Good Morning Everyone and Happy Friday! Yesterday saw the stock markets try to regain their advances from the morning, only to drop off at the end of the day. The Dow, up almost 200 points with a couple hours left to closing bell, fell off about 100 points by the end of the session. Today’s stock markets are holding their own, and are poised to post their best July in 20 years. Credit markets continue the rally they experienced at the end of the day yesterday. Our pricing is anywhere from .375 to .500 better in rebate since yesterday morning’s rate sheet. NICE! If you’re anxious to get some loans locked today, I’m all for it, I’ll be here all day to help you. But, I see this trend continuing into next week as earnings season slows down and there are no Treasury auctions to compete for the investors’ dollar.
Cash for Clunkers is getting more attention this morning that the release of the long awaited 2nd quarter GDP. The Cash for Clunkers program saw 23,000 dealers sign up for it, desperate to boost sales. After 4 days (this is supposed to continue until November) we’ve already blown through the billion dollars allotted for the program. Congress is scrambling to find some money to up the dollars available to keep this wildly popular program intact.
The 2nd Quarter GDP ended up not having quite the fireworks that many had expected. Analysts were looking for a drop of 1.5%, and the report showed that the economy only contracted by 1.0%. This could be perceived as good news, except the 1st Quarter GDP was revised to 6.4% from an originally reported 5.5% -- that’s quite a change! Makes you wonder what this number (Q2) will get revised to be later this year. Even still, the change from negative 6.4% to only negative 1.0% is quite an improvement. Expectations are that Q3 will actually report a positive (though nominally) number. This could end 4 straight quarters of negative growth . . . a record not seen in over 60 years. Anyway, the report had relatively little affect on stock markets.
There are a slew of other economic reports and earnings today, I’ll let you read them at your own interest level. What’s important to us is the delivery rate for the MBS’s was 4.87% yesterday at this time, and it 4.72% now. That’s quite an improvement, though nominal for the week. We knew that past week was going to be volatile, and we expect next week to settle down quite a bit. I’ll be here all day today to help you with any loan scenario or pricing questions. Call me here at the office if you need me . . . and have a terrific Friday and a very restful and relaxing weekend!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Update #4/ Week of July 27, 2009
Good Morning Everyone and Happy Thursday! We’re losing a little ground this morning on rates. Things could be a lot worse seeing the start that the equity markets had this morning. The party started in Asia last night when the Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite both had nice rebounds after their losses of the day before. When the European markets opened, a report came out that showed business and consumer confidence in the 16 countries that use the euro has improved for the fourth straight month in July. As you can see from the index of world markets, the mojo was flowin’ by the time our stock markets opened.
Sure enough, right out of the gate the Dow was up around 200 points. The credit instruments immediately ran for cover and rates went into the tanker. The rally on the stock market has dissipated somewhat as of this writing, and the credit markets have settled down a bit. Our rates on our 30 year conforming worsened by about 20 bps from yesterday morning’s rates, so the damage was negligible. Good thing! There seems to be plenty of money still sitting on the sidelines, and investors are cautious on both the equity and credit markets. A slew of earnings reports still to happen this week, so look for more volatility.
Initial jobless claims rose this week over last week, but the continuing claims number keeps falling, so that’s seen as a positive thing. Yet, RealtyTrac reported this morning that California is #4 in the nation for foreclosures for the first 6 months of this year. That’s better than #1, I guess, but we have the most cities of the top 50. Unemployment is that 800 pound gorilla still lurking in the corner of the rooms where investors are talking up the end of the recession. These recently unemployed people still have to figure out how they are going to pay their mortgages going forward, so look for foreclosures to continue. Also, the recasting of subprime loans is going to have a huge affect on foreclosures for the next 2 years.
I will be in the office all day today, catch me here if I can help you in any way. Have a terrific Thursday!
Sure enough, right out of the gate the Dow was up around 200 points. The credit instruments immediately ran for cover and rates went into the tanker. The rally on the stock market has dissipated somewhat as of this writing, and the credit markets have settled down a bit. Our rates on our 30 year conforming worsened by about 20 bps from yesterday morning’s rates, so the damage was negligible. Good thing! There seems to be plenty of money still sitting on the sidelines, and investors are cautious on both the equity and credit markets. A slew of earnings reports still to happen this week, so look for more volatility.
