Archive for Ben Bernanke
Apr
20
Stock Rally Pushes Mortgage Rates Higher
Posted by: | CommentsPosted To: Mortgage Rate Watch
Mortgage rates started to rise yesterday as stock markets rallied from an eight session low. While only a few lenders repriced for the worse, mortgage-backed securities prices were led lower by an increase in benchmark Treasury yields. This set the stage for lenders to increase mortgage rates this morning. The economic calendar is empty today. When economic data is light, typically the stock market has a larger impact on the bond market, we call this the stock lever. If stocks move higher, it is generally at the expense of the bond market. On the other hand, if stocks move lower the bond market usually benefits. While we had no scheduled economic releases, however, Goldman Sachs reported first quarter results… and they blew away expectations. They reported earnings per share of $5.59...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Apr
14
Mortgage Rates Give Back Gains After Steady Winning Streak
Posted by: | CommentsPosted To: Mortgage Rate Watch
Mortgage rates yesterday ended a rally streak that brought consumer borrowing costs back down toward their best levels of 2010. Almost erasing all the losses experienced before and after the Federal Reserve exited the secondary mortgage market. After the steady recovery run seen in MBS over the last few days, it isn’t surprising to see a pull back in mortgage loan pricing. We have a busy day of data and events to discuss. JP Morgan Chase released their first quarter results and they blew away expectations by posting a 74 cents per share earnings and $3.3 billion in revenue. Also announced were Intel earnings. The world’s largest computer chip maker, reported their best quarter in history. This positive news helped stocks improve which generally causes benchmark Treasuries and MBS...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Apr
07
Bernanke: Economy “Far From Being Out of the Woods”
Posted by: | CommentsPosted To: MND NewsWire
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, today gave a speech titled Economic Challenges: Past, Present, and Future The first half of Bernanke's prepared speech revisited the events that led us into the great recession. Ben then reviewed and justified the innovative actions that had to be taken by the Federal Reserve to save the banking system.Overall, nothing new was offered in this portion of the statement, but later on he did provide some insight about the road ahead. Here are a few excerpts and my comments... On Housing: "We have yet to see evidence of a sustained recovery in the housing market. Mortgage delinquencies for both subprime and prime loans continue to rise as do foreclosures. The commercial real estate sector remains troubled, which is a concern for communities...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.