Morning Report: Slow news week

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2422.0	-0.5
Eurostoxx Index	381.1	0.0
Oil (WTI)	43.9	-0.4
US dollar index	88.4	0.1
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.37%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	102.88
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	103.75
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	4.05

Stocks and bonds are flattish this morning on no real news. 

The week after the jobs report is usually pretty data-light, and this week is no exception. We will have a lot of Fed Speak however. 

The Labor Market Conditions Index slipped in May, but is still reasonably strong. 

Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment index matched a record set last February. The number of people who say it is a good time to sell hit a record, which confirms what we already know, that it is a seller's market. Lenders think credit is going to ease somewhat over the next few months. The survey also showed that people are more confident in their personal financial situations and are less worried about losing their jobs. 

Washington has noticed the shortage of appraisers and is looking to find ways to address the issue. While appraisals are not at the top of the list for Dodd-Frank reform, they are beginning to be discussed, along with the role the Federal government has in the business. One of the ideas being considered involves reducing some of the duplicative educational requirements.

Deutsche Bank is warning investors over frothy equity market valuations as the world's central banks reverse course. They note that the ratio of stock market capitalization to GDP is approaching the peaks set in 2000 and 2008. I would counter that central banks worldwide are going from a posture of "ludicrous easing" to "ridiculous easing." Short term real interest rates are still negative in most of the world. In the US, the core inflation rate is anywhere from 1.5% - 2%, depending on what index you use. All US rates are below that range out to 3 years. So, even if the Fed hikes the Fed Funds rate another 50 basis points, we are still in negative territory. So, while you can characterize what the Fed is doing as "tightening," that really only indicates a direction. On a scale of 1 to 10 we are going from 9.9 to 9.8. 

We know that a shortage of skilled construction workers and lots are hampering homebuilding. Now, it looks like sticks and bricks are an issue as well. 21% of the builders surveyed in the NAHB homebuilder survey cite a shortage of framing lumber. The spot price of framing lumber is up about 10% YOY. 

Morning Report: Treasury releases its initial report on financial regulatory reform

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2431.8	5.3
Eurostoxx Index	388.7	2.1
Oil (WTI)	45.9	-0.2
US dollar index	88.4	-0.1
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.22%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	103.47
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	104.33
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	3.93

Stocks are higher as the Fed begins its 2-day FOMC meeting. Bonds and MBS are down small. 

Producer prices were flat last month on a MOM basis and are up 2.4% YOY. The core rate is up 2.1%, which is more or less in line with the Fed's target. Note this index measures inflation at the wholesale level, not the consumer level which is what the Fed focuses on. 

Small Business Optimism was flat in May and is still much higher post-election. Small businesses expect to make additional hires and increase capital spending, though earnings trends are still net negative. How about this? The net hiring activity (.34 workers per firm) is close to a 43 year high. The report shows that small businesses are increasing compensation to retain and attract workers, although finding quality, qualified workers is a problem - the second biggest one. Taxes and regulation were #1 and #3. A year ago, taxes and regulation were #1 and #2, with poor sales coming at #3. It looks like wage inflation is building at long last, which is exactly what the economy needs, although it will concern the Fed somewhat. 

A better economy means lower delinquencies. 30-60 day DQs dropped down to 2000 levels, while LT DQs fell to a 10year low. 

Last night the Trump Administration released its report on core principles for financial regulatory reform. Any changes to the regulatory system will be generally slow, as rule changes require comment periods and coordination between the different agencies. The Treasury Department principles don't necessarily eliminate the Obama Administration's regulatory regime, but they sand down some of the more sharp edges and attempt to eliminate some of the unintended consequences. Ultimately, ending regulation by enforcement action will go a long way towards increasing capital availability. Needless to say, Democrats are panning the report, however that could be just partisan boilerplate posturing. The need to ease the regulatory burden on small banks is a bipartisan view. Changing the Volcker rule regarding proprietary trading is a different animal, as are changes to CRA enforcement and the CFPB. 

