Morning Report: Leading Indicators show strong growth ahead

Vital Statistics:

			Last	Change
S&P futures			2808	-8.25
Eurostoxx index			386.86	-18
Oil (WTI)			68.23	-0.53
10 Year Government Bond Yield				2.87%
30 Year fixed rate mortgage				4.51%

Stocks are lower as earnings continue to come in. Bonds and MBS are down.

Initial Jobless Claims fell to 207,000 last week, which is the lowest level since 1969. Despite the tightness of the labor market, wage growth is tough to come by.

I have discussed at length the disconnect between the Northeast and the rest of the country when it comes to the real estate market. It turns out that not only does the real estate market lag, so does mortgage banking. Last year was a rough year for mortgage banking, and the typical profit per loan was about 31 basis points. That varied by region, with the Midwest in the lead at 39 basis points while the Northeast lagged at 8. 

The Fed's Beige Book characterized the economy as strong, and said that labor shortages are beginning to impede growth. Engineers, skilled construction workers, truck drivers, and IT professionals are in short supply. So far increasing input prices are not translating into higher inflation - corporate margins are taking the hit. Residential housing continues to improve ever so slowly, and commercial real estate is flat. Overall, the picture points to a strong economy, with room to run. The lack of pricing pressures gives the Fed the leeway to go slow as they get off the zero bound. 

The Conference Board echoed this assessment, with the Index of Leading Economic Indicators increasing 0.5% in June. The LEI is still rising faster than the CEI (basically the future indicators are showing that growth should accelerate) which means we have no sign of a slowdown.

Kathy Kraninger, the Administration's nominee to run the CFPB, will appear before the Senate Banking Committee today. Little is known about her views on financial regulation. Congressional aides have said that she will have enough support to pass the Committee on a party-line vote. In her prepared remarks, she said she will continue Mick Mulvaney's work of balancing the need for consumer protection with the need to treat the financial sector fairly. Suffice it to say, having come from OBM, she doesn't really fit the type of bureaucrat who would normally be tapped to run the CFPB, and that may be the point. If her nomination bogs down, Mick Mulvaney can continue to run the agency.

Interesting stat: 70% of the Millennials who own a home have buyer's remorse. Many used their retirement savings to fund the down payment, which is generally a bad move. Many first time home buyers completely underestimate closing costs as well. Others underestimated the costs of upkeep, which is around $16,000 a year. I suspect many of these lessons are learned by every generation who buys their first home. 

The CoreLogic Mortgage Fraud Risk Index rose 12% in the second quarter compared to a year ago. An increase in borrowers taking on loans for multiple properties (i.e more professional investors) appeared to drive the increase.