Treasury’s Paulson Says Fed’s Role Must be as a Stabilizer

Speaking to journalists en route to Berlin, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that his speech on July 2 will focus on the Federal Reserve's role as a macro stability regulator. Paulson said that speech will focus on the Federal Reserve's process for intervening in financial affairs and that any intervention by ...

Is Any Company Safe from Subprime Related Lawsuits?

...He cites as examples appraisers, "fee hungry" mortgage brokers, and real estate agents who participated in putting home buyers into subprime mortgages they could not afford. There may also be, as Lenckus puts it, an unknown number of "widget manufacturers" which bought various mortgage- backed financial instruments as investments that ...

Chicago Business Barometer Approaches Growth Levels at 49.6 in June

The ISM-Chicago business barometer remained below 50 for the fifth consecutive month in June, yet improved more than expected, coming in at 49.6, against expectations that it would fall to 48.0 from 49.1 in May. "The threat of an economic recession spreading from the housing and credit sectors has yet to ...

Monday’s Events: Canadian GDP, ISM Chicago PMI, ECB’s Constancio

Canadian GDP and the ISM-Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index will highlight the start of what is looking to be a busy shortened week on the North American data front. In the afternoon, comments from Portuguese Central Banker Vitor-Manuel Ribeiro Constancio will also be closely watched ahead of the European Central Bank's ...

Dallas Fed Mfg Index Declines in June

Texas business activity declined further in June according to the Dallas Fed's manufacturing report on Monday, whose business activity index fell to -24.1 from May's -10.3. "Several indicators for current conditions declined from May levels and turned negative," read the report. "Despite June's slowdown, more than a third of manufacturers responding ...

May PCE Core Deflator Rises Lower-Than-Expected at 0.1%

The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) core deflator, advanced by 0.1% (0.113%) in May, below expectations and contributing to a year-over- year change of 2.1% (2.139%), according to a report released from the Commerce Department on Friday morning. Read More Now

Fed Minutes Says Bear Stearns Actions, Primary Lending Facility Necessary

In the minutes released from a meeting of Fed Governors to approve Bear Stearns' acquisition by JPMorgan and the establishment of a lending facility to primary lenders on March 14 and 16, the Fed reaffirmed that the moves were "based on recent, rapidly changing developments." Read More Now

Friday’s Events: U.S. Core PCE, Personal Income and Spending, Cnd IPPI & RPI

U.S. core PCE, personal income and spending, and final data from the Michigan consumer sentiment survey will finish off the U.S. economic data week as Canadians receive industrial product and raw material prices along with average payroll earnings. Overseas, markets will be looking at the preliminary figures for German CPI ...

Thursday’s Events: Final US Q1 GDP, Initial Jobless Claims, U.S. Existing Home Sales

A final look at U.S. first quarter GDP and initial jobless claims will be the key releases of the morning followed by the releasing of U.S. existing home sales. Europeans will be paying attention to comments from J

U.S. Existing Home Sales Rise 2.0% to 4.99 Million in May

U.S. existing home sales rose to 4.99 million units in May, or 2.0%, following April's unrevised sales figure of 4.89 million. This is the third month that home sales have remained under the 5 million mark. Economists were expecting the May data to rise to 4.95 million, or 1.2%, following the ...

Condo Sales Main Driver of 2.0% Rise in U.S. Existing Home Sales

Condominium sales were the main driver of the 2.0% rise in existing home sales in May, which came in higher than the 1.2% gain expected by economists. Condo sales rose 5.5% in May, more than reversing the 5.2% monthly drop in April, while single family home sales rose 1.6% in the ...

Fed Creates Two New Entities for Risk Management and Communication

The New York Fed created two new entities on Thursday in an effort to improve the bank's risk management and communications among regional and community banks. The Communications Group "was created in recognition of the increasing roles and responsibilities of the communications and regional and community affairs area in the Bank... ...