Speaking of regulation, iServe Chief Communications Officer Mike Macari and I penned an article for the California MBA discussing regulation and how it is inhibiting housing growth. When regulatory costs tack on an extra 30% to the price of a starter home, it is difficult to make that starter home affordable for someone in their 20s or early 30s. I have said it before: the difference between 2% GDP growth and 3% GDP growth (or the difference between a "meh" economy and a boom) is housing starts. Starts should be around 2 million per year, and we are barely half that. Home construction employs a lot of people and generates a lot of ancillary jobs as well. 

Morning Report: Job openings hit a record high

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2428.3	-6.3
Eurostoxx Index	389.5	-2.6
Oil (WTI)	47.4	-0.1
US dollar index	88.1
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.15%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	102.6
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	103.81
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	3.9

Definitely a risk-off feel this morning as we head into the UK elections, James Comey's testimony, and the ECB meeting later in the week. Bonds and MBS are up as we begin the Fed blackout period with the the 10 year bond yielding around 2.15%.

Job openings hit a record of 6 million, according to the JOLTs job openings survey. The quits rate was flat at 2.1%. The quits rate is the most important number in this report (every FOMC statement will reference it) as it is a harbinger for future wage growth. Overall, it shows that there is strong demand for employees, however there is still a mismatch between what employers want and what is available. The reservoir of the long-term unemployed will probably continue to keep a lid on wage growth, however we are seeing wage inflation in certain disciplines that are in low supply (mainly skilled labor).

The Trump reflation trade looks dead and the 10 year bond yield looks to be heading back to pre-election levels. If you look at a Fibonacci chart of the 10 year yield, pretty much all the support levels have been broken. 

The death of the Trump Reflation Trade is affecting economic confidence as well, at least according to the Gallup US Economic Confidence Index. It is still well above pre-election levels and historical norms but it has given back a lot of the post-election froth. Trump is ready to pivot to infrastructure spending, and the Democrats have historically wanted to spend on infrastructure as well, however they philosophically don't like the fact that much of this uses the private capital and prefer to use direct government spending on their priorities like mass transit. Given that mass transit is almost entirely a blue-state phenomenon, that is going to get very little interest from Red state Republicans. Maybe there is some common ground, but it is going to hard to find. 

Case in point: Many want to see high speed rail in the US. Fine, but when airlines are offering $50 fares, it is going to be impossible to compete. Note that Donald Trump proposed to privatize air traffic control, in order to get private capital to spend the money to update the system. 

Home prices rose 6.9% last month according to the CoreLogic Home Price Index. Rents increased 3%. Scarcity remains the biggest issue driving home price appreciation, as lower mortgage rates have fed a buying frenzy. The West continues to lead the charge. 

Despite the Fed rate hikes, financial conditions are the loosest in 3 years. Definitely a disconnect is going on between Fed intentions and actual market behavior. 

Regulatory reform is probably going to be smaller for the financial sector than imagined. After spending billions to come into compliance with Dodd Frank, banks are loath to see a new regulatory regime. 

Morning Report: Regulatory relief proposals

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2329.3	-1.8
Eurostoxx Index	380.6	-1.3
Oil (WTI)	52.8	-0.3
US dollar index	89.9
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.22%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	102.78
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	104
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	3.98

Stock futures are largely flat this morning as many overseas investors are on holiday. Bonds and MBS are flat as well. 

Bond yields have broken decisively to the downside over the past week as international tensions escalate. North Korea's failed missile launch, combined with developments in Syria have sent bonds and gold higher. The 10 year yield is at the lowest level since mid-November. 

While international tensions have certainly played a part in the bond rally, weak retail sales and inflation data have as well. The Fed Funds futures are now factoring a less-than-50% probability of a June rate hike, down from a 2/3 probability only a week ago. 

Business conditions softened in New York State last month after the Empire State Manufacturing Survey fell after two unusually strong months. We are starting to see bottlenecks in the supply chain. Employment rose.

Homebuilder sentiment slipped slightly in April, however sentiment remains strong. 

Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan took aim at regulations in his annual letter to stockholders. He was especially critical of the FHA's use of the False Claims Act to hammer lenders who commit unintentional clerical errors but had no intention of committing fraud. This has caused FHA lending (which is the only game in town for subprime borrowers) to become restricted, especially at the big banks. He also called for new uniform standards for mortgage servicing. The cost of servicing delinquent loans has skyrocketed, and this has caused lenders to further restrict credit. JPM estimates that $1 trillion in additional lending could have increased GDP by half a percentage point. 

Rep David Kustoff penned an editorial at CNBC calling for a reform of Dodd-Frank, especially in how it affects smaller community banks. The regulatory burden that was imposed on the system is more easily borne by the JP Morgans and the Wells Fargos of the world than it is by the smaller banks who are the lenders to small business. There is a general bipartisan consensus in DC that something needs to be done to give the smaller lenders some relief, however the political environment is so entrenched and partisan that it is hard to imagine much getting done legislatively. 

The MBA sent its proposals to the Senate. The first one includes a request for more clarity from the CFPB, while the second includes a suggestion to widen the QM safe harbor to all loans that satisfy the QM rule and to increase the ceiling for small loan status under QM to $200k from just over $100k now. The remainder of the suggestions largely concern capital requirements for banks and servicing.

Median house prices rose 7.5% to $273,000 according to RedFin. Sales growth was also up a strong 8.9%. Inventories were down 13%, however. The typical home went under contract within 49 days, which is pretty fast for a March. The average sale to list price was 93.7%, which was a decrease. Perhaps the bidding wars in the hottest markets are cooling off a bit. Note this statement by a real estate agent: 

“As a seller’s agent, the first thing I do when I receive an offer is ask who the lender is. The best offers come from buyers who are pre-approved by a local lender with a strong reputation for speed and reliability. If I’ve worked with the lender before and know they can fund the loan and close on time, I am sure to highlight that for my client.” — Tiffany Aquino, Redfin Agent in Woodbridge, VA

The Fed is assembling its plan to shrink its portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage backed securities, and may actually begin the process this year. The Fed currently owns just under $2 trillion in mortgage backed securities, and we could see that number cut in half over the next decade, according to a paper released in January. The big question for MBS holders is whether they will stop reinvesting maturing proceeds all at once or whether they will phase that in. Given that QE didn't materially affect MBS spreads when it was implemented, it is hard to imaging tapering re-investments will make much of a difference either. 

Morning Report: New home sales surprise to the upside

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2346.3	3.8
Eurostoxx Index	375.2	1.1
Oil (WTI)	47.5	-0.7
US dollar index	90.0
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.40%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	102.22
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	103.45
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	4.17

Stocks are up this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are up small. 

Initial Jobless Claims came in at 258k, a small uptick from the week before. This is a 7 week high, but still very low historically. 

New Home Sales rose to 592k, higher than expectations. New home sales are approaching historical normalcy, however they are well lower than what is needed to meet pent-up demand and population growth. There are currently 266,000 homes for sale This represents a 5.4 month supply. 

Congress and Donald Trump are making last minute changes to the replacement for Obamacare in an attempt to swing conservatives who feel the bill doesn't go far enough. Democrats are united in opposition. Dealing with healthcare (and the future spending cuts it entails) lays the groundwork for infrastructure spending and tax reform. This in turn will affect the bond market, so progress on healthcare = higher interest rates, at least at the margin. 

As the bond market re-adjusts its expectations for fiscal stimulus, longer - term rates have been falling, which means the yield curve is flattening. This is generally bad news for stocks. Know who it is good for? Borrowers who have adjustable rate mortgages and want the certainty of a 30 year fixed rate payment. ARMs reset based on short term rates, which the Fed is moving upward. As the curve flattens, the relative attractiveness of 30 year fixed rates versus ARMs increases. The other big opportunity is refinancing older FHA loans which have built up sufficient equity to go into a conventional loan. There are still refi opportunities even in a rising rate environment. 

Prepayment speeds (i.e. refinance activity) are down 40% YTD according to Black Knight Financial Services. Delinquencies are down to 4.21%, a drop of .98% MOM and 5.51% YOY. Foreclosure starts fell 18% MOM and are down 37% YOY to just over 57,000. The Deep South remains the area hardest hit by foreclosures, while the Northeast saw the biggest improvement, with New Jersey and New York leading the way. 

