The Federal Government had a busy weekend dealing with ailing financial firms. Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac saw there stock prices fall by over 50% last week as investors expressed concern over the two firms’ large mortgage portfolio. The Treasury pledged to back to two companies should investor confidence erode further. This is good news […]
Mortgage rates have come down by .25%-.375% over the past week. In the absence of any scheduled economic data our attention is focused on the stock market and technical trading patterns. Watch today’s you tube video to get an understanding of how the technical trading patterns have shifted our near-term outlook for mortgage rates. Current […]
Mortgage-backed bonds did rally yesterday which has helped mortgage rates trend lower. In the absence of any significant economic data we will be watching the stock market & technical trading patterns. The stock market is currently trading modestly lower. Traders are trying to weigh the positive earnings news out of Aluminum maker Alcoa yesterday against […]
In a surprising reversal stocks sank yesterday after starting the day in positive territory. The sell-off in the equity markets helped mortgage-backed bonds rally which is why mortgages rates are slightly better this morning. Looking ahead there are a number of speeches today from key officials including Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson. Their comments always […]
What is a 2nd mortgage/ home equity loan? A 2nd mortgage is a loan that is originated and subordinated behind a first mortgage. 2nd mortgages are also referred to as home equity loans, junior liens, or combination loans. These loans can take on various forms. The two most popular 2nd mortgages are the Home Equity […]
Mortgage rates appear to be trending higher as economic uncertainty prevails over the financial markets. Friday’s jobs report indicated that the labor market remains very weak. June marked the 6th consecutive month that the US economy lost jobs. However, higher commodity prices continue to raise concerns over inflationary pressures in our economy. The Fed is […]
This morning’s jobs report did show continued weakness in the jobs market. The report indicated that the US Economy lost 62,000 jobs last month. This marks the 6th straight month of contraction in the jobs market. As I explained in yesterday’s ‘rate update’, a weak jobs report is likely to help mortgage rates. However, the […]
Mortgage Rates rose modestly yesterday afternoon after the stock market rallied in the afternoon. Attention is now focused on tomorrow’s monthly jobs report. I have posted a new article on my blog explaining the importance of the monthly jobs report which you can view at this link. The bottom line is that the monthly jobs […]
We often stress the importance of the monthly “jobs report” in trying to forecast the direction of mortgage rates. The objective of this post is to provide an explanation of why this report is so important. Let’s first have a look at what information can be found in the monthly “jobs report”. Here is a […]
Over the past two weeks the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost approximately $316 Billion (yes with a ‘B’) in market capitalization. This weakness in the stock market has caused 30 year fixed rates to fall by .375%. If you have not yet read this blog posting on how the stock market impacts mortgage rates […]