And Yet the Sale of Countrywide is Going to Happen

The sale of Countrywide Mortgage to Bank of America absorbed another blow this week as three states took legal action against the lender. The attorneys general of California and Illinois and the Washington State department that regulates financial institutions all filed lawsuits against Countrywide on Tuesday alleging variations on the theme ...

Soaring Gas Price Will Push Millions Off the Road, Says CIBC Report

Soaring world oil prices will drive the cost of gasoline in the U.S. into the stratosphere over the next two years, forcing many Americans off the road and drastically altering the driving habits of millions more, according to a report released Thursday by CIBC World Markets. American driving habits will have ...

Higher Jobless Claims Data Indicate Job Market Deterioration, Economists Say

Economists say the higher-than-expected initial jobless claims reading for the week ending June 21 and four-year high reached in continuing claims illustrates the continued deterioration of the U.S. labour market. "Three straight weeks of claims in the mid-380s is not good news; this is recession territory," said Ian Shepherdson, Chief U.S. ...

FOMC Holds Target Rate at 2.00%, Cites Uncertainty in Inflation Outlook

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it would hold the Fed funds target rate at 2.00%, as was widely expected. The accompanying statement was balanced between a concern for slowing growth and rising uncertainty in inflation. In the statement, the Fed said "overall economic activity continues to expand, partly reflecting some ...

Durable Goods Excluding Transport Falls in Line with Expectations in May

Durable goods excluding transportation fell by 0.9% in May in the U.S. durable goods report on Wednesday, according to the Department of Commerce. Economists were expecting a 1.0% monthly decline following April's downwardly revised 1.9% increase. Read More Now

Mortgage Rates Continue to Set New 2008 Records, Applications Fall

Fixed-rate mortgage interest increased again during the week ended June 19 according to results from the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released by Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) jumped from 6.32 percent to 6.42 percent with fees and points... Read More Now

Wednesday’s Events: FOMC Rate Decision, U.S. New Home Sales, Durable Goods

U.S. durable goods orders, new home sales, and the Department of Energy's weekly oil inventories are the highlights of the early morning's events, but all data of the day will be eclipsed by the FOMC's rate decision at 2:15 p.m. EDT. Read More Now

MBA Mortgage Applications Decline in Week Ending June 20

Weekly mortgage applications in the United States fell further in the week ending June 20, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which reported that applications fell by 9.3% week-over-week. In the previous week, applications fell by a revised 8.7%. The average loan size was... Read More ...

New Homes Sales Continue to Fall, Down 2.5% in May

After five months of declines in the pace of new home sales, April's uptick appears to have been temporary as new home sales in the U.S. continued to fall back 2.5% down in May, declining to 512k, in line with expectations from economists. This follows an upwardly revised reading of 525k ...

Treasury’s Ryan Says Financial System Should Allow Banks to Fail

Speaking in London at Euromoney's Global Borrowers Investors Forum 2008, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Markets, Anthony Ryan said the financial system needs to become robust enough to allow for bank failures... Read More Now

Tuesday’s Events: Case-Shiller and OFHEO Home Prices, Rich. Fed Mfg, Alan Greenspan

The S&P/Case Shiller house price index, data from the OFHEO and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing report will highlight the U.S. economic releases as Canadian markets receive employment insurance data and comments from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Read More Now

Consumer Confidence Plummets to Lowest Level Since 1992

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for June tumbled to levels not seen since 1992 at 50.4 in Tuesday's report, led by a near 10-point decline in the present situation component. Economists were looking for a moderate decline to 56.0. The previous month's reading of 57.2 was revised upwards to 58.1. ...

U.S. House Prices Fall 0.8% Month-Over-Month in April, Says OFHEO

U.S. house prices fell 0.8% month-over-month in April following March's revised 0.6% decline, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) reported Tuesday. The consensus had been looking for a 0.4% month-over-month pullback in April. Leading the decline was a 2.0% month-over-month fall in the Pacific region, followed by a... ...

