Posts Tagged ‘seattle neighborhoods’
Occupy Wall Street
November 17, 2011 | 
Author The Occupy Wall Street movement appears to be gaining momentum. Thousands have taken to the streets today with hundreds being arrested. The Troll noted that he was concerned that the European riots would make their way to the U.S. (see Washington State. The Big Layoff). While the Troll agrees that Wall Street should be held accountable for their actions leading to current economic conditions, others should be held accountable as well (U.S. Congress). The 2012 elections will go a long way in shaping the path forward. Hopefully, voters will arm themselves with enough information to choose wisely.
The Troll
Posted in Troll's Blog | 
Tags: economy, employment, financing, mortgage, mortgage blog, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, realty office, seattle, seattle neighborhoods, seattle real estate, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate | 
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Are you Confident?
The American consumer is not confident. The numbers released today show our consumer confidence at a 2 1/2 year low. The last time the numbers were this low was in the spring of 2009 when we were in a recession. What does that mean you may ask? Well, it means people are worried about their jobs and job prospects. It means people are underwater in their houses and must chose between buying things and paying their mortgage. These choices do not exude confidence.
The flip side of course is that those with solid jobs and confidence are finding incredible deals in housing. They have found desperate sellers whether they are selling short or competing with those that are. It is becoming more frequent to purchase a property that will cash flow with rental income especially in the Seattle area. The Troll is not so sure that this is a good thing with desperate people selling so they can rent, but it is the unfortunate reality.
If you are confident give the Troll a call so that he can help you find a great opportunity in todays’ real estate market. You can also call him if you are interested in refinancing to a historic low interest rate. Or even better, call him to get pre-qualified for the loan that purchases the property that he finds for you. Whether it’s your first purchase or a rental property it’s a great time to invest in Seattle real estate.
The Troll
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: buy a home, financing, home financing, home mortgage, homes, listed properties, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, realty office, rental market, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, short sales, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington real estate | Comments Closed
Mortgage Market Update for 9-14
The Troll wanted to post earlier this week but his loan processor is on vacation and he had to close some loans. Remember he is still a mortgage broker and real estate broker first. It must be this way because he has little trolls to feed. Did you know that little trolls have voracious appetites? Food for thought anyway and now onto the mortgage news.
The releases today were helpful to bonds and mortgage interest rates. The Producer Price Index (PPI)which measures the average change over time in selling prices received by domestic producers for their output came out at zero today. These prices are typically the first commercial transaction for many products and some services. It means that prices are not increasing for manufacturers and inflation is not problematic. Retail sales were also completely flat. These numbers are not indicative of an economic recovery. The Troll doesn’t see a recovery for quite some time. The immediate issues of the day are in Europe, U.S. housing and unemployment. Until these problems are solved, we can expect pretty low interest rates, with some occasional scares along the way.
Sec Treasury Geithner on CNBC this morning saying Europe has the financial strength to avoid defaults in the countries that are on the edge with debt. He said the obvious, that Europe’s problems are causing a lack of confidence in the US. He encouraged Congress to pass the jobs bill offered up by the Administration. He also admitted US growth isn’t what the Administration had expected.
Pessimism about the economy has deepened and confidence in both U.S. political parties has fallen, with only 20% saying the country is on the right course. As little as 9% of Americans say they are confident the economy won’t slide into a recession, according to a Bloomberg National Poll.
As long as the 10 yr note doesn’t climb above 2.10% the positive outlook will continue, a break above it would set up a run up to 2.30% and take mortgage rates up with it. Next week the FOMC will hold a two day meeting, some traders are looking for more Fed help, while others including some FOMC members don’t believe more quantitative easing (QE) is necessary.
The Troll
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: economy, employment, financing, home mortgage, homes, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty office, search real estate, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, seattle real estate, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington property, washington real estate | Comments Closed
Obama Jobs Speech and the 10 Year Bond
This evening the President will discuss his proposal to encourage job growth in the United States. The Troll is interested to hear what he has to say about the subject. He is also surprised to hear that the President will not be speaking to the housing crisis in tonight’s speech. It seems to the Troll that the two go hand in hand. You see after every recession/depression in the United States, the job market has historically built its’ way out of malaise. Construction jobs are paramount to the recovery and they have been nearly nonexistent for the past 4 years. The Troll believes that without a housing recovery there will be no economic recovery in any substantial means. We shall see.
