All Things in Moderation

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Markets are flattish this morning after a earning miss from Deere and Greek debt negotiation efforts hit a snag.  Expect low volume today as investors pack up and head to Grandma’s. Bonds are and MBS are down small.

Initial Jobless Claims came in at 410k.  Like last week, this is a Sandy-affected number and should be viewed accordingly. Mortgage applications fell 2.2%. University of Michigan Consumer Confidence dropped, and the index of leading economic indicators increased .2%.  Rising real estate prices are the driver of this.

Here are the highlights of the HUD report to Congress.  Aside from telling us what we already know (FHA is in deep trouble), there are also changes to the mortgage insurance program.  Insurance rates on FHA loans are going up, and borrowers will soon be charged mortgage insurance for the entire life of the loan, not just they typical 10-year period  L.Os take note – here is a good argument to get those borrowers off the fence – start the process now and get in under with wire.

Looks like the Feds are closing in on Stevie Cohen.  His healthcare PM allegedly made a quarter of a billion shorting Elan and Wyeth.  SAC Capital pays the highest commissions on the Street, by far.  They aren’t doing it out of the kindness of their hearts. Of course his investors don’t care – they know he is trading on inside information, but they are protected because they are limited partners. 

Two arguments about the proper size of government and its effect on prosperity.

The negotiation between the baker’s union and Hostess didn’t last long.  Hostess is headed for liquidation.

Have a happy Thanksgiving.

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Chart:  NAHB Sentiment Index:

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Stocks are higher this morning on optimism the fiscal cliff can be averted.  The new buzzword in Washington is “constructive” The pattern lately has been a strong opening, and then a late-day sell-off. This is a holiday-shortened week, so you can expect lower volumes and not much activity.  We have a sparse economic calendar as well.  Bonds and MBS are down.

Even if we reach a deal with the fiscal cliff, taxes are going up next year.  Hurricane Sandy has been expected to lop a point or so off of 4Q GDP.  Between the two, we are probably looking at a flat-to slight GDP growth in Q113.  To add insult to injury, businesses are halting capital expenditures. While “constructive” is the operative word for Washington, “Uncertainty’ is the buzzword for business. While it is certainly possible that a deal in Washington will remove the uncertainty, it feels like the business will simply find something else to fret about. The stock market is telling you that as well.  FWIW, Elmer Fudd is sanguine about the whole thing, saying a recession is a small price to pay to get our fiscal house in order.

HUD has announced some changes to help FHA get through its rough patch – the punch line is that FHA loans are about to get more expensive.  Fun fact:  FHA loans were about 2% of the market pre-boom.  Now they are 40%. The biggest changes involving borrowers will be an increase in the insurance premium, and removing the insurance cancellation program.

Redwood sold another $300 million of high quality jumbos last week, their sixth this year.  Two Harbors apparently is close to a securitization as well.  In the past two years, Redwood has securitized $900 million of jumbo mortgages.  To put that in perspective, in 2005 and 2006, private label issuance was $1.2 trillion. That said, the private label securitization market is coming back, slowly but surely.

Leave it to Paul Krugman to link Twinkies and marginal tax rates.

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Markets are flat this morning after yesterday’s bloodbath in the S&P and Wal Mart’s miss, which is a negative sign for the economy. Inflation at the consumer level remained in the Fed’s comfort range, while initial jobless claims jumped to 439k.  This is heavily influenced by Sandy, so don’t read too much into it. The NY Fed’s Empire Manufacturing Survey was negative, but better than expected and higher than the previous month.s  The Eurozone officially entered a recession.  Bonds are down small while MBS are flat.

The Bernank is speaking on Housing and Financial Markets at 1:20 est today.

Freddie Mac discusses housing starts in its November 2012 US Economic and Housing Market Outlook.  

The FOMC minutes released yesterday showed the Fed is moving in the direction of providing explicit economic guideposts for monetary policy.  In other words, once unemployment drops to X%, we end QE. While they also expressed concern that the scheduled completion of Operation Twist may impact the economy, they did not announce a Treasury buying program.  The market does expect one, though. 

A House report on MF Global basically characterizes Jon Corzine as the “de facto chief trader” and blames his trades for the firm’s collapse.  The Democrats on the panel refused to endorse the report, basically proving (yet again) that the financial is political. 

The Washington Post has a good backgrounder on the shale gas revolution.  This has the potential to be a real long-term elixir for the economy.

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Markets are higher this morning after a good earnings report out of Cisco and a benign reading on wholesale-level inflation.  Shades of the late 90s. Retail sales disappointed, but they were affected by Sandy so the market is dismissing the numbers. Later today, we will get the minutes of the FOMC meeting. 

Speaking of Sandy, she may become the excuse du jour for companies that miss their quarter.  Be advised.