Initial jobless claims rose this week over last week, but the continuing claims number keeps falling, so that’s seen as a positive thing. Yet, RealtyTrac reported this morning that California is #4 in the nation for foreclosures for the first 6 months of this year. That’s better than #1, I guess, but we have the most cities of the top 50. Unemployment is that 800 pound gorilla still lurking in the corner of the rooms where investors are talking up the end of the recession. These recently unemployed people still have to figure out how they are going to pay their mortgages going forward, so look for foreclosures to continue. Also, the recasting of subprime loans is going to have a huge affect on foreclosures for the next 2 years.
I will be in the office all day today, catch me here if I can help you in any way. Have a terrific Thursday!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Update #3/ week of July 27, 2009/ Rates Improve
Good Morning Everyone …and welcome to the UPDATE!
China’s stock market dropped significantly last night as well as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng. This could further set the stage for a correction in our markets, which is slowly happening this week. Our stock market is very choppy today with earnings reports pouring in by the hundreds this week. Oil supplies are surprisingly up for the week as reported this morning and it’s causing oil prices to plunge – down almost $4 a barrel as of this writing.
Durable good orders reported this morning a drop of 2.6%, far worse than analysts expectations. But, investors are shrugging off the report since most of the drop is in defense and aircraft. Exclude these two items and the report is more within the anticipated numbers. There is another auction today of $39 billion worth of 5 year Treasuries, demand is solid and this is having a positive effect on MBS’s. The delivery rate on the MBS’s is down 6 bps from yesterday’s close and we can see the difference in pricing. Our 30 year conforming is another .125 to .25 better in rebate this morning . . . so we’re slowing making headway.
I’ll be in the office the rest of the day. Call me here if I can help you, and have a terrific Humpday!
China’s stock market dropped significantly last night as well as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng. This could further set the stage for a correction in our markets, which is slowly happening this week. Our stock market is very choppy today with earnings reports pouring in by the hundreds this week. Oil supplies are surprisingly up for the week as reported this morning and it’s causing oil prices to plunge – down almost $4 a barrel as of this writing.
Durable good orders reported this morning a drop of 2.6%, far worse than analysts expectations. But, investors are shrugging off the report since most of the drop is in defense and aircraft. Exclude these two items and the report is more within the anticipated numbers. There is another auction today of $39 billion worth of 5 year Treasuries, demand is solid and this is having a positive effect on MBS’s. The delivery rate on the MBS’s is down 6 bps from yesterday’s close and we can see the difference in pricing. Our 30 year conforming is another .125 to .25 better in rebate this morning . . . so we’re slowing making headway.
I’ll be in the office the rest of the day. Call me here if I can help you, and have a terrific Humpday!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Update #2/ Week of July 27, 2009/ Some Deterioration
Good Afternoon Everyone and Happy Tuesday! The stock markets, as expected, are having a difficult time mustering any positive momentum today. Equities have made several attempts to move positively, but each time they have been met with strong selling. With uncertainty in the equity markets, money is already beginning to flow over to safe havens, and credit markets are benefitting. This is what we said was going to happen, but we need whole lot more of this. Look for this trend to continue, though choppy, for the next couple weeks.
This morning’s negative tone actually began last night with the European markets. The major stock markets of Europe were down anywhere from 1% to 2% going into our trading session. The S&P Case/Schiller Home Price Index for May came in this morning at 139.8 in line with expectations. The drop of home prices in the 20 largest metropolitan cities surveyed year over year was 17.1%, slightly better than the 17.9% anticipated. The brutal news this morning that knocked the equity markets for a loop was the July consumer confidence index report. We had seen this index on the rise lately as it appeared people were generally becoming more optimistic about the future of the economy. This morning was a disappointment, though, as the reading came in at 46.6 – below expectations set at 49, and down from the 49.3 number posted in June.
The Feds auctioned off $27 billion worth of 52 week Treasury notes yesterday and were pleased with the demand. Today they’ll auction off another $42 billion worth of 2 year T notes. This is going to compete with money for the MBS’s, but strong demand helps us in the long run.
