Mortgage Backed Securities are MINUS 38bps this morning.

The biggest news out today was my lender's underwriting is taking 6 days. That means that there is no need for them to go out and try to buy the markets. They will keep rates favorable and keep margins up.

The equity markets rallied as investors thought 4 weeks of selling was enough. The Dow was up as many as 200 points today. The Dow is currently up 69 points as I write this article. That brings us to the word...

Mortgage Backed Securities are PLUS 6bps this morning.



The fear mongers have held the markets down for the last few weeks. Retailers Target and Staples say not so fast my friends. Target the 2nd largest retailer profits rose 3.7% and beat expectation. They also raised their year end guidance. Raised their guidance in the face of the largest recession we will see in our lifetime? Staples the number one office supplies chain also beat expectations. That means the consumer...

I have seen my share of issues over the last 11 years with the appraisal process. Recently we are seeing an abnormal amount of fallout from needed repairs on a property. Lenders will not refinance or extend money for the purchase of a property that needs work.

Currently 25% of all homeowners are under water on their mortgages. That number could increase as housing values are expected to slip another 5 to 10 percent this year. That means the lenders are underwriting the home as much...

Mortgage Backed Securities are minus 22bps this morning.

The headlines are stating that the equity markets are soaring based on a Housing Starts report that states a 14.6% increase. Single Family homes in that report were actual flat and the big increase was in Multifamily units. More Americans can not afford to buy and are renting should be the headline. The economy and government has made more renters than homeowners.

In an article at http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hou...MW_latest_news...

Mortgage Backed Securities are Plus 0 this morning.

The FOMC will release the minutes from its last meeting today at 1:00. It will give us a look at the discussions of the last meeting. It will tell us what the Fed thinks about the economy and inflation. The may even mention the affects of the Fed not buying Treasuries as today we have the first auction since the end of QE2. That auction will be at noon today. The markets will be moved on these auctions.

"Longer-maturity...