Case Shiller Home Price Index Declines by Record Annual Levels in April

The S&P Case-Shiller home price index continued to deteriorate in April as the 20-city composite index posted a record annual decline of 15.3%. The Case-Shiller index has fallen every month since peaking in July 2006. The month-to-month decline in home prices was 1.36%, compared to the 2.17% loss in the previous ...

FOMC to Hold Interest Rates at 2.00%, Markets to Focus on Statement

Not a single contrarian voice exists among the 101 economists surveyed by Bloomberg for Wednesday's U.S. rate announcement from the Federal Open Market Committee. All agree that the Fed will hold rates at 2.00% , which means the focus will turn towards the accompanying statement to look for insight as to ...

Greenspan Says Turmoil Could Last for Some Time

Speaking via satellite to a conference in Johannesburg, Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said the financial market crisis will continue for some time, and could last well into 2009. The data implies the U.S. economy is on the brink of recession, said Greenspan, citing forecasts for very sluggish growth over the ...

U.S. Treasury’s Paulson Says Housing Remains Biggest Challenge

In an interview with a Mexican television station, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the biggest challenge facing the U.S. economy is an ailing housing sector, which he hopes will recover by the end of the year. Paulson stressed that economic fundamentals in the United State, nevertheless, remained strong, adding ...

Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System Expands to 14 States

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) announce that six more states -- Connecticut, Louisiana. Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Vermont -- will begin using the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) beginning July 1st. The eight states currently using NMLS ...

Treasury’s Steel Says De-Leveraging, Re-Pricing of Risk to Continue

U.S. Treasury Under Secretary Robert Steel said the current de- leveraging in the financial sector and re-pricing of risk will continue for some time and that financial conditions will improve, though "not in a straight line." Speaking at a keynote address to the Managed Funds Association in Chicago on Monday, Steel said ...

Chicago Fed National Activity Index Improves in May

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index came in at - 0.96 in May, up from the April reading of -1.23, which was downwardly revised from -1.17. Despite the overall improvement, all four broad categories were negative in the month, though inflationary expectations over the coming year are said to be low. ...

Monday’s Events: Chicago Fed National Activity

It will be relatively quiet day today, with the only significant releases scheduled consisting of the Chicago Fed's National Activity Index and the Belgian confidence index. At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the Chicago Federal Reserve will release its National Activity Index for the month of May. At 9:00 p.m. EDT, the Belgian confidence ...

Operation Malicious Mortgage Yields 400 Arrests

Following the third major "sweep" of the mortgage industry in four years, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Thursday that it had arrested over 400 real estate industry players since March, dozens of them over the last two days, for incidences ...

The Day Ahead: Cdn Retail Sales; U.S. Senator McCain in Ottawa

At 10:00 a.m. EDT, U.S. mass layoffs data for the month of May will be released from the U.S. Bureau of Labour of Statistics. There were 133,914 mass layoffs in April. In the early afternoon, markets will be attentive to comments from U.S. presidential candidate John McCain speaking in Ottawa on ...

Fed Must Protect the Markets from Relapse, Kohn Says

Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee on risk management and systemic risk, Federal Reserve Vice-Chairman Donald Kohn said that while liquidity pressures have eased, the Federal Reserve must protect the markets from a possible relapse. Kohn said that home loan losses are increasingly significantly and that the commercial real estate market ...

Treasury’s Paulson Says More Liquidity to Financial Institutions to Come

Speaking at the Women in Housing & Finance's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the U.S. may have to offer more liquidity to more institutions in the future. "We have now learned that a wider range of institutions can potentially threaten the stability of the ...

Philadelphia Fed’s June Manufacturing Falls to -17.1

Manufacturing in the region covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware remained in decline for the seventh consecutive month in June, as the slowdown accelerated following the previous month's improvement, according to the Philadelphia Fed's Manufacturing survey. Read More Now

Thursday’s Events: UI Claims, Philly Fed Mfg

At 10 a.m. EDT, the Philadelphia Fed will release its manufacturing index for June. Economists expect the headline index to rise to a reading of -10.0 compared to May's score of - 15.6. Markets will also be paying attention to the prices paid, new orders and employment indexes, which scored 53.8, ...