House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling says that reforming Dodd-Frank remains a 2016 priority. Meanwhile, the bankers are adjusting their expectations for any changes. Getting any reform through the Senate is going to be a difficult job to say the least and will require bipartisan support. 

Ray Dalio of Bridgewater has a long paper on populism and how it may affect the economy more than monetary or fiscal policy. Populism has been largely dormant since the 1930s, but seems to be expressing itself in developed countries as well as emerging ones. 

Morning Report: Confidence up, affordability down

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2291.5	5.0
Eurostoxx Index	363.3	1.7
Oil (WTI)	52.7	-0.4
US dollar index	90.9	0.6
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.43%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	102.1
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	103.2
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	4.13

Stocks are up this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are down small. 

Job openings were largely unchanged MOM at 5.5 million, according to the BLS's JOLTS report. On a year-over-year basis, they were up 4.2%. Hires ticked up slightly, while separations fell. The quits rate ticked down to 2.0% from 2.1% in November and 2.2% last year. This will give some comfort to bond investors as well as the Fed, as an increase in the quits rate usually leads an increase in wage growth. 

Home prices rose 0.8% MOM and are up 7.2% YOY according to CoreLogic. They foresee a deceleration of home price appreciation in 2017, with a 4.7% increase. The action was in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, with Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Colorado, and Utah leading the charge. Here is a map of the overvalued (red) and undervalued (green) MSAs:

Rising home prices and mortgage rates have hit affordability, which is the lowest in 7 years, when you use the metric of mortgage payment on the median house to median income ratio. Much of the hit took place towards the end of last year as as rates spiked post-election. Tight inventory is driving the price increases, not incomes, which means current prices are vulnerable if wages don't increase. Eventually builders will start more construction, but as of now they are still holding back. 

Economic confidence improved last week according to the Gallup Economic Confidence Index. January was the highest month since 2008. More people are feeling engaged at work, but future expectations drove the index. Despite all the sturm and drang out of Washington, Americans are shrugging it off. Other indices like the VIX, as well as gold prices (despite what the article below says) are confirming this. Separately, Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index improved two points last month. Most notable in that survey: the net share of people reporting significantly higher household income growth in the past 12 month increased by 5 percentage points. Also, bankruptcy filings are the lowest since 2006. 

On the other hand, Washington insiders and journalists (especially) are not feeling that way. Donald Trump has upset the traditional way things are done, and that has a lot of pros spooked. That said, I think creating a confidence index based on the use of the word "uncertainty" in business articles speaks more towards the predilections of journalists than it does to the markets as a whole. 

Fixing Dodd-Frank will take some time, along with repealing and replacing Obamacare. Democrats are vowing to go to the mattresses on both, although I think Obamacare will be where the war is going to be fought. As I have said before, I suspect there is enough bipartisan agreement to do something on Dodd-Frank, at least with regards to small bank regulation. Reforming the CFPB is expected to cleave down partisan lines, although the Courts may be forcing Congress's hand there. Much of the change is going to be done non-legislatively, in how the agencies interpret and enforce the law. Democratic Party priorities like disclosing the pay difference between CEOs and the rank and file are simply going to go by the wayside. 

Rob Chrisman mentioned iServe in this morning's blog, talking about our own John McDade's VA tour, where he visits our branches and talks about what a great product the VA loan is. 

Morning Report: Donald Trump orders a review of Dodd-Frank

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2286.0	-5.0
Eurostoxx Index	362.3	-1.8
Oil (WTI)	53.7	-0.2
US dollar index	90.6	0.2
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.42%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	102.1
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	103.2
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	4.19

Stocks are lower this morning as credit spreads widen in Europe. Bonds and MBS are up.

The week after the jobs report is usually data-light and this week is no exception. We have no data this morning, and about the only report of consequence is the JOLTs job opening report tomorrow. All eyes will be on the quits rate, which has been pretty steady. An increase would signal wage inflation ahead. 