The Troll also wanted to address the 10 year bond market. As you may or may not know, the 10 year bond yield affects long term interest rates. Specifically, it affects 30 and 15 year fixed mortgage rates. It has been 60 years since the 10 year bond yield has traded as low as it is today. The yield has broken a significant resistance level of 2.00%. The result of this dramatic development is historic low interest rates.
For those of you that have a 30 year fixed mortgage and have solid income, credit and equity position you may want to consider moving to a 15 year fixed mortgage. Depending on your qualifications, you can obtain a rate on that program in the low 3% range. Truly Unbelievable!
The Troll
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: buy a home, economy, employment, financing, home financing, home mortgage, home selling tips, homes, homes for sale, listed properties, mortgage, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, realty office, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, seattle real estate, sell a home, sell a house, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington real estate | Comments Closed
Washington State. The Big Layoff
In yesterdays Seattle Times a front page article caught the Trolls eye. It was titled “State government offices-Where are all the people?” The article states that the recent decline in state employment is unprecedented in the 26 years they have tracked the data. I must admit that it comes as no surprise to the Troll that government layoffs have and will continue to play a big role in employment numbers for the foreseeable future. You see, there are a lot of foreclosures and short sales out there. These properties are not current on their debt and therefore are not contributing to the states tax pool in the way of property taxes. Without property taxes coming in there is no where to run and cutbacks are the result. Something else to consider, unemployment benefits are also at unprecedented levels. Unemployment benefits have been extended to a nearly unbelievable 2 year duration which has exhausted the state coffers. As companies layoff employees there is less and less money available to social programs in the way of payroll taxes. A viscous cycle indeed.
It’s tough out there people, we need to look no further than those rioting in England last week over current economic opportunities. It’s a little scary to contemplate the typical 6 month lag for things happening in Europe to reach the United States. And while the domestic economy continues to make tough cuts, this Troll hopes the 6 month lag still only pertains to fashion.
Still, as the Troll wrote yesterday, conditions couldn’t be better for those that have the means to purchase a rental or qualify to refinance at a lower interest rate.
The Troll
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: buy a home, economy, employment, home buying tips, home financing, home mortgage, home selling tips, homes, homes for sale, listed properties, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty office, rental market, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, seattle real estate, wallingford, wallingford real estate, washington, washington property, washington real estate | Comments Closed
Daily Pfenning 8-24
The Troll is posting a shortend version of today’s Daily Pfenning. Although he loves what Chuck brings to the table, he wants to keep the blog flowing with more useful mortgage and real estate information. Currency trading will not be a featured part of the blog so the Troll has “edited” today’s Daily Pfenning. I hope you understand Chuck.
In this issue
* More thoughts on Gold.
* The dollar fights back in U.S. trading.
* Regional manufacturing indexes disappoint.
Gold Gets Taken To The Woodshed.
Well the tag team match yesterday didn’t work, as the currencies just couldn’t
hold off the dollar, and they lost ground all day. It really looks to me to be
much like the partisan battles on Capitol Hill. The overnight markets moving
currencies one way, and the U.S. markets moving them the other!
The losses were big. But not at the same pace as Gold! OMG! Gold got taken to
the woodshed all day, and by the end of the day it was an ugly scene with Gold,
as it lost over $68 on the day, in HUGE volume. So, we’ll have to hold off on
the printing of those “Gold $2,000 Baseball Caps”! But, to prove it
was a one day phenomenon. Gold is back on the rally tracks this morning, rising
$20 in early morning trading.
So after looking at all this stuff being said about the expectations regarding
Big Ben Bernanke’s speech on Friday, I’ve got this thought. If the Fed DOESN’T
talk about additional stimulus needed, and deep sixes QE3, we could see a harsh
correction of Gold’s price. It’s due, and that could very well be the catalyst.
