The Chicago 77

16 July 2009 ? Bonds opened up 25bps this morning and continued to improve. They are currently (1 p.m.) up 45bps and peaked earlier at a high of 66bps. A few reports that are affecting the bond market today would be the better than expected jobless claims. However there was an adjustment for the auto […]

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14 July 2009 ? Today the mortgage bonds opened up down 19bps. They are currently (1:00 p.m.) down 28bps in part because of a higher than expected wholesale inflation reading. The concern is that this may?emphasis on may?lead to inflation but that would take some time to determine. However bonds typically will react negatively to […]

10 July 2009 ? Mortgage backed bonds struggled yesterday and closed down 34 BPS. This morning bonds opened up 38bps and continue to maintain the gains?currently the mortgage backed bonds are up 50bps. The Dow is down 31 and has not had a significant rally in some time. Chevron warned investors about concerns over future […]

9 July 2009 ? The 30-year fixed mortgage rates have really made a nice run over the past 4 weeks. Yesterday the mortgage bonds finished up 66bps, which is a very nice gain. The bonds were helped by a successful 10 Year Note Auction. Today we anticipated the bonds to open up lower as they […]

7 July 2009 ? Bonds opened down today by 16 bps, however they have turned the corner and are now up 12bps. There is concern that inflation may be looming down the road as Vice President Joe Biden stated that more stimulus packages may be needed to curtail the unemployment rate. The current administration miscalculated […]

6 July 2009 ? Today the mortgage backed bonds opened up 6bps. Right now we are currently down 6bps. The Dow is down 67 however, and that is not really giving any steam to a rally for the bond market. The mortgage backed bonds are at a resistance level as we have seen the rates […]

2 July 2009 ? The mortgage bonds have opened up 22bps this morning and briefly went down to 16 bps however they have really started to heat up and are now up 31bps. Investors are moving to the safety of the bond market due to the unemployment numbers coming in at 467,000 versus expectations of […]

1 July 2009 ? Bonds ended down yesterday by 34bps, which increased mortgage interest rates. When bonds are down, mortgage interest rates go up?when bonds are up mortgage rates go down! The Dow is up 99 and is enjoying a modest rally. This morning has been filled with news and we will start with China […]

30 June 2009 ? Today Consumer Confidence and Case-Shiller are impacting bonds in different directions. For starters the Case-Shiller Home Index Reading is a report that measures the home prices in the 20 largest US cities. The report is from April and showed fewer negative readings than prior reports, a slowing pace of decline in […]

In March 2008, Fannie Mae entered into an agreement with The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). This agreement was set up to adopt certain policies relating to appraisals for mortgages. Starting May 1st, 2009 the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) came into effect for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchased loans. HVCC Means Only […]

26 June 2009 – Mortgage-backed bonds opened down 1 this morning and remain flat. The savings rate soared to 6.9%, which caught many by surprise; this is the highest level since 1993 and stocks are reacting negatively to this news that consumers are keeping their money in savings. This may impact the pace that the […]

25 June 2009 ? Mortgage backed bonds opened up 19 this morning and continued to trend up to a positive 41! Mortgage Bonds may be rallying as the unemployment continues to rise with 15,000 more jobs lost than forecasted. Yesterday?s announcement by the FED that they will keep the Prime Rate close to zero (0) […]