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News has been pretty grim recently for interest rates and the housing market. This week's developments may provide a glimmer of hope. Granted, it could turn out to be false hope, but for now, let's focus on the glimmer! Freddie Mac reported a medium-big move...
Both New and Existing Home Sales came in lower than expected this week. Taken together with last week's big drop in Housing Starts, this raises obvious questions about the housing market. How much should you worry? Incidentally, I posed the same question in last...
A monthly report on new residential construction came out this week, showing a big drop in housing starts (the groundbreaking phase following a building permit). Should we worry about a slowdown in home sales? The short answer is "no." The long answer is a bit more...
Rates ended the week at the best levels since late May. That sounds pretty great, right?! Unfortunately, there's a fairly big catch. The problem with the past month and a half is that the range has been excruciatingly narrow. In fact, if you've been in the market for...
This week's most prominent news was the so-called "official" beginning of the trade war between the U.S. and China. For something so official, it left much to be desired in terms of market movement. Let's sort out what's real, what's not, and where our focus should...
Conventional market wisdom tends to classify stocks and bonds as archetypal investments on opposite ends of the risk spectrum. Stocks are for those who feel confident enough in the economy to take risks and bet on growth. Bonds are safe havens that offer at least...
This week was chock full of housing data ranging from construction and builder sentiment to the most recent tally on existing home sales. The takeaways can vary depending on your angle of approach. So let's look at all angles! A key news item came from the New...
As expected, the Fed raised rates this week. Mortgage rates and 10yr Treasury yields (which aren't directly tied to the Fed Funds Rate) actually moved lower for the rest of the week. How did that happen and what might it mean for the bigger picture? Remember, the...
The Federal Reserve meets 8 times a year to set its policy rate: The Fed Funds Rate. At next week's meeting, a "rate hike" is a foregone conclusion. And that's precisely why it won't matter. The financial market is the quintessential "discounting mechanism." That...