But then, I still suspect that he’s going to at least discuss the Fed’s options
to stimulate the economy, to prove there are still arrows in his quiver. And if
that happens, we’ll have to see what the markets think of it. Usually, the
markets react to “options” being discussed.
Here in the U.S. July New Home Sales were very disappointing, falling -.7%, and
June’s figure was revised downward from -1% to -2.9%! We won’t see the Home
Price Index until next week, but if sales are slowing like this, the prices if
they haven’t already, will be coming down more to a place where buyer and
seller meet and agree.
And in the last 10 days we’ve had manufacturing indexes in New York (Empire),
Chicago, Philly and now Richmond, all show some serious rot on the vine. That’s
not a good sign folks.
Today, we’ll see the color of the latest print of Durable Goods Orders
(Durables) for July. This data will try to reverse June’s horrible showing of
-2.1%…
To recap. Gold got sold like funnel cakes at a state fair yesterday, losing $68
on the day. But is back on the rally tracks this morning. Along with the
currencies that got sold in the U.S. market yesterday.
Chuck Butler
President
EverBank World Markets
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: buy a home, economy, financing, home financing, home mortgage, home selling tips, homes for sale, listed properties, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, realty office, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, seattle real estate, sell a home, sell a house, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington property, washington real estate | Comments Closed
Daily Pfenning 8-23
In This Issue
* Gold sees profit taking as it nears $2,000.
* Currencies take their turn with the dollar.
* Eurozone & China PMI’s beat forecasts.
* Canadian Retail Sales to disappoint.
The trading was all about Gold (and Silver) yesterday again, but it looks like they are finally seeing some profit taking this morning, while the currencies move higher. Hmmm. I had better see what’s up, doc!
Front and Center this morning, Gold and Silver are seeing some profit taking, after Gold climbed as high as $1,897!!! ($1,910 in futures!) I told the boys and girls on the desk yesterday that I truly believed that once Gold moved past $1,900, that it wouldn’t take long for it to get to $2,000, because of all the momentum behind it, and the idea that so many analysts have called for $2,000 Gold of course, I don’t know anything “inside” that would make me think that. It’s simply my opinion, and I could be wrong!
So with Gold & Silver backing off their lofty levels of yesterday afternoon, the currencies have decided to take over. It’s like a tag-team wrestling match, folks. Gold beat on the dollar, until it was tired, tagged the currencies, and now it’s their turn to beat on the dollar. So, as I look at the currency screens this morning, I see that all the currencies that are supposed to show “green numbers” are green, and all the currencies that are supposed to show “red numbers” are red, which means it’s an all out rout on the dollar. You can see that even the currencies of Japan and Switzerland, which rallied alongside the dollar when it was “risk aversion” and flight to safety time, have turned on the dollar, and are rallying beside the other currencies this morning!
The beaten and beleaguered euro is up $1.25 this morning. So, in my conspiracy world, I would think that it’s about time that the U.S. media begins to dig up more dirt on the Eurozone, so as to take the focus away from the U.S.’s problems, that are probably deeper than most realize, and I do believe that this Friday’s speech by Fed Chairman, Big Ben Bernanke, will highlight the need for more stimulus. And that thought is shared by the bond guys, who are selling Treasuries ahead of the speech, because they don’t want to be caught with Treasuries when everyone is heading for the exit door at the same time!
Now, don’t get me wrong. Things are seriously wrong in the Eurozone, this morning, German Economic Sentiment as measured by the think tank ZEW, showed some real rot on the vine folks. The reading of the index number shows us that Economic Sentiment is at its lowest level in 2 1/2 years! The Composite Manufacturing Index (PMI) remained stable above the line in the sand figure of 50 (at 51.1). But when the Services piece is taken out, the actual Manufacturing Index fell to 49.7. That’s not good folks. However, the number was better than the forecasts, so that takes some of the sting out of report.