Economists Divided on Whether Jobless Claims Signal Recessionary Data

Initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States came in higher than expected with 381k claims in the week ending June 13, following a 2k upward revision to 386k in the previous week. Economists were divided as to what these figures mean for the broader economy. "This is recession territory, ...

Long-Term Interest Rates Hit Highest Point since Last October

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MBA Mortgage Applications Decline in Week Ending June 13

Weekly mortgage applications in the United States fell further in the week ending June 13, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which reported that applications fell by 8.8% week-over-week. In the previous week, applications increased by 10.9%. Read More Now

Wednesday’s Events: Central Bank Watch and DOE Inventories

Today will be a day to watch what central bankers have to say about the current economic conditions, with the Fed's Yellen, EU's Juncker and the BOE's King all making appearances. The U.S. Department of Energy will release crude inventories along with gasoline inventories, distillates and refinery utilization. Markets ...

U.S. Housing Market Bottom Not Yet in Sight, Say Economists

"U.S. housing starts have left no doubt that the housing crunch is still in full swing," said Dimitry Fleming at ING Wholesale Banking. "Home builders have now cut production 60% since the peak early 2006, but despite these drastic measures the overhang - as measured by the months of available ...

NAHB Green Building Legislation Offers Incentives to Lenders

Jerry Howard, NAHB executive vice president and CEO testified before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on H.R. 6078, the Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhood Act (or the GREEN Act) of 2008. The GREEN Act, sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter, (D-CO) provides incentives to lenders to provide lower interest loans ...

The Fed Won’t Hike at Upcoming Meeting, WSJ and FT Say

The Federal Reserve won't hike interest rates on June 25 and may not hike in August, articles in the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times suggest. The articles follow up a story in Monday's Washington Post that cited unnamed sources and said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has no plans to ...

U.S. Housing Starts and Building Permits Decline in May

U.S. housing starts came in below expectations at 975k in May, a month-over-month decline of 3.3%, according to data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce on Tuesday morning. The consensus was looking for a decline to 980k level. The previous month's 1032k was revised to a level of 1008k. Despite ...

U.S. Builder Confidence Matches Historic Low at 18

A report from Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) suggests that homebuilders were even more pessimistic in June as the housing market index fell a single point to 18, matching the historic low of the 22-year index reached last December. The previous month's single-point drop to 19 ...

Monday’s Events: Lehman, Cnd New Vehicle Sales, Empire Mfg Index, Fed’s Bernanke

Earnings from Lehman Brothers will kick off the day followed by Canadian motor vehicle sales and the Empire Fed's manufacturing index. Markets will also be paying attention to U.S. TIC flows, comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker (voter) followed by the NAHB's housing market ...

Washington Post Sources Say Bernanke has no Plans for Rate Hikes

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has no plans to raise interest rates and is more concerned about growth than inflation, a Washington Post op-ed reported on Monday. Citing "sources close to" Bernanke, columnist Robert Novak said the Fed chairman sees high energy prices as a threat to growth, not a driver ...

Two Senators Appear to be “Friends of Countrywide”

The loud "thud" you just heard over in the corner of the Senate hearing room was Senator Chris Dodd's vice presidential hopes hitting the wall. The Senator was the second major political figure caught up in and possibly brought down by various aspects of the mortgage mess in general and Countrywide ...

Annual Home Foreclosures Soared by 48% in May, Says Report

U.S home foreclosures grew by 7% percent in May and increased by 48% annually, according to a report released by RealtyTrac. That is the highest rate since the firm began tracking foreclosures in 2005. There were 261,255 foreclosure filings in May as one in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure ...

Greenspan Says Recovery Still Months Away

Speaking at an economic forum in Mexico City, Mexico, Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said that while he has seen a pronounced turnaround in March, the market turmoil may get worse before a recovery sets in. Greenspan said that he still sees downward pressures from housing, adding that "prices may only ...

