News

It was nearly impossible to avoid news regarding the debt ceiling this week, but how much does it actually matter? Let’s make sure we’re on the same page first.  What follows are a few NON-POLITICAL thoughts on the debt ceiling, which is different than a “default.” The debt ceiling has to be increased periodically in…
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The debt ceiling debate is all over the news, but it’s a different ceiling is commanding more of the bond market’s attention.  Still, we wouldn’t say the debt ceiling is irrelevant, so let’s take a brief moment to address its implications for the housing and mortgage markets. The most direct effect of the debt ceiling…
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Scroll down far enough on the list of Webster’s definitions of the word “consolidate,” and you’ll find “to form together into a compact mass.”  Financial markets appropriated that definition long ago and have been using it to refer to the condensed mass of prices, yields, or whatever else is being measured on a chart. Speaking…
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The first week of any given month tends to have the highest concentration of economic data with the power to influence the bond market, and thus interest rates. This week was no exception. In addition to the scheduled economic data, there was unscheduled drama in the banking sector.  This involved the orderly failure of First…
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Mortgage rates fell nicely to start the week but only after rising rather abruptly in the previous two weeks. That said, short term ups and downs are just a sideshow in the bigger picture where rates have been locked in a pattern of indecision that will ultimately give way to the next big move. There’s a…
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The good news is that last November increasingly looks like the moment when rates stopped surging higher at the fastest pace in 40 years. The not-so-good news is that they still don’t seem sure what to do next. Rates have been able to stop the bleeding due to inflation broadly leveling off over the past 6…
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