recession

The Week In Review (November 26, 2007) : What To Watch For

November 26, 2007

In a holiday-shortened trading week, mortgage rates finished the week slightly improved. But, because many traders had left early for Thanksgiving, matching buyers and sellers at any given price proved to be an exercise.  Mortgage rates bounced wildly as a result. Between now and the New Year, expect the same volatility.  Fewer market players means […]

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The Week In Review (November 19, 2007) : What To Watch For

November 19, 2007

In a holiday-shortened week with no major economic data releases, expect worries about the credit markets and speculation about holiday shopping to take center stage. Last week was a mixed bag for the economy and mortgage markets responded in kind.  Rates were relatively unchanged. The news started with Wednesday’s Retail Sales report.  In showing a […]

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The Week In Review (November 13, 2007) : What To Watch For

November 13, 2007

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ shed 4.1% and 6.5%, respectively, last week. Normally, this would be good news for mortgage rates because investors tend to look for “safe havens” in bond issues, but instead, just treasuries benefited last week.  Mortgage bonds were left in the dust. Mortgage rates finished to the upside after […]

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What The Price Of Gold Says About The Economy

September 13, 2007

Headlines today read that the value of gold is nearing its all-time high (adjusted for inflation).  The lay people would ignore this story, but those in the know understand that the price of gold is usually reflective of the state of the global economy. The spot price of gold tells a lot about investor psyche […]

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How Consumer Spending Changes Mortgage Rates

April 17, 2007

If the data is correct, the U.S. consumers keep doing what they do best — consume. Despite weak consumer confidence surveys, retail sales posted a 0.7% gain, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  This means that despite rising costs, Americans continue to fuel the economy. Speaking of fuel, a large reason for the unexpectedly large […]

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The Week In Review (March 12, 2007) : What To Watch For

March 12, 2007

The mounting pressure on sub-prime lenders sparked talk of a recession as economists wonder how the housing market will be impacted. Many sub-prime lenders discontinued 100% financing programs this past week and a few of the biggest names — New Century and Fremont — stopped taking applications altogether. These changes pushed mortgage rates lower through […]

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The Week In Review (March 5, 2007) : What To Watch For

March 5, 2007

Two weeks ago, the tone on Wall Street was overwhelmingly positive and the glass was half-full.  Last week, however, that all changed. The week began with former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan’s remarking that a 2007 recession may be looming, and it ended with Dow posting its worst one week loss in more than four years. […]

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Fed President Poole Says “There Could Be A Recession”

March 2, 2007

Speaking in Chile this morning, St. Louis Fed President William Poole said that while “there could be a recession” in the coming months, the Fed is not expecting it. This echoes Ben Bernanke’s speech earlier this week in which he stated that the U.S. economy still has room for growth. Poole’s comments are soothing markets […]

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The Week In Review (January 22, 2007) : What To Watch For

January 22, 2007

Last week, economic data showed that the economy continues to grow at a healthy pace and that last year’s fears of an economic recession may have been overblown; wholesale and consumer prices were up 1.1% and 2.5% annually, respectively. With no clear recessionary indicators present in the market, long-term mortgages such as the 30-year fixed […]

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