The 30 year fixed rate is at 6.375% today before adjustments, if any.
Mortgage/Economy news:
Watch for consumer confidence and consumer spending to be the more significant market movers of the week. Of course, the biggest deal will be the Fed rate decision, which will be released on Wednesday afternoon. Most economists expect no change in their rate this time. We feel that is the most likely outcome, particularly because inflation has started to flare. The complication is in the fact that the economy has not fully rebounded as the Fed had hoped they would by now. Some people are beginning to talk about stagflation again, but that may be a little premature. We should see a lot happen in the overall economy over the next six months, especially as we head into the Presidential elections.
Banking and investing are topping the news so far this week. Citigroup is supposed to start cutting some of the 6500 investment banking jobs this week, according to an inside source. Many banks have announced and begun thousands of layoffs as the housing slowdown has persisted.
Last week, many analysts were predicting that Merrill Lynch would downgrade their own earnings forecast. However, another analyst beat them to it. Bank of America analyst Hecht lowered projections on Merrill Lynch and UBS from his original expectations for profits to $3.5 billion and $7 billion losses respectively. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs downgraded their outlook for the entire financial sector.
Mortgage question: How long must the seller be on title to satisfy the lender? It depends is the real answer. FHA has waived the 90 day guideline because of the large number of foreclosures and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac never had a seasoning guideline. Surprised?
Thought of the day:
The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.
Mark Twain
(Provided by Steve Hale~Georgia Platinum Mortgage)
