Fed’s Rosengren Says Housing Still Adding “Significant Uncertainty” to Economy

The sharpest drop in housing prices in 50 years poses a "significant" risk to the U.S. economy, but the Fed's rate cuts should be felt in the second half of the year, according to one Fed official on Friday. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said the U.S. housing market is ...

Fed’s Kohn Says Financial Regulations Should Be Strengthened

Speaking on 'Money Markets and Financial Stability' at the New York Fed's conference on money markets on Thursday night, Fed Vice-Chairman Donald Kohn (voter) said it was unclear how much strengthening of the U.S. financial regulatory system was needed, but that the need for reforms was evident. "As I ...

U.S. Personal Spending Report Allows Fed to Pause Rate Cuts, Economists Say

Inflation remains contained and personal spending continued improving according to the latest report from the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday. Economists said the Fed will be pleased to see that consumers are holding in there despite weakness in the broader economy, though in real terms the 0.2% gain in personal ...

Friday’s Events: Core PCE, Chicago PMI

Canadian Q1 and March GDP and core PCE in the U.S. will dominate the economic news of the day as markets prepare for the final trading day of May. In addition to comments from the Fed and Canadian finance ministers, markets will also be paying attention to European Central Bankers ...

Fed to Conclude Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Arrangements by June 26

On Thursday morning, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced its intentions to conclude arrangements for the financing of JPMorgan's acquisition of Bear Stearns by June 26 and finish valuating the investment bank's portfolio. "The New York Fed, in coordination with JPMorgan Chase, is working carefully and expeditiously to... ...

Dallas Fed’s Fisher Expects Rate Hike Despite Slowing Growth

Speaking in San Francisco on Thursday, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said he expects "a change of course in monetary policy to occur sooner rather than later, even in the face of an anemic economic scenario." "I would expect a change of course in monetary policy to occur sooner rather than ...

Thursday’s Events: U.S. Q1 Prelim GDP, Jobless Claims, Top FOMC-Speak

Preliminary U.S. GDP, jobless claims and comments from the Fed's Ben Bernanke, Donald Kohn and Timothy Geithner will highlight the North American economic releases along with weekly oil inventories from the Department of Energy and the first-quarter current account balance from Canada. Read More Now

U.S. Treasury’s Steel Calls for More Financial Education

Increased financial literacy from consumers would have helped dampen some of the effects of the subprime housing crisis, according to Robert K. Steel, U.S. undersecretary for domestic finance, on Wednesday. Read More Now

Fed Governor Mishkin Resigns Post

Federal Governor Frederic S. Mishkin submitted his resignation today to President George W. Bush. Mishkin will be leaving his post on Aug. 31, 2008. Mishkin has been a member of the board since Sept. 5, 2006. Mishkin's term was set to expire on Jan. 13, 2014. Mishkin has said that he ...

Fed’s Stern Says Inflation Expectations Based on How Fed Raises Rates

Minneapolis Fed President Gary Stern said on Wednesday that inflation expectations will be determined by how the Federal Reserve raises rates. On housing, Stern said the housing downturn looks more severe than the 1990s shock, noting that the residential housing inventory remains large and the housing adjustment is ongoing... Read ...

NAR and DOJ Reach 10-Year Settlement of MLS Anti-Trust Suit

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that it had reached a proposed settlement with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to end a long-simmering dispute over the use of multiple listings on the Internet. The basis of the dispute and an eventual anti-trust lawsuit against NAR filed in ...

Economic News Impacts Both Short- and Long-Term Rates; Applications Drop

Long- and short-term interest rates each moved slightly during the week ended May 22 on the basis of larger economic news according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Mortgage application volume decreased... Read More Now

Weekly Mortgage Applications Decline 4.6%

Weekly mortgage applications in the United States fell in the week ending May 23, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which said applications declined by 4.6% week-over-week. In the previous week, applications fell by 7.8%. The portion of fixed-rate mortgages... Read More Now

Economist Calls April U.S. Durable Goods Report “Awfully Strong”

The surprising 2.5% increase in April durable goods excluding transport as well as the 4.2% advance in core capital goods makes for a strong report that contrasts with the ISM manufacturing data, economists say. Eric Lascelles, senior economics and rates strategist at TD Securities, said the release is an "awfully ...