Friday’s Events: U.S. CPI, Michigan Sentiment; Greenspan Speaks

At 10 a.m. EDT, Reuters and the University of Michigan will release the preliminary consumer sentiment report for June. The headline index is expected to decline to 59.0 compared to May's final 59.8. At noon EDT, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan will speak at an economic forum in Mexico City... ...

Economists Speculate on Fed’s Monetary Policy Following CPI Report

Core inflation continued to be benign in May, rising 0.2% in the month and 2.3% in the year, but the Fed will likely put more focus on total inflation as that figure came in higher than anticipated, economists said on Friday after the CPI report. TD Securities expects "continued hawkishness on ...

Go Green With Your Real Estate Marketing

The National Association of Realtors

Lehman Brothers CFO and COO Resign With Stock Down 32% in a Week

A pair of top executives at Lehman Brothers have resigned with shares of the company in freefall. Shares of the company are trading down 3% to $22.87 ahead of the open. Since the close on June 5, shares of Lehman are down 32.7%. Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan and Chief Operating Officer ...

Fed’s Plosser Calls Inflation Threat “Serious” and “An Insidious Tax on Consumers”

Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said the inflation threat was "serious", and called it an "insidious tax on consumers". Turning towards the credit crunch, the Philadelphia Fed President warned that financial markets were not out of the woods yet, adding that, "We're going to see ...

U.S. Fed’s Beige Book Says Economy “Generally Weak” With 7 Districts Slowing

Economic conditions across the United States remain "generally weak" in the Fed's Beige Book covering April and May, yet only seven of the 12 districts describe conditions as "sluggish" or "soft," compared to nine in the previous report, while the remaining five described conditions as "stable" or "little changed." ...

Fed’s Kroszner Says Disclosures Might Not Be Enough

Speaking at the Cleveland Fed's 2008 Community Development Policy Summit on consumer credit markets, Fed Governor Randall Kroszner said that more disclosures on some credit products may not be sufficient to protect consumers. "There are challenges in ensuring that the appropriate information is provided to help markets function efficiently," said ...

MBA Mortgage Applications Rebound in Week Ending June 6

Weekly mortgage applications in the United States fell further in the week ending June 6, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which reported that applications increased by 10.6% week-over-week. In the previous week, applications fell by 15.3%. Read More Now

Most Mortgage Rates were Stagnant While Application Volume Increased

While the stock market has been undergoing some wild fluctuations over the last couple of weeks, the mortgage scene has been quiet - very quiet. According to Freddie Mac which released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended June 5, the two long- term products, ...

Wednesday’s Events: Fed’s Beige Book, Fed & ECB Speakers, Canadian Q1 Cap. U.

The Fed's Beige Book and some Fed speakers will top the economic data menu for the United States on Wednesday as Canadian markets receive first-quarter capacity utilization data. In Europe, markets will also be preparing to hear from J?Stark of the European Central Bank speaking at a Boston Fed Conference ...

Preview: Fed’s Beige Book to Confirm Broad-Based Softness in Economy

Economists largely agree that the Beige Book document to be released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve won't reveal anything new. It will likely say that economic conditions are generally soft across the country, with a few pockets of exceptional weakness and moderate growth, economists say. The last Beige Book was released ...

Tuesday’s Events: Bank of Canada Rate Decision, Trade Data for U.S. & Canada

The Bank of Canada's rate decision, some Fed speak and international trade statistics from the U.S. and Canada will top the day's economic events. Read More Now

Fed’s Fisher Says He Does Not Push For Higher Rates

Speaking at an inflation conference at the Boston Federal Reserve, Richard Fisher of the Dallas Fed said he was not advocating an increase in interest rates even though he "drew the line" when the Fed funds target was at 3.50%. The financial turmoil was not a "storm", but a "spring shower" ...

American Express Survey Shows Companies to Focus on Growth and Expenses

Despite the current bleak financial outlook, companies are finding ways to watch expenses and invest in growth, according to a report issued by the American Express/CFO Research Global Business and Spending monitor. The American Express report indicator shows that companies are actively searching ways to pursue growth while maintaining efficient spending ...

