Morning Report: Wells gets a $1 billion fine 4/20/18

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Brent Nyitray

Vital Statistics:

Last Change
S&P futures 2691.25 -1.75
Eurostoxx index 381.41 -0.54
Oil (WTI) 67.9 -0.39
10 Year Government Bond Yield 2.92%
30 Year fixed rate mortgage 4.45%

Stocks are lower this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are flat.

The Index of Leading Economic Indicators took a step back in March, following unusually strong readings in January and February. Employment-related indicators drove the decline, however weather could have played a part. “The LEI points to robust economic growth throughout 2018,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at the Conference Board. “While the Federal Reserve is on track to continue raising its benchmark rate for the rest of the year, the recent weakness in residential construction and stock prices—important leading indicators—should be monitored closely.”

Regulators are close to fining Wells Fargo $1 billion. This stems from force-placed auto insurance and improperly charged lock extensions. An internal review found that up to 20,000 customers had their cars repossessed due to these improper insurance charges.

Donald Trump tweeted about how OPEC’s manipulation of oil prices will not be tolerated. “Looks like OPEC is at it again,” Trump said on Twitter. “Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!” OPEC fired back, claiming that oil prices reflect geopolitics and not manipulation.

Maxine Waters introduced legislation to increase scrutiny of FHA servicers. The bill aims to improve compliance with loss mitigation actions to prevent foreclosures. It will also establish a process for borrowers to register complaints and make appeals if they believe they are being treated unfairly. I am not sure what chance this has of actually becoming law, but government MSRs already trade far back of Fannie MSRs, and I can’t imagine this helps things.

Here is a new metric for measuring affordability: payment power. It basically is a metric that looks at MSAs on a granular level. it measures incomes versus available inventory and calculates how many people can afford the PITI payments for the typical home for sale. It takes into account changes in incomes (say due to an employer entering or leaving), interest rates and property taxes. Unsurprisingly, the Midwest has the best payment power levels, while the West Coast has the least.

Nice fixer-upper just went for $1.23 million in the Bay Area.

Filed under: Economy, Morning Report |

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23 Responses

  1. Brent Nyitray, on April 20, 2018 at 10:52 am said:

    The left is so cute when they pretend to care about Federalism

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Memetrics, on April 20, 2018 at 11:45 am said:

      Neither party cares about federalism. They use it when it works for them. That being said, it’s a smart and easy move for the Democrats. You want to move young people to the polls to vote in midterms that they usually don’t even know are happening, tying it to what will no doubt be pending MJ legislation, or legislation defeated by Republicans, will make it a great campaign issue for getting millennials to realize what midterm elections are.

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  3. Let the mutherfuker burn!, on April 20, 2018 at 1:08 pm said:

    This update really undermines the original story.


    “Of those two memos, Mr. Comey himself redacted elements of one that he knew to be classified to protect secrets before he handed the documents over to his friend. He determined at the time that another memo contained no classified information, but after he left the Federal Bureau of Investigation, bureau officials upgraded it to ‘confidential,’ the lowest level of classification.”
    Only two of the memos were classified as confidential: The one detailing the Jan. 28 dinner and the last one, written in April.

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/politics/wp/2018/04/20/the-comey-memos-bolster-his-claim-that-he-didnt-leak-classified-information/

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. jnc4p, on April 20, 2018 at 3:05 pm said:

    Oh the moral dilemma of being a HRC supporter and a reporter at the same time. Do you report on information that could damage HRC’s chances of victory and thus place yourself on “the wrong side of history”?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Brent Nyitray, on April 22, 2018 at 11:25 am said:

    Check your privilege:

    https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/ne95dm/how-to-be-a-white-ally-to-people-of-color?utm_campaign=sharebutton

    Am I the only one who suspects that these transgressions she refers to happen only in the author’s imagination? Has anyone other than your mom, spouse, or barber touched your hair?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • ScottC, on April 22, 2018 at 8:19 pm said:

      Brent:

      Check your privilege:

      I genuinely feel embarrassed for the author.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
    • interstitiums, on April 23, 2018 at 7:16 am said:

      Sometimes friends might if there is something unusual about it or guys trying to hit on a woman. I don’t think there’s an epidemic of white people touching black people’s hair for the exotic fascination of it in 2018.

      That being said, that title tho. “How To Be A Black Assistant To A Noble Caucasian” wouldn’t fly as a title I don’t think, but … it’s a double-standard.

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    • interstitiums, on April 23, 2018 at 8:23 am said:

      What an amazing list of incredibly First World problems. I can just imagine the billions of elope living in poverty, sleeping on straw mats on dirt floors in 8×8 rooms thinking to themselves: “Yes! I hate it when my fellow beggars or my homeless friends show off their tan!”

      My general sense is that the well-meaning, virtue-signaling white people asking “what can I do as a white person to make the world better for you poor people of color” is extremely destructive for the people it’s ostensibly meant to help. Nobody should have a list of 100 f***ing things that an entire race of people needs to do to show proper deference to you, because of your race, and then have well-meaning morons try to do it. Hint: do everything on that list, there will be a new list of 100 things white people should not do or must do to “help” people of color.

      I am amazed in the abundant opportunity to do something and be something in the west, being a member of a victim-tribe whose life revolves around some trivial distinction of partial inheritance holds such fascination.

      Trump’s largely identity-based election does to indicate that, left-or-right, identity politics begets more identity politics. I’m expecting the remainder of my life to be somewhat spent watching entitled people go insane, or at least become increasing obsessed with some trivial aspect of their life that they religiously believe defines their “identity”. Yay!

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      • interstitiums, on April 23, 2018 at 8:31 am said:

        16. Don’t question someone’s Blackness if they’re light-skinned. It’s not your place. Other Black people can make sure that light-skinned Black people are cognizant of their privilege.

        17. Never try and tell a person of color what is or isn’t racist.

        What the literal f**k?

        At what level is this different from “You always call a white man sir, boy”?

        Christmas on a racist cracker.

        You uppity caucasians better know your place!

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    • interstitiums, on April 23, 2018 at 8:26 am said:

      9. Regard us as autonomous, unique individuals, not as representatives of our race.

      Being all in on your identity politics apparently deprives you of a sense of irony.

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    • interstitiums, on April 23, 2018 at 8:42 am said:

      44. Remember that it is Black women and Native women and mixed race women who are most likely to be raped in their lifetimes in America. You cannot be an advocate against sexual violence without considering the impact of race.

      Most likely to be rapes by people of the same race, so we must consider race in terms of victimhood but not allowed to in terms of perpetration, or how does that work?

      45. Don’t ask Black women if it’s our “real hair.” And don’t judge Black women for wearing wigs or weaves or having relaxers.

      What white person judges any black woman for using relaxers? I thought that was strictly a complaint of woke African Americans about inauthenticity. Also isn’t straight hair cultural appropriation?

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  8. Brent Nyitray, on April 22, 2018 at 6:54 pm said:

    This article is profoundly dumb

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Be kind, show respect, and all will be right with the world.