Wednesday’s Events: U.S. Durable Goods, Fed Speakers, Mortgage Applications

Some weekly U.S. retail and mortgage data kicks off the day followed by the release of durable goods orders and some Fed speakers. The Canadian economic front looks light with some tourism reports from Statistics Canada and a 23-year bond auction from the Bank of Canada. Meanwhile, Europeans will be ...

Lenders Facing Repurchase Demands from Investors

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that mortgage lenders are facing an assault on yet another front as the mortgage debacle rolls on. Investors, including Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, are taking a long look at loans they have purchased from lenders over the last few years and the contracts that ...

Former Fed Chairman Greenspan Says Chance Of Recession Still Above 50%

Speaking in an interview with the Financial Times on Monday, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said the chance of a recession in the United States was above 50% but that probability was pulling back somewhat. Read More Now

Meeting Minutes Say FOMC to Maintain Discount Rate to Slow Inflation

The release of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) March 31- April 30 minutes show seven district banks had voted for no change in the discount rate in an effort to slow inflation. The Boston Fed was the lone bank to vote for a half-point cut in the discount rate. Four banks ...

U.S. Consumer Confidence Falls to 16-Year Low

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for May fell more than expected to 57.2 in Tuesday's report, led by a 5.5- point decline in the present situation component. The previous month's reading of 62.3 was revised upwards to 62.8. The three-month average for consumer confidence is now at 62.0, down from 68.4 ...

U.S. New Home Sales Rise 3.3% in April after March Revision

New home sales in April rose for the first time in five months, increasing 3.3% to 526k following a downward revision of the March reading to 509k. The previous month's reading was previously reported as 526k, which was the lowest level since October 1991. Economists had expected a reading of ...

Case-Shiller Home Price Index Tumbles Further in March and Q1

The S&P Case-Shiller home price index for Q1 continued to deteriorate with the 20-city composite index posting a record annual decline of 14.1%. In March, the index also declined by an annualized 14.4%. The Case-Shiller index has fallen every month since peaking in July 2006. "The steep downturn in residential real ...

Tuesday’s Events: U.S. S&P/CS, New Home Sales, Cons Conf; Cdn Emp Insurance

Some Fed speakers, the U.S. S&P Case-Shiller house price index, new home sales and consumer confidence will complement the release of Canadian employment insurance data on Tuesday morning. At 8:15 a.m. EDT, Fed Governor Randall Kroszner (voter) will speak on U.S. mortgage markets... Read More Now

Fed’s Yellen Says Current Rates “Appropriate” to Stimulate Growth

San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen (non-voter) said rates are "appropriate" for encouraging growth and that the real Fed funds rate is near zero. In a Q&A session following her speech, Yellen said some negative scenarios for the housing market remain and that the extent of the drop in housing ...

Reader Offers Simple Plan to End Foreclosure Turmoil

Mortgage News Daily received an email this week from a reader with an intriguing idea for, if not solving, at least lessening the foreclosure crisis. What we loved about it was its simplicity. The reader said that she works with a real estate attorney in Florida, one of the three states ...

Existing Home Sales Decline Further to 4.89 Million

CEP News) - U.S. existing home sales decreased to 4.89 million units in April following March's revised sales figure of 4.94 million. This is the second month that home sales have remained under the 5 million mark. The national median existing home price was... Read More Now

Friday’s Events: U.S. Existing Home Sales, Memorial Day Weekend

U.S. existing home sales, comments from Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, and the release of the National Bank of Belgium's business confidence index for May are the highlights of Friday's economic events as the United States prepares for the Memorial Day weekend with early closes in fixed income and equities. ...

Treasury’s Paulson Sees End in Sight for U.S. Credit Crunch

In an interview with CNBC, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the U.S. has been in a rough patch but is coming closer to the end of the current credit crisis. Paulson was encouraged by thexxx Read More Now

OFHEO U.S. Housing Price Index Posts Largest Quarterly Decline on Record

House prices fell 0.4% month-over-month in March following February's revised 0.4% gain, and declined 1.7% quarter-over- quarter in Q1 compared to a previous 0.1% gain, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) reported Thursday. The quarterly fall was the largest decline on record. The consensus had been looking for a 1.3% ...

