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With last Friday mornings report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Non-Farm Payrolls report. More commonly called “the jobs report”. Depending on the strength — or weakness — of the data, mortgage rates will change. As expected, the numbers were not as good as we hoped for and money started to flow into the “safe haven” of mortgage bonds. Continue reading
Click on the Photo for Enlarged Version. Much easier to read!
Mortgage markets worsened slightly last week as demand for mortgage-backed bonds slacked. There was little surprise in U.S. economic data and the unfolding story lines of the Eurozone continued unabated.
As of this Wednesday morning, Europe’s stock markets are getting hit hard on increasing lack of confidence in the region. Money continues to flow to safety, into US treasuries and German bunds. Also, China said today it won’t inject stimulus at the pace it did in 2008 and its economic growth is expected to decline 8%, also helping to drive our rates lower. Continue reading
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent Wednesday.
For the fifth consecutive month, the Fed Funds Rate vote was nearly unanimous. Just one FOMC member, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker, dissented in the 9-1 vote.
The Fed Funds Rate has been near zero percent since December 2008. It is expected to stay near-zero through 2014, at least. Continue reading
The U.S. economy is expanding, fueled by a renewed consumer optimism and increased consumer spending.
As reported by the Census Bureau, Retail Sales in February, excluding cars and auto parts, rose 1 percent to $335 billion as 11 of 13 retail sectors showed improvement last month.
February markets the 19th time in twenty months that U.S. Retail Sales increased on a month-over-month basis. Couple this with 24 consecutive months of job growth and you have an economy that is showing some fight! Continue reading