All of this means cautiously better rates for us. Banks are slow to chase the rates down, although they need to get volume going. Investors will leave a little cushion as they slowly ratchet rates in our direction. Let’s just hope for more help in Treasuries. I’ll be out in the field all day today making sales calls. If you need me, catch me on my cell phone, or email me. I’ll be back in the office tomorrow. Have a terrific Tuesday!
This morning’s negative tone actually began last night with the European markets. The major stock markets of Europe were down anywhere from 1% to 2% going into our trading session. The S&P Case/Schiller Home Price Index for May came in this morning at 139.8 in line with expectations. The drop of home prices in the 20 largest metropolitan cities surveyed year over year was 17.1%, slightly better than the 17.9% anticipated. The brutal news this morning that knocked the equity markets for a loop was the July consumer confidence index report. We had seen this index on the rise lately as it appeared people were generally becoming more optimistic about the future of the economy. This morning was a disappointment, though, as the reading came in at 46.6 – below expectations set at 49, and down from the 49.3 number posted in June.
The Feds auctioned off $27 billion worth of 52 week Treasury notes yesterday and were pleased with the demand. Today they’ll auction off another $42 billion worth of 2 year T notes. This is going to compete with money for the MBS’s, but strong demand helps us in the long run.
All of this means cautiously better rates for us. Banks are slow to chase the rates down, although they need to get volume going. Investors will leave a little cushion as they slowly ratchet rates in our direction. Let’s just hope for more help in Treasuries. I’ll be out in the field all day today making sales calls. If you need me, catch me on my cell phone, or email me. I’ll be back in the office tomorrow. Have a terrific Tuesday!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Update #1/ Week of July 27, 2009-VOLATILITY CONTINUES
Good Morning Everyone and Happy Monday! Well, if you’re waiting for rates to come back down, maybe it’s not such a happy Monday. All the talk in the financial news is about the huge run up that we’ve seen in the stock markets in the last 2 weeks. The Dow spiked 11% in 10 business days. Certainly the majority of prognosticators are calling for some kind of a pull back, and this should see money flow into credit markets. This isn’t happening today though, the stock market is slightly off, but credit markets are losing ground also, so far…
This week we’ll see a huge auction of Treasury Notes which is going to compete with the MBS’s for the investors’ dollar. Also, as compared to the last three weeks, we’ll see a good portion of the companies which haven’t reported earnings do so this week. It’s is going to be volatile once again all week, put your seat belts on.
The stock market headed south right out of the gate, but reversed course when a report of the new home sales for June became public. New home sales rose to 384,000 -- well above the anticipated 352,000. That’s the highest number since November, and much higher than the 346,000 from last month. This is good news for the housing market and is probably a reflection of the tax incentives for new home buyers and drastically reduced prices. Prices are still dropping, but sales have picked up recently.
Our pricing is almost identical to Friday’s, so at least we haven’t lost much ground so far. I’ll be here in the office all day if you need me. I will be out in the field tomorrow visiting accounts. I will send out rate sheets from my home office, but will be available on my cell phone the rest of the day. Have a terrific Monday and a very profitable week!
This week we’ll see a huge auction of Treasury Notes which is going to compete with the MBS’s for the investors’ dollar. Also, as compared to the last three weeks, we’ll see a good portion of the companies which haven’t reported earnings do so this week. It’s is going to be volatile once again all week, put your seat belts on.
The stock market headed south right out of the gate, but reversed course when a report of the new home sales for June became public. New home sales rose to 384,000 -- well above the anticipated 352,000. That’s the highest number since November, and much higher than the 346,000 from last month. This is good news for the housing market and is probably a reflection of the tax incentives for new home buyers and drastically reduced prices. Prices are still dropping, but sales have picked up recently.
Our pricing is almost identical to Friday’s, so at least we haven’t lost much ground so far. I’ll be here in the office all day if you need me. I will be out in the field tomorrow visiting accounts. I will send out rate sheets from my home office, but will be available on my cell phone the rest of the day. Have a terrific Monday and a very profitable week!
Friday, July 24, 2009
FINAL UPDATE/ Week of July 20, 2009
Good Morning Everyone and Happy Friday! Well the stock market has had an incredible couple weeks, to say the least. The S&P 500 is up 11% during that time, and the NASDAQ is up 13%. The NASDAQ has had positive gains for 12 straight sessions, an accomplishment that has not be rivaled since 1992 when it was able to maintain a 13 day run.