Preview: April Existing Home Sales Expected to Decline to 4.85 Million

Existing home sales for April, which will be released Friday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), are expected to decline further to a pace of 4.85 million units following March's sales figure of 4.93 million. This would mark the second month that home sales have remained under the 5 ...

Thursday’s Events: U.S. Jobless Claims

At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the U.S. Labor Department will release initial and continuing jobless claims for the weeks ending May 17 and 10 respectively. Economists expect a rise of 373k following a 371k increase in the previous week. Continuing jobless claims are expected to rise to 3,065k from the previous ...

Fed’s Kroszner says Stronger Banking Regulation Will Aid Mortgage Recovery

Fed Governor Randall Kroszner (voter), speaking at a conference of state bank supervisors, said that mortgage markets will recover slowly and that the key to the recovery is better risk management. "Recovery in the mortgage markets will take time and will require more market and regulatory discipline," said Kroszner. He called on ...

Meeting Minutes Say FOMC Doesn’t Want to Ease Even if U.S. Growth Slows

In unusually explicit language, the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) April 29-30 meeting said the decision to cut rates at the last meeting was "a close call" and that policy-makers will be reluctant to further cut rates even in the face of negative growth. "Most members viewed the ...

Hurricane Coverage May Also Fall Victim to Credit Crunch

The mortgage crisis has created yet another concern that could directly impact homeowners and, strangely enough, it is Mother Nature. A.M. Best Company, a full-service credit rating organization for the financial industries has raised speculation that the credit crunch may affect the ability of insurers and reinsurers to cover claims resulting ...

MBA Mortgage Applications Fall 7.8% in Week Ending May 16

Weekly mortgage applications in the United States fell in the week ending May 16, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which said applications declined by 7.8% week-over-week. In the previous week, applications rose by 2.9%. The portion of fixed-rate mortgages decreased... Read More Now

Interest Rates Still Moving Within a Narrow Range; Applications Down

Mortgage rates continued to move within a tight range during the week ended May 15 according to results from Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.01 percent, a decline of 4 basis points from the previous week, although there was a spike in average ...

Wednesday’s Events: FOMC Minutes, DOE Oil Inventories

Canadian CPI and the FOMC minutes are the highlights of the North American economic events, but with crude oil surging to new record highs on Wednesday morning, the Department of Energy's weekly oil inventories are not to be ignored. At 7 a.m. EDT, the U.S. Mortgage Bankers' Association will release ...

Fed’s Warsh Urges Policy Makers to Focus on Inflation

Kevin Warsh, a voting member of the Federal Reserve Board, signalled concerns about inflation and said fellow Fed members need to be cautious in cutting rates. Warsh said inflation has been "elevated for some time" and the Fed should resist the urge to cut rates even if the economy slows. "The Federal ...

Economists Look to FOMC Minutes for Rate Direction

After the FOMC cut rates 25 bps to 2.00% on April 30 and signalled a pause in monetary policy loosening, economists will be attentive to any commentary explaining the short- and long-term inflation outlook in the United States in the release of the FOMC's minutes on Wednesday. Dawn Desjardins, assistant economist ...

Greenspan Says Inflation Not Yet Out of Control

Inflation is not yet out of control in the United States, according to former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, speaking via satellite link to a conference in Athens, Greece. Nevertheless, the markets are moving towards a more inflation-prone environment, added the retired central banker. Read More Now

Senate Nears Accord on its Version of Housing Rescue Bill

Might there be a housing rescue bill after all? Monday night Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT and Senator Richard Shelby (R- AL), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs announced that they had reached an agreement that will be presented to the whole committee on Tuesday. ...

