Vital Statistics:
Last | Change | |
S&P Futures | 2694.8 | 9.0 |
Eurostoxx Index | 389.7 | 0.2 |
Oil (WTI) | 60.1 | 0.2 |
US dollar index | 86.0 | -0.3 |
10 Year Govt Bond Yield | 2.43% | |
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA | 102.375 | |
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA | 103.25 | |
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage | 3.97 |
Stocks are up on the last trading day of the year. Bonds and MBS are flat.
Yet another slow news day.
Should be a dull day for bonds as the market closes at 2:00 pm EST. There is no economic data or Fed-speak either.
Oil has topped $60 a barrel, which is higher than it has been for the past 3 years, but is pretty low in the grand scheme of things. It is something to watch, however as oil prices are a drag on the economy when they get too high. The US has so much capacity however that whenever prices rise, additional supply can come on line in a hurry. The US is pretty much insulated from OPEC any more.
What is the value of all US homes in the US? Almost $32 trillion, or more than 1.5x US GDP. Over the past year, they have increased in value by almost $2 trillion. This increase is more than 3x the rate of inflation.
As inflation rises, we should expect to see US bond yields rise. That said, global sovereign bond markets do influence each other, and the spread between US Treasuries and German Bunds has risen to more than 2%. Relative value trading (i.e. investors swapping out of more expensive German bonds into cheaper US Treasuries) should act as a bit of a drag on US interest rates. The bigger question will be whether global growth pulls up Euro yields or whether the US yield curve continues to flatten.
See you all in the new year!
Filed under: Economy, Morning Report |
Worth noting:
“China Offers Tax Incentives to Persuade U.S. Companies to Stay
By SUI-LEE WEE
DEC. 28, 2017 ”
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The competition begins!
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“conservatives who want to shut the paper down”
FFS. The left is just insufferable…
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I’d like the NYT to be marginalized as an opinion-setter, as it is a role undeserved.
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I think he says this stuff just to get laid.
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No, i think they actually believe it.
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” fighting autocracies and oppressive regimes.”
which is why we need to turn out for the midterms. that’s how you beat such systems! derp.
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If you ever wondered why you aren’t allowed to pump your own gas in New Jersey:
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/02/the_real_reason_self-service_gas_was_banned_in_nj_corruption_not_safety.html
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Brent:
I didn’t know the history at all, but if someone asked me to guess, that is exactly the reason I would have come up with. Regulatory capture is the only logical reason.
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