market report: Atlanta, GA Market Week in Review - September 18-24, 2011 - 09/25/11 02:20 PM
The week was relatively light of economic data.  As last week evidenced, more has been driving the market that domestic data alone.  The debt issues of Europe and the potential implications of a default of Greece has been the primary focus of the global market. 
 
On Tuesday, housing starts came in at 571,000.  This was much lower than the 590,000 that had been predicted. 
 
Wednesday morning saw Existing Home Sales rise 7.7% in August.  The actual was 5.03 million.  This is more than the prediction of 4.7 million.  All eyes were on the 2:15 pm EST Federal Open Market Committee statement on economic … (2 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - September 2, 2011 - 09/02/11 03:43 PM

A disappointing jobs report send increased demand for mortgages and treasuries. The Nonfarm Payrolls report indicated no change in jobs.  This gives indication of stagnant growth in the economy.  The economic outlook was for 70K to 100K added jobs.  The national unemployment rate remained at 9.1%. 
 
The markets will be closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day holiday. 
 
Earlier today, the FDIC seized two Georgia banks.  Woodstock-based CreekSide Bank with two locations was taken over.  Cumming-based Patriot Bank of Georgia with one locaiton was also both seized.  They were also both sold to Atlanta-based Georgia Commerce Bank.  Due to the … (3 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - September 1, 2011 - 09/01/11 03:15 PM
The market has been active thus far this week.  Mortgages rates worsened slightly this morning following weakened demand for Treasuries.  This comes after reports that factory orders increased 2.4% last month.  Chicago Manufacturing activity also came in better than anticipated further lessening demand for treasuries.
Yesterday, Fed minutes confirmed possible discussions of possible stimulus plans to attempt to improve the economy.  Interest rates ended the day today slightly improved from this morning's worsening.  This leaves them about the same as yesterday's close.
The metro Atlanta unemployment rate dropped to 10.4 in July.  This is a slight decline from 10.5 in June.  The … (3 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - August 10, 2011 - 08/10/11 03:52 PM
Today 's market was once again a wild ride.  The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) released a statement Wednesday afternoon that sent Treasuries and mortgages rallying.  There was no change in overnight rates though.  The committee said state that it would keep short term rates at these levels though mid-2013. 
Three of the twelve FOMC members dissented.  The committee noted that the labor market has deteriorated.  Additionally, spending has flattened and housing is depressed. 
All of this was great new for mortgage rates as we hit 50 year lows today.  These low rates wont last forever, so borrowers needing … (3 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - November 28, 2010 - 11/29/10 02:11 PM
Mortgage Bonds opened higher on Monday morning.  These gains come in response to the continue financial woes in Ireland and the potenetial for other countries in the European Union. 
There are no economic reports scheduled for release today.  Later this week, we will see economic data released for manufacturing and housing.  On Friday, the ever important Jobs Report will be released.

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market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - November 22 2010 - 11/23/10 01:34 AM
Monday morning saw Mortgage Bonds open higher,  This is a welcome change after several days of sharp declines which had been pushing interest rates higher. 
In global news, Ireland has accepted a bailout package.  Ireland sought 80 to 90 Billion Euros ($109 to $123 Billion) of loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.  The US Bond Markets continue to benefit from the European fallout as money leaves the US Stock Market. 
At 1:00 pm EST, the Treasury announced the results of its $358B 2-Year offering.  By the end of the day, the market reaction to it was mostly neutral. 
 


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market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - November 19 2010 - 11/20/10 02:53 PM
Mortgage Bonds opened on Friday relatively unchanged from Thursday's close.  This is mostly due to no new economic date being released.  News surrounding Ireland continuing to be the driving force behind the market. 
In Frankfort, Germany, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake spoke on Friday.  He defended Quantitative Easing Round 2 (QE2) and stated that the program would give a needed boost to economic activity.
The Market closed with Mortgage Bonds slightly down on the day.  This pressure will continue to drive interest rates higher.
 
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market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - November 18, 2010 - 11/19/10 02:00 AM
The market opened on Thursday morning with Mortgage Bonds once again trading lower.  This comes as investors leave the safe haven of Mortgage Bonds and move to the riskier stock market. 
The Philadelphia Fed Index came in much higher than anticipated for November. The report was almost 5 times better than expectations of a 5 reading.  November came in at 22.5 after October's level of 1.  The reading was also its highest level in near a year. 
Global stocks also surged on news from Ireland.  It looks as though they will be accepting aid to assist with their debt crisis.
 

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market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - November 15, 2010 - 11/15/10 04:42 AM
Monday morning saw the Mortgage Bonds once again trading lower.  This pattern continued from Friday afternoon's sell off. 
The Fed QE2 policy is the source of much discontentment in the market. Each day this week, they are scheduled to buy Treasuries.  This is part of the Fed's action plan to pump $600 billion into the economy through June. 
Improvements in economic data combined with QE2 has sparked inflationary concerns.   As reported this morning, Retail Sales rose 1.2% and beating market expectations.
 