Fed’s Kohn Says U.S. Economy to Grow in Second Half of 2008, Expects Lower Inflation

Speaking at a National conference on Public Retirement in Louisiana, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn reiterated his position that while the economy is currently experiencing intense pressures, he fully expected that it would recover in the second half of 2008. Read More Now

Tuesday’s Events: U.S. Producer Prices, Fed’s Kohn, Cdn Wholesales

U.S. producer prices, IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism and comments from Fed Vice-Chairman Donald Kohn will highlight the U.S. economic data front, while Canadian markets receive international securities transactions and wholesale sales. At 7:45 a.m. EDT, ICSC will release chain store sales for the week ending May 17. In the previous week, sales ...

The Housing Bust is Over

We can all breathe a sign of relief. The housing crisis is over. At least that was the headline on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal earlier this month when Cyril Moulle-Berteaux, a managing partner of Traxis Partners LP, a hedge fund firm based in New York made his case ...

The Week Ahead: Retail Sales and FOMC Minutes

Economists are expecting a quiet week despite a handful of market-moving reports. Markets will receive FOMC minutes from the April monetary policy meeting, April PPI, home price index and existing homes sales. Read More Now

Atlanta Fed’s Lockhart Says U.S. Slowdown to Have Global Impact

Speaking at a conference on Saturday, Dennis Lockhart, Atlanta Fed President (non-voter) said inflation levels were 'elevated' and that a slowing U.S. economy would have global repercussions. He also pointed out that the U.S. economic slowdown was technically not a recession and that... Read More Now

U.S. Leading Economic Index Rises 0.1% in April

According to the Conference Board, the index of U.S. leading indicators improved 0.1% month-over-month in April, matching the 0.1% rise in March. The increase was above the consensus estimate looking for no change. "These data certainly reflect a weak economy but not one in recession," said Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The ...

Housing Starts Take a Small but Encouraging Jump in April

The rate of housing starts during April was 8.2 percent higher than in March. April's rate was 1,032,000 and the revised March estimate was 954,000. The April figure, however, is 30.6 percent lower than the revised April 2007 rate of 1,487,000. Home builders, however, continue to take a dim view of ...

Consumer Sentiment Unaffected by Tax Rebates

The first monthly reading for consumer confidence in May failed to show any improvement despite the beginning of the fiscal stimulus tax rebates, economists say. The preliminary consumer sentiment survey from Reuters and the University of Michigan tumbled beyond the previous month's 26-year low, falling to 59.5 from April's 62.6. ...

Rise in Housing Starts Unlikely to Begin a New Trend

Brian Bethune, chief U.S. financial economist at Global Insight, said the decline in single-family starts "certainly makes sense given the level of inventory, but the other numbers are puzzling." TD's Millan Mulraine added that "it may be tempting to conclude that the U.S. housing sector may have gained some positive traction. ...

Industrial Production Consistent with Recessionary Levels, Economists Say

Weakness in U.S. industrial production is consistent with recessionary levels, economists said following the 0.7% decline in Thursday's report from the Federal Reserve. T.J. Marta, fixed income strategist from RBC Capital Markets, said the "collapse" resembles the turbulence seen during the 1990 recession, the 2001 recession, Hurricane Katrina, and the ...

Bernanke Urges Firms to Raise More Capital

Speaking at the Chicago Fed's Conference on Bank Structure and Competition, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said he would strongly urge firms to continue raising new capital. "Recent events have also demonstrated the importance of generous capital cushions for protecting against adverse conditions in financial and credit markets," Bernanke said. "I strongly urge ...

MBA Mortgage Applications Climbs 2.9%

Weekly mortgage applications in the United States rose in the week ending May 9, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which said applications increased by 2.9%. In the previous week, applications rebounded 15.6%. The portion of fixed-rate mortgages... Read More Now

Banks Show Elevated Reluctance Lend

There is an elevated amount of reluctance from banks to lend, according to Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, speaking Wednesday at the Boston Fed's Basel II conference on New Challenges for Operational Risk Measurement and Management. "The practices of risk management in general... Read More Now

Investment Banks Need to Be Regulated

There is a need for investment banks to be regulated like commercial banks, according to former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker testifying before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday morning. Volcker also observed that the Fed's involvement in the mortgage market is a... Read More Now

Core CPI Gives Fed Green Light to Cut, Economist Says

The lower-than-expected core CPI report released Wednesday should allow the Fed to cut rates once again rather than worry about rising inflation, an economist says. However, as energy prices continue rising, there may be reason to put more emphasis on total inflation rather than the core figure, says another economist. ...

