Archive for January, 2010

Mortgage Rates End Choppy Week Near Best Levels

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates ended last week at their best levels since early December. Then rates rose on Monday, gained back lost ground on Tuesday only to give back those improvements after the FOMC statement on Wednesday, weakness then extend over into Thursday. This left the par 30 ...

Dec. and Jan. Months In Review: By The Charts

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Posted To: MBS CommentaryLet's try something a little different for the weekend... No novel tonight. Lock/Float considerations were well discussed earlier in the day. But when we move like we did today, I get the urge to psychoanalyze the charts. So here's a tale of 9 charts, about which I'll ...

Planning for the Slowdown; Texas Ratio Update; MGIC Honoring Claims; Putting Funds to Work

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Posted To: The Garrett Watts ReportSecurities firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has identified 393 banks with Texas ratios greater than 100%. If we assume that 75% of them will fail (our number, not Keefe’s), that would represent $141 billion in assets, and assuming a 25% loss ratio (our number, not ...

New Laws Protect Distressed Consumers from Scam Artists

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Posted To: Community CommentaryI originally published this story on SuretyBonds.com , but feel the current environment justifies spreading the word. Consumer complaints about debt-assistance companies have spawned tougher new laws designed to crack down on scam artists. In many states, these new laws require companies to carry surety bonds to ...

MBS LUNCH: Reprices for the Better Possible If….

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Posted To: MBS CommentaryI was feeling terribly unmotivated earlier today...until Pandora played THIS . Now I feel compelled to buy the curve and get long the MBS basis ahead of a normally supportive week for MBS valuations. Well done Pandora, well done. READ MORE: SUPPORTIVE WEEK Hmmm...that statement may have ...

MBS MORNING: Bonds Continue To Shrug Off GDP News

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Posted To: MBS CommentaryAQ couldn't have said it any better earlier this AM. Indeed, when 5.7% growth hit the screens, our first instinct was to assume, "ok, well, that is not the REAL and representative measure of growth, so where's the discrepancy and what internals of the report support that?" ...

Freddie’s Condo Guidelines; AVMs & Mortgage Banking; Jawboning on the End of the Mortgage Purchase Program

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Posted To: Pipeline Press"Free advice is well worth the price." Keep that in mind the next time you ask someone in Secondary Marketing if you should lock today or wait. Freddie Mac announced a change to their condo policy for loans with application dates on or after February 1 . ...

MBS OPEN: Inventories Account for 59% of GDP Gains. Rates Still Contained in Range

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Posted To: MBS CommentaryGood Morning. Mortgage Rates will move higher today after economists got what they were expecting AND MORE from Advance Q4 GDP. The market was expecting Q4 GDP to increase at a rate of 4.6%. The actual print: +5.7% Advance Q4 GDP +5.7 % (consensus +4.6), Q3 +2.2 ...

The Day Ahead: Market Expects GDP to Print at 4-Year High

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Posted To: MND NewsWire90 minutes ahead of the opening bell and thirty before a GDP release that should show economic growth at a four-year high, equities are trading higher, commodities are mixed, and the dollar is stronger. A snapshot from 8:00 shows Dow futures up 39 points to 10101 and ...

HAMP Guidelines Updated to Improve Loan Modification Conversion Rate

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Posted To: MND NewsWireThe Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have announced another attempt to streamline procedures under their Home Ownership Made Affordable Program (HAMP.) The program has enrolled over 850,000 homeowners who are seriously delinquent in their mortgage payments in a trial modification period but ...