Obama has put out his plan for the fiscal cliff.  It raises double the amount of revenue that was proposed during the deal with Boehner two years ago and involves more than simply letting rates go up for those making over $250k – it includes limitations on deductions and a surtax for incomes over $1 million.  Geithner has dismissed the Republican plan to leave rates the same and cap deductions.  So that is the bid / ask spread at the moment.  

I have heard recent estimates that if we go over the fiscal cliff completely, the economy will contract 1% in Q1.  If we raise taxes on the rich, we will have GDP around 1%, but that number was based on the going back to the old rates, not the additional stuff.  So it would probably be lower. Sounds like flat GDP in early 2013 is a possibility. The FOMC today may provide further guidance re Treasury purchases.  I would not want to be leaning short Treasuries at the moment.

Blackstone sees a two year window to buy foreclosed properties at a discount. They forecast the median existing home price to increase 6% this year, 5% in 2013 and similar gains in 2014.  If homebuilding does not accelerate, they forecast even bigger gains. I keep coming back to the idea that the remaining shadow inventory is largely picked over, and some of it (foreclosures in Harrisburg, Detroit and Stockton) simply aren’t going to sell. Meanwhile, Buffet continues to be positive on housing and has been increasing his exposure. Ara Hovnanian isn’t as sanguine.

Freddie Mac reported that 29% of refis in 3Q involved a term shortening as people refi from a 30 year fixed to a 15 year fixed. During the quarter, the 30 year fixed rate averaged 3.55%, while the 15 year averaged 2.84%.

Will investors do the heavy lifting of ending TBTF? (too big to fail)  Trillium and AFSCME have sent a proposal to Citi encouraging them to split up.  While it is easy to dismiss this as based on politics (Trillium is representing the Benedictine Sisters and has a .01% stake, and AFSCME is a union), it is true that Citi (and others) are trading at a discount to their peers and are exhibiting the classic holding company discount. Could we see Citi spin off Salomon Brothers?  Bank of America spin off Merrill?  JPM spin off Chase? 

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Markets are weaker this morning on Greek worries and a negative earnings report out of Weatherford. Bonds are up 1/2 a point and MBS are flat.

The NFIB Small Business Optimism index gained .3 points.  Uncertainty reached a record high, although this is understandable given it was an October before an election. CAPEX remains in maintenance mode, and hiring is absolutely flat. Generally it was a glum report.

Now that we have the election behind us, we can pretty much safely say that it is safer to be more constructive on Treasuries.  The Fed will continue to do what it does, and taxes are going up at the end of the year.  Combine that with the fact that Obama’s re-election is a negative for energy and the financials, and we could be facing a weak Q113 as well. 

But is there a bright spot?  Ah yes, housing.  Jamie Dimon has some optimistic comments regarding housing in the WSJ.  He basically cites the same things I have been talking about – household formation, affordability and inventory.  He makes the statement that housing isn’t going to recover in the absence of a strong economy, which I am not so sure I agree with.  I think the low household formation numbers of the last 6 years are artificially depressed due to a lousy economy and have created pent-up demand.  Eventually, people get married, move out of Mom and Dad’s place, and boot out the roommates.  In other words, housing can improve in spite of the economy.  

Not only that, but think about this:  As part of obamacare, obama instituted a 3.8% surtax on investment income for people making over $250k.  In a tight rental market, landlords will undoubtedly attempt to pass that cost on to renters, making the rent vs buy decision even more of a no-brainer.  Credit availability remains a problem, though as Dimon notes. 

Wapo notes that the REO discount is starting to disappear.

AIG is looking to expand its balance sheet in the mortgage business.

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Stock markets are higher this morning after last week’s post-election sell-off.  Bonds are closed for Veteran’s Day. The government also has the day off, so there are is no major economic news.

Post election, all eyes turn to the fiscal cliff.  There appears to be a growing consensus that we can leave rates unchanged for the top and limit deductions. Partisan posturing and political jockeying will make the markets a miserable place for the next couple of months.  Capital gains and dividends remain a wild card. The obamacare surtax will happen regardless, so financial income is taking a hit right off the bat.

The Basel III requirements scheduled to take effect on Jan 1 have been pushed back to some time in the future.  SIFMA and the MBA agree with the decision.

So how will the election affect the markets and real estate?  I suspect FHFA Chairman DeMarco will be out of a job, which will pave the way for principal reductions on F&F/Ginnie loans. If they don’t think this through, they could face a deluge of homeowners suddenly finding themselves “unable” to make their mortgage payment.

Geithner is out for obama II, and the favorite for replacement seems to be Jack Lew. Lew is a “middle of the road” candidate that has already been unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2010 for the OMB job. 