Dallas Fed Head Fisher Warns that Slowdown Will Be Prolonged but Not Very Deep

Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher (voter) speaking at the Hilton Midland Plaza in Texas said that the current economic slowdown will be prolonged, but not very deep. Fisher warned that the Federal Reserve is in a difficult situation trying to repair the financial system, and that... Read More Now

Results from Piecemeal Housing Plans Leave Doubts About Effectiveness

Even as the House of Representatives passed two housing rescue bills and the Senate wrestles over a bill of its own, criticism is raining down on those remedies to the housing crisis that are already in place. There are so many piecemeal plans operating such as Hope Now, Project Lifeline and ...

Fed’s Lockhart Sees Fragile Credit Conditions in U.S.

Delivering opening remarks at the Atlanta Fed's Financial Markets Conference, Dennis Lockhart, head of the Atlanta Federal Reserve (non-voter) said credit markets remain fragile given a loss of confidence from the subprime crisis. Read More Now

Bernanke: Financial Market Conditions “Far From Normal”

Speaking at the Atlanta Fed's Financial Markets Conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed the current state of the U.S. economy, calling current financial market conditions "far from normal." "The provision of liquidity by a central bank can help mitigate a financial crisis. However, central banks face a tradeoff... Read ...

New Fannie Mae Program May Benefit 150,000 Homeowners

Another program to aid in the subprime mortgage crisis has been announced by Fannie Mae. Under the new rules Fannie will refinance mortgages at up to 120 percent loan to value and the program appears to be limited to loans that are paid to date and that Fannie either owns or ...

A Blockbuster Week for Data

It is going to be a blockbuster week for data in the U.S. with the release of tier one data. Markets will receive April's CPI report, retail sales, import price index, industrial production and capacity utilization, housing starts and building permits, and the University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment. Read ...

Bill to Aid Communities Cope With Aftermath of Foreclosure Passes House

The House late Thursday approved a narrowly focused bill that would provide $15 billion to the states to buy and spruce up foreclosed properties. The bill is different from one that has been widely discussed that would enable to Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to ensure new mortgages where the... Read ...

House Passes Second Half of Housing Rescue Plan Despite Veto Threat

The latest bill would allow lenders to reduce their exposure to foreclosures if they agree to cut the outstanding balance of an existing loan, thus allowing homeowners to refinance into a new loan that would be FHA insured. The reductions taken by lenders are substantial and must be based on ...

Economists Divided on What Jobless Claims Say About the Labor Market

The current pace of jobless claims is relatively low compared to the previous recession, some economists say. However, others note that the rise in continuing claims is consistent with a higher unemployment rate than its current 5.0%, suggesting more trouble in the labour market than the latest figures might indicate. ...

Fed, FTC Propose New Rules on Lenders

The Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission proposed new rules on Thursday which would require lenders to inform consumers of unfavourable developments or changes to the terms of their loans. Under the proposed regulations, the lenders would also have the option of divulging a consumer's credit risk rating. Read More ...

Consumer Credit Rises Well Above Forecasts in February

Surprising to the upside, seasonally adjusted consumer debt rose $15.3 billion in March, according to data released Wednesday from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which also showed that total consumer credit rose to 2.558 trillion. Read More Now

Deterioration in Pending Home Sales Confirms Broader Trend, Economists Say

Economists say the March report for pending home sales confirms what has been known for many months now: the U.S. housing market is still several months away from stabilizing. Benjamin Reitzes, economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the report essentially gives no new data, just a confirmation of the longer- term ...

MBA Weekly U.S. Mortgage Applications Bounce Up 15.6%

Weekly mortgage applications in the United States rose in the week ending May 2 following two weeks of declines, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which said applications increased by 15.6%. Read More Now

Mortgage Rates Continue Pattern of Last Few Weeks - Little Movement

Continued tight credit and worries about inflation worked to keep mortgage rates essentially locked into place during the week ended May 1 according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey conducted by Freddie Mac. MBA also reported that mortgage originations for commercial and multifamily properties were up 19 percent last year (2007) ...

