This week brings us the release of three pieces of relevant economic news in addition to the minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting and a speaking engagement with Fed Chairman Bernanke and a congressional committee. Only one of the economic reports is considered to be highly important to the markets and mortgage rates, but the others do carry enough significance to influence mortgage rates if they show a wide variance from forecasts.
Monday and Tuesday have nothing of importance scheduled, so look for stock movement to heavily influence bond trading and mortgage rates. Stock gains will probably pressure bonds and cause mortgage rates to move higher. If the major stock indexes show losses during the first couple days, we may see bonds thrive and mortgage rates remain unchanged or move slightly lower.
The National Association of Realtors will give us their Existing Home Sales report at 10:00 AM ET Wednesday. This data tracks resales of existing homes in the U.S. during April, giving us a measurement of housing sector strength. This type of data is relevant because a weakening housing sector makes a broader economic recovery less likely. Current forecasts are calling for an increase in home sales between March and April. Ideally, the bond market would prefer to see a decline, indicating housing sector weakness. A large increase in sales could lead to bond weakness and a small increase in mortgage rates Wednesday morning since a strengthening housing sector raises optimism about broader economic growth.
Also late Wednesday morning will be testimony from Fed Chairman Bernanke to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. He will be updating them on the status of the economy and the Fed’s outlook for future growth and monetary policy. This will be watched closely and is one of those speaking engagements that can cause considerable movement in the financial markets and mortgage rates.
Furthermore, the minutes of the last FOMC meeting will be released Wednesday afternoon. Market participants will be looking for how Fed members voted during the last meeting and any comments about inflation concerns in the economy and economic growth. The goal is to form opinions about the Fed’s next move regarding interest rates and their current bond-buying program (QE3). Since the minutes will be released at 2:00 PM ET, if there is a market reaction to them it will be evident during afternoon trading Wednesday.
April’s New Home Sales report is the sister report of the Existing Home Sales and will be released late Thursday morning. It gives us a similar measurement of housing sector strength and future mortgage credit demand, but tracks a much smaller portion of housing sales than Wednesday’s report does. Actually, it is the least important release of the week and probably will not have much of an impact on mortgage pricing unless it shows a sizable variance from forecasts. It is expected to show gains in sales from March’s level, meaning the new home portion of the housing sector also strengthened last month.
Friday has the week’s most important economic report with April’s Durable Goods Orders being posted. This data gives us an indication of manufacturing sector strength by tracking orders at U.S. factories for big-ticket products. These are items made with an expected life span of three or more years. It is currently expected to show an increase in new orders of approximately 1.6%, indicating the manufacturing sector remained strengthened a little last month. That would be relatively bad news for the bond market and mortgage rates, but this data is known to be quite volatile. Therefore, a small variance from forecasts would likely have little impact on Friday’s mortgage rates.
Overall, I believe Wednesday will be the most important day for rates, although Friday should be active also as it will be shortened due to the early close ahead of the Memorial Day holiday and has the most important report of the week. Still, Wednesday’s economic data and Chairman Bernanke’s testimony in the morning and FOMC minutes in the afternoon means we could see a couple changes to mortgage rates that day. I suspect that Tuesday will be the calmest day of the week. There is nothing to be concerned with Monday, but strong selling in bonds late Friday means there is a fairly large increase in mortgage rates waiting if your lender did not make an upward revision during afternoon trading. I don’t think we will see as much movement in rates that we saw last week, however, it is still recommended to maintain contact with your mortgage professional if you have not locked an interest rate yet.
Simple Tips for Natural Flea Control
With the weather warming up, flea eggs are hatching. You may have thought you
got them all, but a flea egg can live for years in your carpet waiting for the
right moment to hatch. The little blood suckers can sense when a suitable warm
blooded animal moves in.
Did you know that the flea responds to light and dark? So when a flea jumps on you, it’s because you walked past and changed the amount of light. Fleas have been known to jump at shadows as well.
So why should you use natural products instead of the chemical solutions? Fleas are like cockroaches in that they adapt to their environment, and even can become immune to the chemicals.
Types of Fleas
Over 2,000 species of fleas have been described worldwide, including:- Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis)
- Dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis)
- Human flea (Pulex irritans)
- Northern rat flea (Nosopsyllus fasciatus)
- Oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis)
Natural Flea Control
The majority of fleas live in the environment rather than on your pet, so for every one flea you might find on your animal, there will be about 30 others around the house.So natural flea control needs to have two prongs. The first is getting rid of fleas on your pets and the second is to get rid of fleas in your home.
For your pet, there are flea combs that can be used. The flea gets trapped in the comb tines and fur. You can then throw the whole shebang into the toilet and flush the problem away. You can create natural flea dips out of fresh rosemary or lavender. You can also put a cut lemon in boiling water, and then let it steep overnight. Then put this in a spray bottle and use it to regularly spritz your pet especially around the head and behind the ears being careful of the eyes.
You can also purchase natural treatments made from citrus or chrysanthemums that repel fleas.
Additional repellents are eucalyptus, cedar, clove and citronella. And keep your pet’s bedding laundered regularly.
To get rid of fleas in the home, sprinkle Borax, diatomaceous earth, or salt on all carpets and really rub it in. Let it sit overnight and then vacuum it up. The boric acid dissolves the shells. Salt dehydrates the eggs and larvae. And the diatomaceous earth cuts the flea’s legs.
A word of note: Diatomaceous earth for pest control should not be confused with “Pool Grade” diatomaceous earth, which is treated with heat, causing the formerly amorphous silicon dioxide to assume crystalline form which is not effective for insect pest control.Repeat this every three days for nine days (or longer) and you’ll get ahead of the flea life cycle. Some sources say you don’t need to let it sit longer than 20 minutes. You will need to test to see what works best for your infestation.
Secondly, you can set up a trap for the little pests with a bowl of warm, soapy water or beer. Then set a light up right above the light. When the home is dark, the fleas will be attracted to the light and drown in the water. You can also purchase electric flea traps so you don’t have to put out the bowl of water. It works in a similar fashion with a light and a trap to capture the pests.
Finally, you can change what your pet eats.
Brewer’s YeastSome report that raw garlic is also useful for dogs but should never be given to cats.
Add a small Brewer’s yeast tablets to your dog’s food. Much like prescription meds (but much healthier), this is excreted through Fido’s skin making him less attractive to fleas. Check with your veterinarian for the proper dosages depending on weight.
Apple Cider Vinegar
A spoonful of this stuff added to your dog’s water makes their skin more acidic and not-at-all tasty to fleas. If apple cider vinegar is not your dog’s cup of tea, you can dilute it 50/50 with water, pour into a spray bottle and use as a repellent.
Finally, look into nematodes for outdoor control. Nematodes are tiny worms that feed on flea larvae.
There are some that will say that natural methods aren’t used because they’re not as effective as chemicals. The natural methods do need to be used consistently and persistently. Unlike chemicals, you will need to use the methods more than once.
Have you started to have problems with fleas yet this year?
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