Paulson Says Main Message to G8 Will Be Strong U.S. Economy to Reflect in USD

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he would not speculate on what the G8 will say, but his main message to the organization would be that the strong fundamentals of the U.S. economy would be reflected in the U.S. Dollar. He also said ...

Increase in U.S. Pending Home Sales Related to Foreclosures, Economist Says

After declining in five of the past six months, U.S. pending home sales unexpectedly jumped 6.3% in April to reach a level of 88.2, the highest level in six months, according to the National Association of Realtors. Economists say the rising pace of foreclosures may have helped the index. ...

Lehman Plans to Raise $6 Billion After $2.8 Billion Quarterly Loss

Shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. are down sharply on Monday after the Wall Street bank reported a US$2.8 billion loss in the second quarter against an expected loss of around US$300 million. It was the first ever loss for Lehman as a public company, and was... Read More Now

Former Fed Chairman Volcker Says U.S. Undergoing Political and Economic “Shakeup”

Delivering remarks at a luncheon organized by the International Economic Forum of the Americas, Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker said he believed that the United States was undergoing a difficult but necessary political and economic shakeup. The U.S. economy is undergoing a "prolonged period of adjustment", Volcker said, adding that this ...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson Says Fundamentals of Economy Favourable

Despite five months of job losses and soaring oil prices, the fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain favourable, said U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Monday. However, he noted the price of oil is a problem and that no policy initiatives are off the table, including currency intervention. Paulson was interviewed ...

U.S. Policy-Makers Concerned About ECB Hawkishness, FT Says

Monetary officials in the United States are concerned about further U.S. dollar weakness after officials at the European Central Bank said it may hike interest rates as soon as next month, the Financial Times reported Monday. On Thursday, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said an interest rate hike was "possible" in... ...

Lenders Facing Another Wave of Write-Offs

Federal regulators are warning the world to get ready for the next wave of problems in the banking world. Up to now banks have been struggling to deal with the piles of delinquent debt from earlier subprime lending to homeowners and the dozens of federal, state, and lender originated programs being ...

Fed’s Geithner Calls on Unified Supervision of Banks and Wall Street

New York Fed President and FOMC Vice Chairman Tim Geithner said the U.S. regulatory structure needs to be reformed to more clearly define rules and responsibilities. Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, Geithner urged banks and Wall Street to come under a unified form of supervision and called ...

Central Bank Watch: Bernanke, Trichet Comments Rile Markets

Markets were captivated this week by U.S. dollar comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, in which he expressed concern over the U.S. dollar's decline contributing to "unwelcome" increases in import prices, and hawkish comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet suggesting a hike at the bank's next policy meeting ...

Monday’s Events: Canadian Housing Starts, U.S. Pending Home Sales

Both the Canadian and U.S. housing sectors will kick off the week, with Canadian markets receiving May housing starts, with the U.S. expecting data on pending home sales for April. At 10 a.m. EDT, the National Association of Realtors will release U.S. pending home sales for April. The consensus is looking ...

St. Louis Fed President Bullard Recommends Holding Off Further Rate Cuts

Speaking at the Wisconsin School of Business in Madison Wisconsin, newly appointed president of the St. Louis Fed James Bullard told a crowd that the Federal Reserve's rate cuts were pre-emptive and that patience is required. Bullard, in his first speaking engagement since becoming the St. Louis Fed president, told the crowd, "Given the current ...

Just One Little House, but a Good Indicator of Foreclosed Properties Nationwide

We conducted an unscientific, teeny little survey of foreclosed houses last week

Friday’s Events: U.S. & Canadian Employment Reports, Fed-Speak

The Canadian and U.S. employment reports top a busy week on the economic data front, followed by comments from Fed speakers and U.S. wholesale inventories for May. Read More Now

Fed’s Kroszner Says U.S. Housing to Recover “Gradually”

Echoing comments he made on May 22, Fed Governor Randall Kroszner said the U.S. housing sector will recover gradually as an excess of home inventory is reduced. Speaking on 'Financial Market Developments and Credit Conditions' in Boston, Kroszner did not address the economic outlook or interest rates. "Rehabilitation in the mortgage ...