Goldman strategists are beginning to re-think their initial bullishness on the Trump administration. Instead of tackling things like tax reform, he is spending his energy on immigration and trade. There is a realization that gridlock is going to be the norm for the next two years, and that means no big, sweeping changes. Regulatory relief is still possible, but bureaucrats seem to be preparing to push back against major changes in direction. So the "Trump effect" could end up being a lot smaller than investors (and the Fed) were thinking a month ago. Which means the Fed has more room to be cautious.

MBS investors are beginning to worry about what happens to MBS when the Fed stops re-investing maturing proceeds from its QE portfolio. After all, the Fed has been the biggest buyer of MBS paper. Will the lower demand for mortgage backed securities translate into higher mortgage rates, even if the 10 year goes nowhere? It is possible, however take a look at the chart below: I plotted the 10 year yield and the 30 year mortgage rate, with the difference between the two (the spread) below. The two blue shaded regions were QE1, 2 and 3. The green line didn't really move all that much during QE. MBS spreads are about where they were prior to QE. Since the Fed isn't entertaining selling bonds, just not buying them anymore, the pre-QE level of something like 167 basis points is about right. Right now, the spread is 177 basis points, which probably represents some of the lag you see in mortgage rates versus Treasuries. My point is that MBS spreads vary over time, but they have historically been around these levels. I can't see MBS spreads making or breaking a homebuying decision. They just aren't that significant. 

On Friday, Donald Trump signed an executive order which directed a review of Dodd-Frank. There were the expected breathless headlines in the business press (with a stroke of a pen, Donald Trump eliminates Dodd-Frank, he's "gutting" Dodd-Frank), however this is just a "review and report back to me" order. A full repeal of Dodd-Frank would be impossible, and probably would not be supported by the industry: after all, they have spent the past 6 years getting compliant with D-F and the last thing they want to do is have to adopt some new system. The unintended consequences will be addressed, but the structure will probably remain in place. These will turn out to be addressing the CFPB and small banking regulation in order to get credit flowing for smaller borrowers, addressing the Volcker rule to encourage market making, and the fiduciary rule, which many financial advisors interpret as a gag order and a limitation of the investment options menu. What does this mean for the mortgage business? Probably not much, although the biggest potential is in an easing of CFPB enforcement and an increase in mortgage products as the private label securitization market returns. 

Morning Report: Decent Jobs Report

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2281.3	4.5
Eurostoxx Index	364.1	2.2
Oil (WTI)	53.8	0.2
US dollar index	90.6	0.1
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.47%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	102.1
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	103.2
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	4.19

Stocks are up after a decent jobs report. Bonds and MBS are up as well.

Jobs report data dump:

• Nonfarm payrolls up 227,000
• 2 month prior revision down 39,000
• Unemployment rate 4.8%
• Underemployment rate 9.4%
• Labor force participation rate 62.9%
• Average hourly earnings up 0.2% MOM / up 2.5% YOY

Overall, a pretty decent report. Payrolls were much better than expectations, although the downward revision of 40,000 to November offset that somewhat. The employment to population ratio ticked up from 59.7 to 59.9, which is something the Fed pays close attention to. The year-over-year increase in wages took a step back, but part of that is due to very strong January 2016 number which fell off the YOY comparison. In terms of industries, we saw big increases in construction and retail. The oil patch is hiring again as well. In some ways this was a Goldilocks type report: strong enough to make the stock market happy, and weak enough in wage growth to keep bonds from selling off. 

The ISM non-manufacturing index took a step back in January from December's strong pace. Factory orders increased 1.3%. 

President Trump has ordered a comprehensive review of Dodd-Frank and suspended Obama's fiduciary rule executive order which was to take effect in April. The goal of the review is to remove regulatory burdens to the financial industry and to increase investor options, according to an administration official. Areas of focus include reforming the CFPB, the Volcker rule, and the fiduciary order. Critics claim that the CFPB is restricting credit, the Volcker rule is restricting liquidity in the markets, and the fiduciary rule amounts to a gag order for retirement advisors. 