 
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market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - Week Ahead - 11/14/10 01:08 PM
The week of November 15 - 19 is full of economic reports.
Monday morning had the release of Retails Sales and the Empire State Index.  Tuesday morning will see the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI), the Core Producer Price Index (PPI), Industrial Production, and Capacity Utilization reports. 
Building Permits, Housing Starts, Consumer Price Index (CPI), and Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) reports will all be announced Wednesday morning.  On Friday morning, Jobless Claims (Initial), Index of Leading Economic Ind (LEI), and the Philadelphia Fed Index will be released. 
Reports that are better than expected will typically case interest rates to … (0 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - November 12, 2010 - 11/13/10 04:44 AM
The Market opened on Friday with reactions to fears from China. Both Stocks and Bonds suffered due to Market concerns that China may raise their interest rates to fight the country's rising inflation.
The University of Michigan reported that the consumer sentiment index jumped to 69.3 in November.  This number is just slightly better than the market expectations of 69.  November's number is considerably better than October's level of 67.7. 
At 11:30 AM EST, the New York Federal Reserve began its buyback of treasuries, now know as QE2.  The expectation was to purchase $6 to $8 billion lower range securities.
All of this caused interest rates to lose considerable ground throughout … (0 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - November 11, 2010 - 11/11/10 05:16 AM
In observance of Veteran's Day, the Bond Market is closed today.  The stock market, however, is open for business today.  This morning, the stock say a drop.  This is due to overseas debt issues along with a worse than expected outlook for Cisco. 
 
 
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market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - November 10, 2010 - 11/10/10 02:02 PM
This morning saw the release of the Initial Jobless Claims report.  For the week ending November 6, the report totaled 435,000.  This is down 24,000 from the previous week.  It is also significantly less than the 450,000 anticipated by the market.  A number below 400,000 gives the labor markets a hint of optimism. 
The Mortgage Bond market continues to be under pressure in the days following the Quantitative Easing (QE2) announcement.  This has put a damper on the rally that we had been experiencing. 
 
 

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market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - November 9, 2010 - 11/10/10 01:48 PM
Tuesday morning saw little action on the news front.  The only data came from the Wholesale Inventories report for September.  The release showed that wholesale inventories increased 1.5%.  This is much stronger than the 0.6% increase that the market was anticipating. 
The afternoon saw the auction of $24 billion 10 year notes.  The results were announced at 1:00 pm EST.  The market reaction sent mortgage rates slightly higher in the late afternoon. 
 
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market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - September 27, 2010 - 09/27/10 10:56 AM
Mortgage Bonds opened improved on Monday morning.  There were no economic reports scheduled for release today. 
This afternoon, we had a $36 Billion auction of 3 Year notes.  The results were announced at 1:00 pm EST.  Tomorrow, there will be a $35 Billion auction of 5 Year notes.  Wednesday will see $29 Billion of 7 Year notes being auctioned off. 
The rest of the week will be quite busy. 
The big news story for Atlanta this morning was the announcement that Southwest Airlines would be buying AirTran Airways.  The deal is reported to be valued at $1.4 Billion.  While based on Orlando, FL, … (1 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - September 24, 2010 - 09/25/10 04:08 AM
Market volatility continues on Friday morning as the Mortgage Bond market opened down from Thursday's close.  This comes after a strong Durable Orders report for August.  August saw overall durable goods orders fall 1.3%. Excluding transportation, the orders increased 2.0%.  This is much stronger than the analysts expectations of a 0.6% increase. 
New home sales came in at near expectations for August.  They were virtually unchanged from July with an annualized rate of 288,000.  
On Friday, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance revoked the mortgage license of United Funding Mortgage.  The company operated in Alpharetta as Vertical Mortgage Company.  The department stated … (0 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - September 23, 2010 - 09/23/10 04:48 AM
Mortgage Bonds could not maintain their momentum from the last few days as economic news has been mixed.  After peaking mid-afternoon yesterday, they slipped some prior to the market close.  That carried through to today. 
The initial Claims report came in higher than expected. They rose 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 465,000 for the week ending September 18.  Analysts has anticipated no change from the previous week.  For metro Atlanta, the unemployment rate rose to 10.4 in August.  This is up from 10.1 in July.   
Existing Home sales came in slightly better than expected.  This has caused money to flow … (0 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - September 22, 2010 - 09/22/10 10:02 AM
Wednesday morning saw Mortgage Bonds open trading higher. This follows the gains from Tuesday afternoon's post Fed rally.  During the announcement, the Fed stated that it is “prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support economic recovery and to return inflation, over time, to levels consistent with its mandate.” It also kept its "extended period" language in place. 
The Fed's statement has led to a rally in the Mortgage Bond market.   There is now speculation that the Fed may be buying more Treasuries on a larger scale. This would be done in a effort to stimulate the markets.
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market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - September 21, 2010 - 09/21/10 05:09 AM
After Mortgage Bonds rallied yesterday afternoon, the gains continued this morning.  This is ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee rate policy decision.   It is set to be released at 2:15 pm EST.  Analysts anticipate both rates to remain unchanged. 
It was reported that housing starts rose 10.5% in August.  Last month, housing starts increased to an annual rate of 598,000.  This is up from a revised 541,000 and beat the expectations of 550,000.  Its also the best increase in four months. 
Building permits increased 1.8%.  This number was also beat analyst's expectations.  It follows a 4.1% unrevised drop in July. 
Mortgage rates are … (0 comments)

market report: Atlanta, GA Market Update - September 20, 2010 - 09/20/10 04:34 AM
The Mortgage Bond market opened this morning relatively unchanged from Friday's close.  Since there are no economic reports scheduled for release today, Mortgage Bonds will take direction from the Stock Market. 
The Wall Street Journal reports that IBM has announced it intent to buy software company Netezza for $1.7 Billion.  With the S&P 500 currently trading higher, this could place additional pressure on pushing mortgage rates higher. 
This morning, there was a weaker than expected outlook on home builder conditionsreport.    September saw the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index unchanged at 13.  Analysts are predicted a 14.  A measure of <50 indicates … (0 comments)