It would seem to be common wisdom that with such an amazing run in such a short period of time, we’re in for some profit taking. The companies that have reported profits this quarter readily admit that much of the profits are due to cost cutting and layoffs and debt restructuring, not necessarily improved revenue. Thus, many of the outlooks have been optimistic, but cautious. It’s clear that we are not at the end of the recession, everyone would concur.
SO . . . what does that mean for us? I’m hoping it means some selling in the next 2-3 weeks in the equity markets and some run for shelter in the credit markets. Really, we haven’t fared so bad with all this exuberance on the equity side. Investors, though are clearly setting prices at a safe distance this morning on rates. We’re about .500 worse than yesterday in rebate. Apparently investors are getting an early jump on the weekend. We’ll have to drop anchor and wait for the storm to pass, and see if sunny skies prevail next week.
Hopefully we’ll be looking at credit markets making a come back in the weeks to come and pricing improving considerably. For now . . . I’ll be in the office most of the day, if it’s quiet like it was yesterday I may make an early exit and head for the water... Have a terrific Friday and a very enjoyable and relaxing weekend!
It would seem to be common wisdom that with such an amazing run in such a short period of time, we’re in for some profit taking. The companies that have reported profits this quarter readily admit that much of the profits are due to cost cutting and layoffs and debt restructuring, not necessarily improved revenue. Thus, many of the outlooks have been optimistic, but cautious. It’s clear that we are not at the end of the recession, everyone would concur.
SO . . . what does that mean for us? I’m hoping it means some selling in the next 2-3 weeks in the equity markets and some run for shelter in the credit markets. Really, we haven’t fared so bad with all this exuberance on the equity side. Investors, though are clearly setting prices at a safe distance this morning on rates. We’re about .500 worse than yesterday in rebate. Apparently investors are getting an early jump on the weekend. We’ll have to drop anchor and wait for the storm to pass, and see if sunny skies prevail next week.
Hopefully we’ll be looking at credit markets making a come back in the weeks to come and pricing improving considerably. For now . . . I’ll be in the office most of the day, if it’s quiet like it was yesterday I may make an early exit and head for the water... Have a terrific Friday and a very enjoyable and relaxing weekend!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Update #4/ Week of July 20 2009
Good Morning Everyone and Happy Thursday! Well, we’ve talked about the volatility that’s going to be the case during this earnings season. A slew of earnings reports today, and it doesn’t really matter if the companies are profitable or not, it’s the upbeat tone of the forecast going forward that’s getting traders all excited. Of course the tone is going to be upbeat . . . what else could it be? Traders are definitely buying in today and the stock markets are in rally mode. Good for our 401(k)’s, but not so good for mortgage pricing. We’re about .25 off in rebate from where we were yesterday morning at this time, not too bad.
The credit markets are suffering again today at the expense of the equity markets’ surge. Investors like that fast money, and it’s hard for safe havens to attract these monies when stocks are going crazy like this. Thus, interest rates rise to attract the cash back to the credit markets, and thus we have a rise in rates. Initial jobless claims came in as expected, but the continuing claims continue to fall. This is good news, over all, for the economy, and is having a positive effect on the stock market today.
The NAR reported that existing home sales for June were up to an annualized rate of 4.89 million. That is up from 4.72 million rate posted in May. Sales are up because of all the great deals out there on the foreclosures at the low end of the market, but regular MLS / average priced homes are still struggling to get off the sales block. We’ll take any positive news in housing at this point!
I’ll be in the office all day today if you need me. Call me here or better yet email me for faster response. Have a terrific Thursday!
The credit markets are suffering again today at the expense of the equity markets’ surge. Investors like that fast money, and it’s hard for safe havens to attract these monies when stocks are going crazy like this. Thus, interest rates rise to attract the cash back to the credit markets, and thus we have a rise in rates. Initial jobless claims came in as expected, but the continuing claims continue to fall. This is good news, over all, for the economy, and is having a positive effect on the stock market today.
The NAR reported that existing home sales for June were up to an annualized rate of 4.89 million. That is up from 4.72 million rate posted in May. Sales are up because of all the great deals out there on the foreclosures at the low end of the market, but regular MLS / average priced homes are still struggling to get off the sales block. We’ll take any positive news in housing at this point!