Speaking of Manufacturing. China printed their manufacturing index (PMI) last night, and improved from July’s number of 49.3 to 49.8. Yes, it’s below “50” but it’s hanging on folks and that’s a bright spot for global growth. Hey, you didn’t expect for China to continue to have guns a-blazin’ while the U.S. and Europe meltdown did you? Yes, China has done a good job of driving domestic demand to offset the loss of exports while the U.S. and Europe meltdown, but, exports are still “king”.
Since China’s Manufacturing report was somewhat better than forecast, and improved on July’s number, the currencies of Australia and New Zealand are booking gains this morning. The Aussie dollar (A$) is back to $1.05, and kiwi has pushed back above 83-cents!
So. It looks like my thought that this weeks’ Jackson Hole meeting was going to be the Big Kahuna for the markets is really taking shape. There are more stories about what the writer believes will happen at Jackson Hole this week, than any other story on the news wires.
Did you see what the S&P Chairman got for downgrading the U.S. credit rating? He got shown the door! Ok, he will step down next month. But don’t you find that just a little interesting? My conspiracy blood is boiling right now. I’m thinking the U.S. Gov’t decided to show the rest of the rating agencies what would happen to their leaders should they follow S&P’s downgrade with a downgrade of their own!
Then there was this. “Fears of a double-dip recession have been eased in Germany after this year’s estimated budget deficit was slashed from 2.5 to 1.5 percent. The German Finance ministry claimed its public finances will be balanced by 2014. Germany appeared to be back on top as Europe’s powerhouse economy on Monday after it announced that it cut this year’s estimated budget deficit from 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent. Monday’s reduction more than halved the 2010 deficit which stood at 3.3 percent. According to a report published by Germany’s Finance Ministry public finances will now be balanced sooner than expected.”
Way to go Germany! See. It can be done civilly and without all the drama, and political theater.
To recap – its tag team time, and Gold and Silver became tired of beating on the dollar, and tagged the currencies to take over. Gold is seeing some profit taking this morning, after getting very close to $1,900 ($1,910 in futures). The risk appetite for the markets is healthier this morning. Europe and China printed PMI’s (manufacturing), and while both printed below the “50” level, both were stronger than forecast. And so with China, the global growth traders were happy.
That’s it for today. I see my beloved Missouri Tigers football team, is ranked number 21 in the preseason poll. Not too shabby considering they lost two top players “early” to the NFL draft that went in the first 10 picks! And with that, I’ll get this out the door, and hope you have a Terrific Tuesday!
Chuck Butler
President
EverBank World Markets
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: buy a home, economy, financing, home financing, home mortgage, homes, homes for sale, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, realty office, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, seattle real estate, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington real estate | Comments Closed
Market Update 8-23
Treasuries and mortgages opened a little weaker this morning but crawled back to about unchanged at 9:00; the DJIA trade prior to the 9:30 open up 49. Gold down early this morning. This week is about waiting until Friday when Bernanke will speak at the opening of the Fed’s annual economic conference. Many in the markets are looking for another stimulus from the Fed; we are not sure what the Fed chairman will decide but we are certain whatever the Fed does won’t directly add jobs, increase consumer spending or help the housing industry. Doing an easing would likely push long term rates down more, but won’t increase home buying. What it would do is add more emphasis to drive more investors into the stock market, looking for some meager returns. QE 2 did nothing to improve the economy, printing more money doesn’t seem to make much sense.
In Europe the debt crisis is driving consumer sentiment down, fearing economic decline. German investor confidence fell more than economists forecast to the lowest in more than 2 1/2 years in August. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict developments six months in advance, plunged to minus 37.6 from minus 15.1 in July. That’s the lowest since December 2008 and the biggest drop since July 2006. (Bloomberg)
This week should see improvement in the equity markets ahead of Friday’s Bernanke speech; Traders, short equities likely will square up by Friday. Interest rates are likely to creep up a little, but not much, also on Bernanke expectations. As noted, the only thing that more Fed buying will do is push rates lower, firms that make money driving investors into stocks are leading the idea of another easing move from the Fed.
