Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Memetrics
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktVital Statistics:
| Last | Change | |
| S&P futures | 4,209 | 11.8 |
| Oil (WTI) | 67.29 | 0.47 |
| 10 year government bond yield | 1.61% | |
| 30 year fixed rate mortgage | 3.16% |
Stocks are higher this morning as we head into a 3 day weekend. Bonds and MBS are flat. Note the bond market closes early today.
Personal Incomes fell 13.1% in April, which was driven by March stimulus checks. Personal spending rose 0.5%, while the savings rate came in at 14.9%. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index (inflation) rose 0.6%, and 0.7% ex-food and energy. On a YOY basis it was up 3.6% overall and 3.1% ex-food and energy. We will see elevated annual figures for the next several months as COVID lockdowns a year ago introduce noise into the numbers.
The US savings rate has been elevated since the COVID lockdowns were imposed. I suspect a lot of this has been due to reduced spending on experiential stuff – i.e. vacations, eating out, etc. The economic consensus seems to be that the elevated savings rate will reverse this year and that higher spending will drive growth in the second half of the year. That said, the Atlanta Fed’s GDP now tracker for the second quarter has been trending down, having just fallen from 10% to 9%.
Pending Home Sales fell 4.4% in April, according to NAR numbers. On a YOY basis, however sales were up 51.7%. “Contract signings are approaching pre-pandemic levels after the big surge due to the lack of sufficient supply of affordable homes,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The upper-end market is still moving sharply as inventory is more plentiful there.”
Loans in forbearance increased according to numbers out of Black Knight Financial. The number rose 16k to 2.2 million homes. This is 4.1% of homeowners.
Fannie Mae’s new “Refinance Now” program opens June 5. These are basically high LTV refis. They will be limited to primary borrowers at lower than 80% of the area median income income, and will be subject to the GSE high risk loan limits. They also must have a DTI under 65% and an LTV below 97. The minimum FICO is 620.
Filed under: Economy, Morning Report |
All Things in Moderation 
Scott, I think you were commenting about this case the other day:
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/appellate-court-strikes-down-racial
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Worth noting:
“U.S. tells Russia it won’t rejoin Open Skies arms control pact”
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/27/open-skies-arms-control-491280
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This has caught a lot of small businesses by the gonads:
https://evergreensmallbusiness.com/when-owner-wages-become-ineligible-for-the-employer-retention-credit/
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Thanks Mark.
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Babylon Bee reminds me of the National Lampoon of the late 70’s and early 80’s.
https://babylonbee.com/news/aoc-added-to-iwo-jima-memorial-for-surviving-capitol-riot
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I think that’s a very astute observation, McWing.
The Babylon Bee does what The Nation Lampoon and others of the 60s and 70s and even 80s did—it good-naturedly takes on the power-structure and makes fun of humorless politicians and orthodox political and cultural dogma.
Which is why it’s funny where most mainstream political humor is decidedly unfunny.
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Speaking of funny…
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Hahahaah…that’s good.
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It’s funny because it’s true. Rather than waterboarding or other forms of torture, forcing captive prisoners to listen to lectures on critical race theory and intersectional feminism could probably break them where mere physical pain never would.
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A hearty thank you to Brent, Mark and Michigoose for their service!
And a prayer for those who gave their all.
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Indeed! Well said.
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Seconded. And to you, too, McWing. I am correct in remembering you served in some capacity, yes?
I never served because it sounded like work and I’m really lazy.
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