Inside the Mortgage World

Happy New Year!  Today is the first trading day of 2009 and Mortgage Bonds opened just a little bit higher this morning.  Look out though, that could change. Just a few minutes ago the ISM index was reported showing the fifth consecutive monthly decline.  This index is a key manufacturing gauge. ...

Yesterday, mortgage rates started the day lower before sprinting higher over a brief early-afternoon span.  Markets were largely unprovoked by economic data, geopolitical developments, or technical factors.  However this morning it's a different story.  The Bond market opened lower (worse) and tr...

Again this week, the Bond market faces another short holiday week.  This creates lower trading volumes which could translate into unexpected price movements and spikes. We are currently seeing a flight to safety as money moves into Bonds due to the tensions in the Middle East.  This has helped th...

It's hard to imagine that 2008 is just about over.  What a challenging year in the market this has been.  It's difficult to turn on any news channel without hearing the top story of the financial crisis. But there is part of the story that you may not hear from reporters as many don't understand ...

This morning several important reports were released.  In advance of the economic reports, the Mortgage Bankers Association released their weekly survey of mortgage applications.  Last week, applications jumped by 124.6% over the activity seen in the same week last year and up 48% over the previo...

"What goes up must come down, spinning wheel got to go round" (Blood, Sweat, and Tears)....and Bonds have done just that.  Up, down, spinnin' round.   Since Nov 4th, Bonds have improved by 1100 basis points.  What does that mean to Joe the Plumber?  It means that home loan rates have improved by ...

The last few days in the Bond market has had rather large swings intra-day but overall has moved mostly sideways.  Following the Fed's Policy statement Tuesday, the market rallied, then Wednesday after a wild 138 basis point swing closed down.  Since then we've seen the price of the bond trade a ...

The FOMC lowered the Fed Funds rate to a range of 0 - .25%.  This is the time first time they have given a range.  They also stated they will purchase large quantities of agency debt and mortgage backed securities  The dollar weaked against the Euro on the news.  Bonds soar following the Policy S...

The Federal Open Market Committee finishes up day 2 of their meeting at 2:15 ET today.  While it is widely expected the Fed will cut the Fed Funds Rate by 0.5%, while some are forecasting a .75% reduction.  It will be interesting to see what happens. However, it won't be what the Fed does today t...

Today the Fed begins their 2-day meeting with the Fed Policy Statement set for release tomorrow at 2 ET.  Almost everyone is expecting the Fed to cut its target for overnight interest rates (the Fed Funds Rate) from 1% to 0.5%, however almost no one thinks it will do much good.  Why?  Households ...