At 9:30 the DJIA opened +67, the 10 yr note -7/32 at 2.13% while mortgage prices were +1/32 (.03 bp). Prior to 9:30 mortgage prices were trading down as much as 8/32 (.25 bp).
The economic data today; at 10:00 July new home sales were expected down 0.7%, sales as reported sales down 0.7% to 298K annualized; the median sales price $222K, a six month supply based on sales. Yr/yr the median price is up 4.7%. The August Richmond Fed manufacturing index plunged to -10 from -1 in July; the services index fell to -1 from +7 in July. There was not much reaction to two reports, the stock market actually gained while the rate markets didn’t move on the data. Mortgage prices are better at 10:00 than earlier this morning, at 10:05 up 6/32 (.18 bp) on the day.
At 1:00 this afternoon Treasury will sell $35B of 2 yr notes, the first of three auctions this week. The current rate on the 2 yr note is a whopping 0.22%, the Fed funds rate is about half that; the one month T-bill gets you 0.005%. It is little wonder with these zero interest rates that investors are being driven to gold and other precious metals and commodities. Generally speaking, there isn’t much opportunity to earn a return these days.
Today will be no different than most recently; if the stock market gets traction interest rate markets will suffer a little, if stock indexes fall the bond and mortgage markets will improve. The present situation is fluid; lenders still conservative on their pricing given the uncertainty about what loans will actually close at the rate committed. Already this morning the mortgage market has exhibited volatility; thin trading is causing mortgage prices to swing from -8/32 to +4/32 a few times in the first two hours of the a.m.
The Troll
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: buy a home, economy, financing, home financing, home mortgage, homes, homes for sale, listed properties, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, seattle real estate, sell a home, sell a house, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington property, washington real estate | Comments Closed
The Week Ahead
From our friends at Calculated Risk
The most anticipated event this coming week is Fed Chairman Bernanke’s speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.
The key economic releases this week are July New Home Sales on Tuesday and the second estimate of Q2 GDP on Friday. Several high frequency releases will be closely watched: weekly initial unemployment claims, consumer sentiment (final) and two more regional Fed manufacturing surveys. On Monday, the MBA will release the Q2 National Delinquency Survey.
—– Monday, Aug 22nd —–
8:30 AM ET: Chicago Fed National Activity Index (July). This is a composite index of other data.
10:00 AM: Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) 2nd Quarter 2011 National Delinquency Survey (NDS)
The MBA reported 8.32% of mortgage loans were delinquent at the end of Q1, seasonally adjusted, and another 4.52% were in the foreclosure process (total of 12.84%). The delinquency rate probably decreased in Q2, but the in-foreclosure rate probably increased.
Expected: The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Indices (commercial real estate price index) for June.
—– Tuesday, Aug 23rd —–
10:00 AM: New Home Sales for July from the Census Bureau. The consensus is for a slight increase to 313 thousand SAAR in July.
10:00 AM: Richmond Fed Survey of Manufacturing Activity for August. The consensus is for the index to be at minus 7, down from minus 1 in July. (below zero is contraction).
—– Wednesday, Aug 24th —–
7:00 AM: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the mortgage purchase applications index. This index has been very weak over the last several months, although refinance activity probably increased sharply last week.
8:30 AM: Durable Goods Orders for July from the Census Bureau. The consensus is for a 2.0% increase in durable goods orders after decreasing 2.1% in June.
10:00 AM: FHFA House Price Index for June 2011. This is based on GSE repeat sales and is no longer as closely followed as Case-Shiller (or CoreLogic).
—– Thursday, Aug 25th —–
8:30 AM: The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for an increase to 415,000 from 408,000 last week.
11:00 AM: Kansas City Fed regional Manufacturing Survey for August. The index was at 3 in July.
—–Friday, Aug 26th —–
8:30 AM: Q2 GDP (second estimate). This is the second estimate for Q2 GDP from the BEA.
The first estimate was for 1.3% annualized growth in Q2. The consensus is for a downward revision to 1.1% annualized real GDP growth.
9:55 AM: Reuters/University of Mich Consumer Sentiment final for August. The consensus is for a slight increase to 56.0 from the preliminary August reading of 54.9.
