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Mortgage applications rise in latest week |
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Clipped by Sam Stamper
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Tuesday, 05 February 2008
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Overall volume jumps 8.3%, spurred by surging refinancings as interest rates drop, according to Mortgage Bankers Association's survey.January 23 2008: 7:45 AM ESTWASHINGTON (AP) -- Mortgage application volume rose 8.3 percent during the week ending Jan. 18, according to the trade group Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey.The MBA's application index rose to 981.5 from 906.4 the previous week.Refinance volume spurred the growth, increasing 16.9 percent. Purchase volume fell 4.6 percent during the week ending Jan. 18. Refinance volume accounted for 66 percent of all applications.The index peaked at 1,856.7 during the week ending May 30, 2003, at the height of the housing boom. |
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Why the Fed can't save us |
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Clipped by Sam Stamper
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Tuesday, 05 February 2008
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Bernanke and company are using up their limited ammunition, but genuine problems remain with the low dollar and U.S. debt, argues Allan Sloan.By Allan Sloan, senior editor at largeNEW YORK (Fortune) -- Forget all those rational explanations about why foreign stocks markets, especially in Asia, have been melting down for two days. Despite what you've read, seen and heard, those declines weren't caused by fears of what a recession in the U.S. would do to the profits of companies whose stocks trade in places like India, China and Russia.Rather, the meltdowns were flat-out market panics, where rationality gets tossed out the window as everyone tries to head for the door at once and gets trampled. Go-go markets, especially in Asia, had risen to ridiculous heights - they were going up because they were going up, and momentum fed on itself. Now, they're going down because they're going down, and momentum is feeding on itself again.The fact that the Federal Reserve Board announced an emergency cut of 0.75 percent in short-term rates shows that the Fed thinks the problem is a market panic rather than economic fundamentals. Normally, the Fed would have waited until mid-day next Tuesday - the second day of its scheduled two-day meeting - to announce a rate cut. Announcing an out-of-schedule cut today before the stock market opened shows that its motivation is to calm the markets rather than to reinvigorate the U.S. economy. |
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Fed Cut: What It Means for Your Mortgage |
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Clipped by Sam Stamper
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Tuesday, 05 February 2008
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On days like this, I think it’s important to go back to the ol’ mortgage primer and figure out exactly what all this news means to you, to your mortgage, to your home equity line and to your home’s financial future. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the 30-year fixed is not tied to short-term treasuries.Fixed mortgage rates are tied to long-term bond yields that move based on the outlook for the economy and inflation. And guess what? The long-term outlook for the economy isn’t exactly rosy right now.Today’s rate cut does affect short-term adjustable rate mortgages, but not really as much as you might think. Why? Because this rate cut was already priced into the market, maybe not three quarter's point, but definitely a half-point. So if you are facing a reset on your ARM, you’re in much better shape today than you were just six months ago. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 05 February 2008 )
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Weak retail sales weigh on mortgages rates |
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Clipped by Sam Stamper
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Tuesday, 05 February 2008
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Consumers scaled back spending in December, leading to heightened economic concerns and lower mortgage rates, Freddie Mac says.January 17 2008: 10:47 AM ESTNEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Weak retail sales and broader concerns about the economy exerted downward pressure on mortgage rates, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.The government-sponsored loan buyer said the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 5.69 percent for the week ending Jan. 17, down from 5.87 percent last week.At this time last year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.23 percent. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 05 February 2008 )
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Bernanke: Juice the economy 'quickly' |
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Clipped by Sam Stamper
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Tuesday, 05 February 2008
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Fed chairman, urging lawmakers to boost consumer spending within 12 months, tags mortgage meltdown's cost at $100 billion or more.By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at largeJanuary 17 2008: 3:12 PM ESTNEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday that legislators should enact a fiscal stimulus package in order to help beleaguered consumers as recession fears grow.The comments by Bernanke, who testified before the House Budget Committee, came as a cascade of more bad news about the housing, financial and manufacturing sectors stoked calls for decisive action."To be useful, a fiscal stimulus package should be implemented quickly and structured so that its effects on aggregate spending are felt as much as possible within the next twelve months or so," Bernanke said.Some economists have suggested that the economy is heading into a recession or may already be in one. Stocks have plummeted this year, and big banks Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) reported huge quarterly losses this week resulting from bad mortgage investments.Bernanke said that current losses from the subprime mortgage mess were probably about $100 billion but cautioned that this figure could wind up being higher.Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told lawmakers on Tuesday that Congress should consider a stimulus package of up to $150 billion. He proposed an immediate injection of $50 billion to $75 billion through a combination of tax cuts and increased spending on unemployment benefits and other programs. He also advocated that another $50 billion to $75 billion be set aside in case economic conditions weaken further.During Thursday's hearing, Bernanke said he thought a fiscal stimulus package of up to $150 billion, would be "reasonable."A spokesman for President Bush said Thursday that the White House also supports a short-term stimulus package. |
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