If we go over the fiscal cliff, we will undoubtedly have a 1H recession, which could result in a 1.25% 10-year.  Which means the refi boom will continue to have legs.  If FHFA starts modding underwater loans to LTVs of 1.0, we should see some refi activity, especially in the FHA space.  That said, if CFPB doesn’t come out with a bright line definition of a QM, refinancing these folks may prove to be difficult.

Regarding a 1H recession, earnings this quarter were not great, and Sandy will probably lop 1% to 1.5% of of 4Q GDP.  Taxes are going up, so we should start handicapping a 1H recession. Will it affect housing?  My sense is no, the bottom is in, and the recession will be felt more in cap goods / the energy patch than in housing. JP Morgan downgraded CAT this morning based on the expected negative impact the election will have on energy and mining. 

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Futures are higher on the back of a better-than-expected October jobs report.  Bonds are MBS are down

Nonfarm payrolls increased 171k in Oct and the Sep number was revised upward from 114k to 148k.  The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% as the labor force participation rate increased to 63.8%. Weekly hours and pay fell. The report pretty much confirms the labor market is on the mend, albeit slowly.

The Northeast continues to pick up the storm damage, although gasoline shortages are becoming a problem as the lack of power in NJ means that gasoline can’t be pumped out of the large tanks into trucks. This will be an additional drag on the 4Q economic numbers as people stay home instead of shopping. 

We have another glimpse of how long the Fed thinks QE should last – until the unemployment rate falls below 7.25%. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren cautioned that this was a threshold, not a specific target. Rosengren is one of the most dovish Fed members, but does not have a vote at the moment.  He went further to say that if the unemployment rate falls to 6.5%, it is time to start moving away from ZIRP.

Colony Capital won an auction for 970 Fannie Mae foreclosed homes in Arizona, California, and Nevada. It is a complicated partnership agreement and Colony plans to rent out the properties. It looks like they paid close to BPO $176MM for a portfolio that was appraised at $157MM in Feb.  Since Feb, prices have shot up in Arizona.  Colony will get 20% of the rents as a management fee, and will take 10% of the profits up to $136MM, and then their take grows to 50%.  It looks like they only have to put up something like $34 million.  Fannie was unable to sell the Atlanta portfolio.

The MR will be spotty next week as I am traveling to the Left Coast.

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Markets are up slightly as we recover from Sandy.  Transportation into NYC is still spotty, so expect lower-than-normal liquidity.  Bonds are down 1/2 a point and MBS are down small.

The US markets were closed Monday and Tuesday.  The last time the US markets were closed two consecutive days for a weather-related reason?  The Blizzard of 1888.

Can FEMA cover the losses from Sandy?  With the expected flood insurance claims, maybe not. 

We have a slew of economic data this morning, starting with ADP Employment Change.  This is supposed to mirror the payroll survey the government puts out.  It showed nonfarm private employment rose 158k in Oct, while Sep was revised downward from 162k to 114k.  ADP has made some changes to their methodology, so this number will be hard to predict / volatile for the near term.

Challenger and Gray reported announced job cuts increased 41% in Oct, largely a result of lackluster earnings reports so far. C&G don’t differentiate between domestic and overseas job cuts, so the impact on the US will be less.  The Markit Final PMI fell to a 37 month low.

Nonfarm productivity came in better than forecast, while unit labor costs unexpectedly fell. Initial Jobless claims came in at 363k.  Consumer Confidence, ISM, and construction spending will be released at 10:00.

Today is the first Thursday of the month, and that means retailers are reporting same store sales.  Generally, they are up across the board, which was pretty much to be expected.  Apparel did the best, while department and drug stores were generally down.

What will be the economic effect of Sandy? According to IHS Global, it could take 1.5% of 4Q GDP. But what about all of the construction workers that will be hired to rebuild?  More of a Q1 event, though overall, not enough to offset the balance sheet effects. Refer to the Broken Window Fallacy.  This will undoubtedly be motivation to prevent the fiscal cliff from occurring, although there seems to be a consensus that everything should be kicked down the road with the exception of the entirely symbolic tax cuts for incomes over 250k.

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Markets are flat after a better than expected GDP report offset the earnings miss from Apple. Surprisingly, bonds and MBS are rallying on the GDP number. Not sure what to make of that.

3Q GDP came in at +2%, higher than the +1.8% expectation.  This is the “advance estimate,” which means the source data are still incomplete, so the number will be subject to two revisions.  Increases in consumption and government spending were offset by a drop in nonresidential fixed investment. 

The NAR is forecasting that home prices will increase by 3.25% in 2013 based on its survey of 50,000 real estate practitioners.  

If Obama wins re-election, Ed DeMarco’s days at FHFA are probably numbered. To overcome Republican opposition, he will probably be fired and replaced while Congress is in recess. He has continued to butt heads with the Administration over principal reductions for GSE loans.

The MR may be a casualty of Sandy next week.  Hopefully not.

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