10:00 AM: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, “Near- and Long-Term Prospects for the U.S. Economy”
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: buy a home, commercial real estate, construction, economy, employment, financing, foreclosures, home buying tips, home financing, home mortgage, homes for sale, listed properties, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, realty office, rental market, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, seattle real estate, sell a home, sell a house, short sales, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington property | Comments Closed
Daily Pfenning 8-19
* Gold sets new highs with every tick higher!
* Risk Off Day except for Gold!
* Blinder talks QE.
It’s All About Gold!
Well folks, it’s all about Gold tody. Gold this, Gold that, and hey you should know
that Gold right now is trading at $1,866! The expectations of slower global
growth means interest rates won’t be rising. That keeps Gold at the top of
investor’s lists. Well, what about inflation expectations? Hmmm. Interesting don’t
you think, that I mentioned inflation, in the same paragraph as slower global
growth? I’m talking monetary inflation from all the printing presses working
overtime. (more on that in a bit) Silver is hanging on to Gold’s coattails but
lagging at best.
The way Gold has traded in the past week, one would have to think that Gold has
come to the forefront of what people consider money. I went through that
explanation yesterday, so I won’t go there again. But consider this. With Gold
as money, then there would be a “Gold monetary system”. When the Gold
Monetary System ramped up its price like this in a week, one would have to
think that the monetary system is pricing in big black clouds for the markets.
So the question right now is. Should investors rush out to buy more Gold or
hopefully not their first purchase of Gold with Gold at $1,866? Hmmm. Well,
let’s go back to when Gold was trying to gain past $1,000, didn’t people have
qualms about buying Gold at $1,000? Then the same for $1,100, and $1,200, and
$1,300, and $1,400? And all the way up to now. Yes, they did but trees don’t
grow to the moon, right? Well with all the money in the world sitting around,
one has to think that there’s no stopping here. And all those analysts that
have been calling for Gold at $2,000, are smiling like Cheshire Cats this
morning.
Frank Trotter (the Big Boss), and I have long said that we believed that Gold
could go to $2,000, but agreed that we didn’t want to see what kind of shape
the U.S. economy was if Gold was $2,000.
As I keep saying over and over again and over again, this dance is gonna be a
drag. Wait! What I’ve said over and over again is to think of the dollar and
the euro as two junk cars. They are beat up, wrecked, and rusted, but the euro
car seems to look just a bit better than the dollar car. The euro car starts
every morning, and gets you to work, while the dollar car starts and stalls,
over and over again.
OK. If you didn’t like that one, how about a real explanation! The euro is the
offset currency to the dollar, period. If there is dollar weakness then the
euro gains, and vice versa. So, obviously, the markets feel as though the
problems in the U.S. are far worse than the Eurozone even though they beat the Eurozone
every day like a rented mule! (no animals were hurt in that description!)
Yesterday, the data cupboard was very busy here in the U.S. with CPI, and
everything else printing. CPI (consumer inflation) was stronger and the Weekly
Initial Jobless Claims climbed back over 400,000 with last week’s number being
revised up to 399,000. Leading Indicators weakened (that’s not a good sign),
and Existing Home Sales weakened. So, all-in-all it was not a good day for U.S.
economic data.
And that brings us to what I feel and have felt for a long time,
what is the Fed going to do about all this economic and stock market weakness? I
think former Fed Vice Chairman Alan Blinder said it best yesterday when he told
Bloomberg TV that, “he sees a reasonably high chance of QE3 this
year.”
Now for the big finish. I heard that Bank of America is going to slash 3,500 jobs.
That’s it for today. Did you know the NFL preseason is under way? My beloved
Cardinals are in Chicago at Wrigley Field for the weekend, those are always fun
weekends.
Chuck
Butler
President
EverBank World Markets
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: buy a home, economy, employment, financing, home financing, home mortgage, homes, homes for sale, listed properties, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, realty office, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, seattle real estate, sell a home, sell a house, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington property, washington real estate | Comments Closed
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