US CEOs are meeting with Donald Trump today, as the relationship between the two becomes more tenuous. The problems are twofold. First, the left is organizing boycotts on any company associated with the Trump administration, while culminated in Uber's CEO resigning from Trump's business panel after the #deleteUber campaign. Second, fears of immigration limits are worrying many, particularly in the tech space. Finally Trump's naming and shaming of companies via Twitter is causing uncertainty as well. 

Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about the future of the labor market and the business world's continued move towards outsourcing, even within the US. Companies like Pratt and Whitney are now using UPS to handle parts of the logistics chain that used to be done by Pratt and Whitney employees. This obviously gives the company more flexibility and they don't have to deal with the HR issues of hiring and firing. Temporary worker agencies continue to grow and allows companies to have "just in time" employee management. Accenture sees a future where the only full time employees at some companies are C-level: the rest will be temps. I wonder if it will work out the way these companies imagine however. Once these agencies control vast parts of the company's operations, the agency will be able to hold up a company for higher rates the way unions used to hold up companies for higher wages. 

Freddie Mac has a somewhat gloomy outlook for origination next year, forecasting a drop of 25% from 2016's level of $2 trillion in origination. They see the 30 year mortgage rate averaging 4.4% and total home sales falling from 6 million to 5.75 million. House price growth is expected to moderate to 4.7% from 6%. Freddie Mac is baking in some possibility of expansionary fiscal policy coming out of Washington, especially with respect to tax reform, where an increase in the standard deduction will reduce the incentive to itemize and reduce the subsidy from the mortgage interest deduction. They do point out that increases in interest rates have been generally short-lived over the past 8 years as slow global growth and excess savings find their way into the bond market. Freddie Mac caveats this outlook with the fact that the new administration provides a lot of uncertainty. FWIW, it is looking like it will take 60 votes to get anything done in the Senate, which means a fiscal status quo. That will likely mean only 2 hikes in 2017, not 3. Rates may not be going up as much as people think.

You can see the refinanceable population has decreased significantly as rates have risen:

The CFPB had another setback in the PHH case. 

Morning Report: Potential Dodd-Frank reforms

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change
S&P Futures	2164.5	3.0
Eurostoxx Index	338.2	0.7
Oil (WTI)	42.7	-0.7
US dollar index	90.2	0.5
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.20%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	103
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	104
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	3.89

Stocks are up modestly this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are up again.

No economic data this morning, but we will have some Fed-speak in the afternoon. 

About $1.2 trillion in wealth was wiped out in the bond market last week as yields soared in response to the Trump victory. The yield on Treasuries increased by 37 basis points last week. Bonds are reacting to (a) the potential inflation from a big infrastructure spending program, and (b) the potential for reduced trade and increased protectionism. Yields are now at highs we haven't seen since January. 

Richmond Fed President Jeff Lacker said that if Trump enacts a large fiscal stimulus plan, it might cause the Fed to move faster than the markets anticipate. Lacker will be a voting member in 2018.

One of the first jobs the new administration will tackle is to reform Dodd-Frank. The biggest piece of that will be to reform the CFPB, by making it subject to the Congressional appropriation process and to replace a single director with a bipartisan board. Banking stocks have been rallying since the election. Other rules would center around capital requirements and stress tests, which would mainly affect the smaller banks that don't have massive derivatives portfolios or international operations, in an attempt to ease the regulatory burden on them. Democrats might attempt to filibuster any reform if it goes too far, but there probably is enough common ground in the Senate to make some sort of reform possible. 

Could Donald Trump end up facing the nemesis of Bill Clinton's first administration - the bond vigilante? Certainly if you take his promises at face value: a big uptick in spending with a massive tax cut, then you might see the creature that has been in hibernation since the early 90s resurface. 

Morning Report - Liquidity squeezes ahead

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change	Percent
S&P Futures	2120.7	-1.2	-0.06%
Eurostoxx Index	3675.4	-11.2	-0.30%
Oil (WTI)	50.25	0.1	0.20%
LIBOR	0.292	0.005	1.66%
US Dollar Index (DXY)	97.88	-0.151	-0.15%
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.39%	0.02%
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	103.6	-0.2
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	102.9	-0.2
BankRate 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	4.16

Markets are lower this morning as earning pile in. Bonds and MBS are down small.