I’ll be in the office all day today if you need me. Call me here or better yet email me for faster response. Have a terrific Thursday!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Update #2/ Week of July 20, 2009
Good Afternoon Everyone and Happy Tuesday! A revision to my earlier distribution… (BLOG FORMAT UPDATED..sign in at: CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG)
Fed Chairman Bernanke is testifying on Capitol Hill today and was saying that through the Fed's Mortgage Backed Securities Purchase Program it has brought down home loan rates to below 5% and will continue to buy Mortgage Bonds until the end of the year.
The average price for a regular gallon of gasoline has now fallen to the lowest level in 8 weeks to $2.46 a gallon said the Energy Department on Monday.. Gas prices are way off the record highs set last July of $4.11 but up from the $1.61 back in late December. Oil prices have come off last year's highs of $147 that was hit also hit last July then hit $33 back in mid-January.
There are no economic reports due for release today.
CIT Group is getting thrown a $3 billion lifeline from bondholders but it does come with a hefty 10% interest payment. The deal allows CIT to avoid bankruptcy and it will continue to prepare to restructure its debt and needs a total of $7.6 billion in new capital to meet Federal Reserve guidelines. CIT's share price is currently just under a $1 down from $60 just a few years ago.
Uncle Ben Bernanke had some positive things to say today about inflation, mortgage rates, unemployment and the recession, and this is helping credit markets make some impressive moves today! Thank you!
If you need to lock a loan, go ahead and fax the lock over, you’ll still get locked same as usual. If you need to talk about a particular pricing scenario, call me on my cell phone as I will be out in the field all day.
Fed Chairman Bernanke is testifying on Capitol Hill today and was saying that through the Fed's Mortgage Backed Securities Purchase Program it has brought down home loan rates to below 5% and will continue to buy Mortgage Bonds until the end of the year.
The average price for a regular gallon of gasoline has now fallen to the lowest level in 8 weeks to $2.46 a gallon said the Energy Department on Monday.. Gas prices are way off the record highs set last July of $4.11 but up from the $1.61 back in late December. Oil prices have come off last year's highs of $147 that was hit also hit last July then hit $33 back in mid-January.
There are no economic reports due for release today.
CIT Group is getting thrown a $3 billion lifeline from bondholders but it does come with a hefty 10% interest payment. The deal allows CIT to avoid bankruptcy and it will continue to prepare to restructure its debt and needs a total of $7.6 billion in new capital to meet Federal Reserve guidelines. CIT's share price is currently just under a $1 down from $60 just a few years ago.
Uncle Ben Bernanke had some positive things to say today about inflation, mortgage rates, unemployment and the recession, and this is helping credit markets make some impressive moves today! Thank you!
If you need to lock a loan, go ahead and fax the lock over, you’ll still get locked same as usual. If you need to talk about a particular pricing scenario, call me on my cell phone as I will be out in the field all day.
Update #1/ Week of July 20, 2009 (Equities Volatility)
Good Morning Everyone and Happy Monday! There are a slew of companies reporting earnings today and all through the week, so the descriptive word for the stock market is volatility. We’ve already been up and down below the unchanged mark and back up again for a gain of about 60 points in the Dow already today. Look for this to continue all week. I’ll let you read about all the companies and their reports – too many to mention in this article.
Credit markets don’t like volatility, as we know. They would rather stand back a few steps and look for any sudden rallies and have time to react than to try to play close to the mark. Moody’s had some positive, albeit cautious comments this morning stating that global economy is stabilizing. Although banks have had a good quarter, they still have sizeable hurdles to over come later this year and into next year. This has helped credit markets some.
I will be here all day today, and will be available for your pricing or loan scenario questions. Please call me here or email me if I can help you. Tomorrow I will be speaking at a banker shop in the Valencia area, and will be out all day making calls. Reach me on my cell phone tomorrow as I will be out in the field. Have a terrific Monday and a very prosperous and profitable week!
Warmly,
The Ara Melkonians TEAM,
CHECK TODAY'S RATES!
