The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent Wednesday. For the tenth consecutive meeting, the FOMC vote was nearly unanimous. Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker was the lone dissenter in the 9-1 vote. The Fed Funds Rate has been near zero percent since December 2008. In its press release, the Federal Reserve noted that, since its last meeting in late-October, the U.S. economy has expanded "at a moderate pace" despite "weather-related disruptions". It also acknowledged that "strains in global … [Read more...]
What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : October 29, 2012
Mortgage markets ended the week slightly better last week. Wall Street took its cues from U.S. economic data, from developments in Europe, and from the Federal Reserve, moving mortgage rates lower in Arizona and nationwide. Pricing for both conforming and FHA mortgage rates improved between Monday and Friday, with the majority of gains occurring late in the week. The timing of the gains explains why Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate report showed the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rising this week when, in fact, it did not. Because Freddie Mac conducts its mortgage rate … [Read more...]
Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (October 24 , 2012)
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent Wednesday. For the ninth consecutive meeting, the vote was nearly unanimous. And, also for the ninth consecutive meeting, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker was the lone dissenter in the 9-1 vote. The Fed Funds Rate has been near zero percent since December 2008. In its press release, the Federal Reserve noted that, since its last meeting six weeks ago, the U.S. economy has been expanding "at a moderate pace", led by growth in household … [Read more...]
Fed Minutes Detail QE3 Discussion; Mortgage Rates Down
The minutes from the Federal Reserve's September Federal Open Market Committee meeting were released Thursday. The Fed Minutes detail the discussions and debates which shaped the central banker's launch of its third round of qualitative easing since 2008. The minutes also give Wall Street insight into future monetary policy. At 6,987 words, the Fed Minutes provides a level of detail that was unavailable via the FOMC's post-meeting press release, a documen that, by contrast, ran 562 words. Despite its large word count, there was very little that was new or surprising in the Fed … [Read more...]
What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : October 1, 2012
Mortgage rates dropped to another all-time low last week as concerns for global economic growth helped U.S. home buyers and refinancing households nationwide. U.S. mortgage rates responded to non-U.S. events and, for rate shoppers and home buyers in Phoenix , home affordability improved. Early in the week, with Greece and Spain debating new austerity measures, and with citizen protests rampant, a flight-to-quality helped to boost demand for U.S. mortgage bonds. So did rumors of a weakening Chinese economy. "Flight-to-quality" is a trading term for when investors shun investment risk in … [Read more...]