S&P Downgrades MBIA and Ambac to Double-A

Standard and Poor's cut the credit ratings of MBIA and Ambac on Thursday, just one day after fellow ratings agency Moody's said it may do the same. "The rating actions on the companies reflect our belief that these entities will face diminished public finance and structured finance new business flow and ...

Mortgage Delinquency Rate Hits 29-Year High in First Quarter

Mortgage delinquencies for U.S. homes in the first quarter of 2008 jumped 53 basis points from the previous quarter to 6.35% of all loans outstanding, marking a 29-year high, according to the MBA's National Delinquency Survey released Thursday. From one year ago, delinquency rates have risen 151 basis points. This is ...

Fed’s Kohn Tells Banks to Strengthen Reserves

Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn warned that banks need to strengthen reserves in order to improve liquidity. Kohn told the committee that bank reserves have not kept up with rising problems and that the problems may extend to consumer loans... ...

Fed’s Lacker Says Fed Should Identify Boundaries on Lending

Speaking on financial stability in London, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker (non-voter) said he called on the Fed to detail its rules on intervening in the financial markets in order to minimize moral hazard and greater risk taking. "More expansive boundaries could conceivably prevent more avoidable liquidation costs in the case ...

Fed Vice Chairman Warns Institutions to Review Risk in Financial Transactions

In a report issued Wednesday, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Timothy F. Geithner warned banks and settlement and payment systems to review their risk management controls in an effort to avoid any potential disruptions in financial transactions. The Bank of International Settlements report suggested that system operators, financial institutions and service providers ...

Fed’s Plosser Says Central Banks Must Exercise Caution as Lenders of Last Resort

Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said the Federal Reserve must follow rules and exercise caution as a lender of last resort. Speaking at the Society for Financial Econometrics Inaugural Conference in New York, Plosser said benchmarks may be needed to properly determine situations that qualify as system risks and that price ...

Thursday’s Events: BOE, ECB Rates; U.S. Jobless Claims, Fed-Speak, Cdn Ivey PMI

The Bank of England and European Central Bank rate decisions will highlight the European economic news as American markets will receive initial jobless claims and some Fed-speak. In Canada, markets are preparing for building permits and the Ivey PMI for May. Read More Now

Fed’s Bernanke Sees Inflation Risk Rising

Speaking at a Harvard commencement address, Bernanke said overall inflation is significantly higher than he would like, but less than the 1970s-style stagflation. The overall inflation rate has averaged about 3.5% over the past four quarters, significantly higher than we would like but much less than the double-digit rates that inflation ...

AG Cuomo May Have Reached Agreement with Credit Agencies

According to The New York Times, three of the nation's largest credit rating firms are close to an agreement with the New York attorney general to change some of their core business practices which had brought them under his office's scrutiny. The ratings firms will also assist Cuomo in his larger ...

Moody’s Puts Ambac and MBIA on Review for Ratings Downgrade

U.S. bond insurers may lose their top credit ratings because of diminishing new business and financial inflexibility, Moody's said on Wednesday. The ratings agency put MBIA and Ambac, the two biggest bond insurers, on review for a possible downgrade. The two U.S.- based companies were founded to insure municipal bonds but became ...

Weekly Mortgage Applications Decline Further

Weekly mortgage applications in the United States fell further in the week ending May 30, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which said applications declined by 15.3% week-over-week to the lowest levels since April 2002. In the previous week, applications fell by 4.6%. Read More ...

Wednesday’s Events: ADP Employment, ISM Services, Fed’s Bernanke

The ADP employment report and ISM's non-manufacturing index for the U.S. will highlight the day's economic data while markets will pay close attention to comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in the afternoon. Meanwhile, energy traders will be attentive to the Department of Energy's release of it weekly oil inventories ...