Jump in Mortgage Foreclosures is “Urgent Problem”

Fed Governor Randall Kroszner said rising mortgage foreclosures are an "urgent problem" and called on Congress to pass a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regulatory bill. "As the Federal Reserve builds on its consumer protection efforts in order to mitigate foreclosures for current homeowners, we are also concerned about the... ...

Kansas Fed’s Hoenig Concerned Inflation May Prompt Interest Rate Hike

Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig (non-voter) says that inflation is becoming embedded in the economy and that may compel a significant interest rate hike. In a speech in Denver, Colorado, Hoeing that consumers are showing an "inflation psychology to an extent that I have not since the 1970s and ...

Doubting the Viability of Fannie Mae

With Washington increasingly relying on Fannie and Freddie to pick up the slack in buying mortgages and mortgage- backed securities - the two between them bought 80 percent of all mortgages purchased by investors in the first quarter of 2008 - The New York Times in an article on Tuesday ...

Fed’s Q1 Senior Loan Officer Survey Shows Broad Tightening of Loan Standards

Lending standards at U.S. banks are increasingly stringent, according to the Federal Reserve's April 2008 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices. The survey showed ... Read More Now

Foreclosures Must Be Averted for Sake of Economy

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said accelerating rates of foreclosures and delinquencies can have a significant impact on the economy and called for more to be done in order to prevent them. Speaking Monday night at the Columbia Business School's 32nd annual dinner, Bernanke said the rate of foreclosures will likely ...

Fannie Mae Reports Larger-Than-Expected Losses in Q1

Deteriorating conditions in the U.S. housing market contributed to a larger-than-expected first quarterly loss from U.S. mortgage giant FNMA (Fannie Mae) on Tuesday morning, which reported a loss per share of $2.57 or net losses of $2.2 billion. The street had estimated a loss of $0.81 per share. The company also warned ...

U.S. Treasury’s Swagel Says U.S. Economy in Slowdown Not Recession

Speaking in an interview with Diane Rehm on WAMU radio, Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the U.S. Department of Treasury Philip Swagel said that recent data suggested the economy was merely experiencing a slowdown rather than an outright recession. Read More Now

Task Force May Widen Federal and State Investigation into Mortgage Irregularities

Investigations into events surrounding the virtual collapse of the mortgage lending industry are expanding on a number of levels. In addition to examining the general poor underwriting that appears to have formed the basis of the subprime crisis such as ignoring poor credit or inflating or failing to document income, prosecutors ...

House Committee Aproves FHA “Short Pay” Loans

A key committee in the House of Representatives late Thursday passed legislation that would make up to $300 billion in federally insured mortgages available to borrowers facing foreclosure. Under the principle provision in the bill, the FHA will guarantee a new loan to a troubled borrower if the existing lender ...

U.S. Treasury’s Ryan Sees Increasing Failed Trades in Treasuries

Speaking to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association in Chicago on Thursday, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets Anthony W. Ryan said failures in transactions of treasuries had increased over the last twelve months and called on investors to help prevent such events from occurring. Read More Now

U.S. Construction Spending Falls 1.1% in March

According to a report from the U.S. Commerce Department, construction spending in the United Sates declined 1.1% month-over-month in March. Nevertheless, the move was expected by economists, who had projected a decline of 0.7% following February's upwardly revised 0.4% increase. Read More Now

Fed’s Bernanke Says Impossible to Tell When Markets Will Normalize

In a letter to U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said it is impossible to tell when markets will normalize and that the Fed is constantly reviewing its monetary policy tools to make them more effective. Read More Now

Not Many Positives Coming Out of Jumbo Market Changes

With the House and Senate working to hammer out differences in their respective approaches to solving the housing/credit crisis, problems are already emerging with other solutions proposed or enacted tackle pieces of the problem. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that there are real problems with the jumbo mortgage aspect ...