Chief Mortgage Banker/ Operations Manager
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG
CLICK HERE FOR CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
(702) 281-8256 or (866) 956-1077
Fax: 818.956.1947
334 N. Central Ave #208, Glendale, CA. 91203
Apply on line: www.ExpectGreatness.org
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Note: This e-mail contains PRIVILEGED and CONFIDENTIAL information intended only for the use of the specific individual or entity named above. If you or your employer is not the intended recipient of this e-mail or employee or agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized dissemination or copying of this e-mail or the information contained in it is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately notify the person named above at once by telephone and delete the message. Thank you.
Credit markets don’t like volatility, as we know. They would rather stand back a few steps and look for any sudden rallies and have time to react than to try to play close to the mark. Moody’s had some positive, albeit cautious comments this morning stating that global economy is stabilizing. Although banks have had a good quarter, they still have sizeable hurdles to over come later this year and into next year. This has helped credit markets some.
I will be here all day today, and will be available for your pricing or loan scenario questions. Please call me here or email me if I can help you. Tomorrow I will be speaking at a banker shop in the Valencia area, and will be out all day making calls. Reach me on my cell phone tomorrow as I will be out in the field. Have a terrific Monday and a very prosperous and profitable week!
Warmly,
The Ara Melkonians TEAM,
CHECK TODAY'S RATES!
Chief Mortgage Banker/ Operations Manager
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG
CLICK HERE FOR CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
(702) 281-8256 or (866) 956-1077
Fax: 818.956.1947
334 N. Central Ave #208, Glendale, CA. 91203
Apply on line: www.ExpectGreatness.org
*** Click HERE for our Latest WEBSITE release!! ***
Click Here for: LATEST GOVERNMENT NEWS RELEASES!!
Note: This e-mail contains PRIVILEGED and CONFIDENTIAL information intended only for the use of the specific individual or entity named above. If you or your employer is not the intended recipient of this e-mail or employee or agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized dissemination or copying of this e-mail or the information contained in it is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately notify the person named above at once by telephone and delete the message. Thank you.
Friday, July 17, 2009
FINANCIAL Update #5/ Week of July 13, 2009
Good Morning Everyone and Happy Friday! Equity markets are choppy once again with the Dow all over the place around the flat line. Presently it’s up about 10 points, but it’s been down just as much just minutes ago. The Dow is pressing up against the resistance line of 8776, that magic number at which the Dow closed out 2008. We hit this ceiling back on June 12 and then fell back about 800 points. Here we are again and traders are anxious to see if we can break through and sky higher.
While the stock market tries to find some footing, credit markets are in cautious mode awaiting a big end of the day run up like we saw yesterday. Our pricing is off about ½ of an .125 in rebate from yesterday morning’s pricing. This morning’s economic news centers around earnings reports from IBM (yesterday after the bell), Citigroup, Bank of America and Google. All beat expectations, and of course, all had rosy outlooks for the rest of this year.
The only real economic report this morning is housing starts for June with came in at 582,000 – higher than the 530K expected. Housing starts for May were revised upwardly to 562K, and building permits for June also rose more than expected. Housing sales numbers have been up, possibly due the tax incentive for 1st time homebuyers, but in California that money is gone, so that may be slowing up. Also, there’s a lot of talk this morning of unemployment as it was reported that we have hit 11.6% in CA, not as high as 15% in Michigan, though. CA, of course, leads the nation in most job losses, 66K in June.
OK, with pricing mixed and the phone pretty quiet today, I’ll be leaving the office shortly after lunch. Catch me early if you need me, and have a terrific Friday . . . and a very restful and relaxing weekend!
While the stock market tries to find some footing, credit markets are in cautious mode awaiting a big end of the day run up like we saw yesterday. Our pricing is off about ½ of an .125 in rebate from yesterday morning’s pricing. This morning’s economic news centers around earnings reports from IBM (yesterday after the bell), Citigroup, Bank of America and Google. All beat expectations, and of course, all had rosy outlooks for the rest of this year.
The only real economic report this morning is housing starts for June with came in at 582,000 – higher than the 530K expected. Housing starts for May were revised upwardly to 562K, and building permits for June also rose more than expected. Housing sales numbers have been up, possibly due the tax incentive for 1st time homebuyers, but in California that money is gone, so that may be slowing up. Also, there’s a lot of talk this morning of unemployment as it was reported that we have hit 11.6% in CA, not as high as 15% in Michigan, though. CA, of course, leads the nation in most job losses, 66K in June.