Long-Term Interest Rates Higher While Mortgage Applications Continue to Slide

Long term mortgage interest rates took a slight bump upward during the week ended May 29 while the rates for the two short- term products were virtually unchanged according to data released by Freddie Mac as part of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey. "Mortgage rates drifted up this week over market concerns ...

Central Bank Leaders Prepared to Face Upside Inflation Risks

Speaking at a conference organized by the International Monetary Committee on Tuesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa agreed that persistent inflation pressures were one of the risks being faced by central banks. Bernanke also said the Fed has cut ...

U.S. Factory Orders Surprise to the Upside, Rise 1.1% in April

The U.S. Census Bureau factory orders report surprised to the upside on Tuesday, increasing by 1.1% in April to contribute to an annual gain of 3.8%. The prior month's factory orders index was revised to show an increase of 1.5% from the previously reported 1.4% gain. Economists were expecting a loss ...

Global Survey Finds Credit Crunch Defaults Expected to Peak in 2008

Tighter credit and defaults are expected to have a greater effect in 2008 than they did last year, a survey of businesses in 14 countries affected by the fallout found. Businesses expect slower growth and growing defaults in the remainder of the year and into 2009, the survey sponsored by Atradius ...

Casualties on Wall Street Continue to Rise

There have been two shifts in the leadership of major banks marking further casualties in the on-going housing - mortgage - credit - foreclosure crisis. There were two other developments in the fortunes of an investment bank and a home builder that show that the situation is far from stable. ...

Tuesday’s Events: Bernanke, Factory Orders

Comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa will highlight the day's economic news, along with the release of U.S. factory orders. Markets will also see the sale of a 52- week U.S. Treasury bill in the afternoon. ...

Bernanke Says Fed “Attentive” to U.S. Dollar Slide

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Federal Reserve bank is "attentive" to the slide in value of the U.S. dollar and that it has caused an "unwelcome" rise in import costs. Speaking alongside European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa at an IMF conference ...

U. S. Construction Spending Falls in April

According to a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, construction spending in the United States declined 0.4% month-over-month in April. The result surprised economists, who had projected a decline of 0.6% following March's 1.1% decline. Read More Now

Foreclosures Cost Lenders, Homeowners, the Community, and You Big Bucks

The cost of a foreclosure, it turns out, is pretty staggering and we wonder why lenders and the investors they represent aren't jumping at a solution, any solution, that would allow them to avoid going to foreclosure whenever possible. According the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, the average foreclosure costs $77,935 ...

President Bush Calls for Permanent Tax Cuts

President George W. Bush said government tax revenues will increase by $280 billion if Congress does not make permanent the tax cuts introduced earlier in his administration. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Bush said there is "no question tax cuts provided economic vitality" and called for the cuts to ...

Economists Divided on Implications of U.S. ISM Manufacturing Index

A three-year high in exports contributed to a rebound in production and an improvement in new orders in the U.S. ISM manufacturing index for May, yet the manufacturing sector remained in contraction for the fourth consecutive month. Economists said the upward trend is consistent with growth in the broader economy, ...

Monday’s Events: ISM Mfg, ECB’s Trichet

The ISM's manufacturing index for the United States will highlight a relatively light day of economic news and events. In Europe, markets will be receiving comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet. At 10 a.m. EDT, the U.S. Institute for Supply Management will release its manufacturing index for May. Economists ...

Central Bank Watch: Week of Rate Decisions Ahead, No Changes Expected

It will be a busy week for central bank rate decisions next week, with announcements coming from the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of England and the European Central Bank. Economists are expecting all to hold rates at their current levels. U.S. Federal Reserve Current Rate: 2.00% Next Rate Decision: June 25 Market ...

Fed’s Lockhart Says Economy Still Faces Uncertainty - Too Soon to “Breathe Easy”

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart (non-voter) said the U.S. economy continues to face significant uncertainty and risks, but that he expects an improvement in growth in the second half of the year. Speaking to the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, Lockhart said inflation is at uncomfortable levels, with some indications of rising ...