Dodd-Frank has severely neutered the market-making function of the banking system. When the Fed starts tightening and bonds sell off, the natural buyers of bonds (primary dealer banks) will no longer be able to dampen the moves by standing on the other side of the trade. The Fed is unconcerned about this, but we shall see what happens when rates start going up and the bond market starts falling faster than they are comfortable with. 

Incidentally, Hillary will probably be forced to support a financial transactions tax, which is a tax on market-making as well. Basically it would slap a  tax on every stock trade, currency trade, and bond trade. Narrowing bid / ask spreads and a 90% drop in commission rates has basically eliminated the market-making functions (NASDAQ market makers, the specialists on the NYSE floor, block trading at banks) in the stock market. Machines are all that is left, and even they are not in the market-stabilization business. The next crash, they are going to suspend trading until things stabilize and there will be nothing but GTC (good till cancelled) buy orders for people to sell to. Washington should be careful what it wishes for. 

As China's economy cools off, and the US dollar rallies, we have seen commodities get absolutely slammed. Oil has been cut in half over the past year. Gold is in free-fall. Natural Gas is down big. This will keep a lid on inflation, and allow the Fed to keep rates lower longer. 

Everyone knows that Chinese money has been behind the building boom in many large cities. This is actually driven by policy. Chinese investors who invest $500,000 and can prove that their investment created at least 10 jobs (not hard to do on a construction project) get permanent green cards. These are typically wealthy Chinese investors who are trying to get green cards for their kids and are not all that concerned about return on investment, which means dirt cheap financing for developers. Now, the government is thinking of making some changes. Obama would like these investors to put money in low-income housing, not luxury condos. Also, abuses in the program have led other to question it altogether. The program has bipartisan support so it probably isn't going anywhere, but when you use policy as an economic lever you invariably create dislocations and marginal projects that don't make economic sense. Something to watch. 

Morning Report - Dodd-Frank 5 years on..

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change	Percent
S&P Futures	2120.3	1.5	0.07%
Eurostoxx Index	3701.6	31.3	0.85%
Oil (WTI)	50.82	-0.1	-0.14%
LIBOR	0.292	0.005	1.66%
US Dollar Index (DXY)	97.9	0.042	0.04%
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.37%	0.02%
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	103.8	0.2
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	103.1	0.2
BankRate 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	4.17

Stocks are higher this morning after Greece made a payment to the ECB and re-opened its banks. Bonds and MBS are down small.

There is very little data this week - nothing today and tomorrow. We will get existing home sales on Wednesday and new home sales on Friday. Earnings season is in full swing and we will hear from heavyweights like Apple and IBM this week. Now that Greece and Chinese stocks seem to be stabilizing, I could see a gentle drift up in interest rates throughout the week. 

Good housing numbers out of Census on Friday, with housing starts hitting 1.17 million and building permits hitting 1.34 million. Building Permits have risen by 200 units or so over the past two months, which portends an end to the tight supply we have been seeing in many real estate markets, which is causing bidding wars in some areas. The big improvement is largely in the Northeast, where permits are finally surpassing the levels in the West. 

Chart: Building Permits: 1990 - Present

Interview with Chris Dodd and Barney Frank on Dodd-Frank 5 years later. Short summary: Dodd Frank is damn near perfect. A counter-take on it. Dodd-Frank did not end TBTF (too big to fail), however it does restrict credit, especially in mortgage banking (Barney Frank thinks D/F didn't go far enough). 

One of the unintended consequences of Dodd-Frank has been the pullback in liquidity in Treasury and corporate bond markets. Since Dodd-Frank prohibits proprietary trading, market-making has been pulled back as well, making Treasury markets more volatile, and according to studies has raised the interest rate the government pays on bonds by about 13 basis points or so. The side effect of this is that we will have more days like October 15, where Treasuries traded in a 36 basis point range as the market hit an air pocket during the day. What does this mean for LOs? Floating is going to be more dangerous.