OK, with pricing mixed and the phone pretty quiet today, I’ll be leaving the office shortly after lunch. Catch me early if you need me, and have a terrific Friday . . . and a very restful and relaxing weekend!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Market Affairs
Good Morning Everyone and Happy Thursday! Stocks are taking a breather this morning after 3 days of rallies. Monday and Wednesday were big gains for all 3 markets, and the Dow is now up 6% since this weekend! With such a huge run in such a short amount of time, traders are concerned that selling will take place to snatch up quick profits. We’ve talked about how this week might be a volatile one, and it’s never so true as it is today, lots of choppiness in the market.
Stocks should have had another banner day after JPMorgan Chase reported stellar earnings of $0.28 a share when analysts were expecting $0.04. We knew earnings were going to be good, with all the refinances of late, and apparently so did traders. The stock has been up 10% recently, so when the earnings report did finally come out, there is no positive reaction on the stock price. B of A and Citi report tomorrow.
Initial jobless claims dropped for the week ending July 11 at 522,000. This number is not only better than expectations, but is the 2nd week now of declining figures. The continuing claims finally crested also it appears and came in at 6.27 million, less than the 6.85 million expected, and less than the 6.92 million revised number from last week. This should have had a much bigger positive reaction, but I guess equity traders are nervous about running up the markets too fast, or just plain wore out.
Credit markets are benefitting from the flatness in equity markets today. We have just been clobbered for the last 3 days in credit markets, so it’s good to finally get a little relief. The MBS delivery rate hit a whoppin’ 4.95% yesterday, but has settled down this morning to 4.91%. Pricing is slightly worse than yesterday morning’s pricing, which I guess is good news considering the pounding we got yesterday. Again, it’s hard to predict anything in this wild earnings season, so we’ll all just have to be spectators for the next couple weeks and take whatever good moves in our direction that we can get.
I’ll be here in the office all day today . . . call me here if you need me, and have a terrific Thursday!
Warmly,
The Ara Melkonians TEAM,
CHECK TODAY'S RATES!
Chief Mortgage Banker/ Operations Manager
CLICK HERE FOR CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
(702) 281-8256 or (866) 956-1077
Fax: 818.956.1947
334 N. Central Ave #208, Glendale, CA. 91203
Apply on line: www.ExpectGreatness.org
*** Click HERE for our Latest WEBSITE release!! ***
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Stocks should have had another banner day after JPMorgan Chase reported stellar earnings of $0.28 a share when analysts were expecting $0.04. We knew earnings were going to be good, with all the refinances of late, and apparently so did traders. The stock has been up 10% recently, so when the earnings report did finally come out, there is no positive reaction on the stock price. B of A and Citi report tomorrow.
Initial jobless claims dropped for the week ending July 11 at 522,000. This number is not only better than expectations, but is the 2nd week now of declining figures. The continuing claims finally crested also it appears and came in at 6.27 million, less than the 6.85 million expected, and less than the 6.92 million revised number from last week. This should have had a much bigger positive reaction, but I guess equity traders are nervous about running up the markets too fast, or just plain wore out.
Credit markets are benefitting from the flatness in equity markets today. We have just been clobbered for the last 3 days in credit markets, so it’s good to finally get a little relief. The MBS delivery rate hit a whoppin’ 4.95% yesterday, but has settled down this morning to 4.91%. Pricing is slightly worse than yesterday morning’s pricing, which I guess is good news considering the pounding we got yesterday. Again, it’s hard to predict anything in this wild earnings season, so we’ll all just have to be spectators for the next couple weeks and take whatever good moves in our direction that we can get.
I’ll be here in the office all day today . . . call me here if you need me, and have a terrific Thursday!
Warmly,
The Ara Melkonians TEAM,
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Click Here for: LATEST GOVERNMENT NEWS RELEASES!!
Note: This e-mail contains PRIVILEGED and CONFIDENTIAL information intended only for the use of the specific individual or entity named above. If you or your employer is not the intended recipient of this e-mail or employee or agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized dissemination or copying of this e-mail or the information contained in it is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately notify the person named above at once by telephone and delete the message. Thank you.
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