Archive for April, 2008

Wachovia Settles One Suit, Confronts Money Laundering Charges

Monday, April 28th, 2008

Wachovia Corporation, the rising Charlotte North Carolina banking star is having a very bad April. On April 14 the bank announced it had lost $350 million or $0.20 per share during the first quarter of 2008. Then this past Friday Wachovia got hit with a double whammy. In the morning it was announced ...

U.S. M1 and M2 Money Supplies Fall in Week Ending April 14

Friday, April 25th, 2008

M1 Money Supply fell $2.4 billion in the week ending April 14, while M2 fell $15 billion, according to figures released from the Federal Reserve Thursday. The Fed's Treasury holdings... Read More Now

U.S. New Homes Sales Plummet 8.5% in March to Lowest Level Since 1991

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

New home sales in the U.S. were down for the fifth consecutive month in March, falling by 8.5% to 526k, much lower than the 580k level expected by economists, and setting a new low since October 1991. Inventories soared from already-worrying levels. Regionally, new home sales fell across the board... ...

Fed May Take “Breather” After Cut Next Week

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Expectations for a pause in U.S. monetary policy were bolstered by an article in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, where noted Fed watcher Greg Ip said, "The Federal Reserve is likely to cut its short-term interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point next week -- but then may be ...

Preview: Further Deterioration Expected in New Home Sales

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

As the overhang of new homes sits at a 27-year high of 9.8 months, new home sales are expected to fall for a fifth consecutive month in the March index from the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. In February's report, sales fell 1.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590K, ...

Mortgages Rates, Loan Applications Remain Mostly in Doldrums

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

Long term mortgage interest rates as reported by Freddie Mac in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey were virtually unchanged during the week which ended April 17. However, long term rates as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association in their Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended April 18 underwent ...

Existing Home Sales Decline 2.0% in March

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

Existing home sales fell more than expected in March, falling 2.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 4.93 million units, largely retracing the surprising 2.9% gain in the previous month to 5.03 million units, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Tuesday. Economists were expecting the March data to deteriorate ...

Home Prices Rose 0.6% in February, OFHEO Reports

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

U.S. house prices rose 0.6% in February following January's 1.1% decline, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) reported Tuesday. Economists had expected a monthly decline of 1.5%. In the previous month, U.S. home prices fell 1.1% between December 2007 and January 2008, contributing to a 12-month decline of 3.0%. For ...

Preview: OFHEO Purchase-Only House Price Index to Decline in February

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

The new monthly OFHEO purchase-only home price index is expected to fall 1.5% in February, following a 1.1% decline in the January report. The purchase-only index, based on data from home sales, was introduced in OFHEO's fourth quarter 2007 House Price Index (HPI) report, and provides home price conditions for the ...

Existing Home Sales to Fall Below 5 Million in March

Monday, April 21st, 2008

The existing home sales index for March is expected to fall 1.6% to a pace of 4.93 million units, following a surprising 2.9% gain to a pace of 5.03 million in the previous month. February's advance halted a six-month trend of declining sales and was well-above expectations, but sales were still ...