todays market update

Friday’s bond market has opened flat again despite favorable economic news and a negative morning for stocks. The major stock indexes are showing relatively minor losses with the Dow down 37 points and the Nasdaq down 13 points. The bond market is nearly unchanged from yesterday’s close, which should keep this morning’s mortgage rates at yesterday’s levels. Today’s only relevant economic report was October's Industrial Production data that showed a 0.4% decline in output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities. That indicates manufacturing sector weakness, especially since analysts were expecting to see a small increase in production. Furthermore, a 0.2% downward revision to September’s output hints at a slowing manufacturing sector over the past two months. Unfortunately, this particular report is not looked upon as a key indicator of manufacturing activity, so its impact on this morning’s mortgage pricing has been minimal. Next week brings us the release of a small handful of economic reports, but none of them are considered to be highly important. Unlike many, there is a report worth watching scheduled for this coming Monday. The National Association of Realtors will give us October’s home resale figures late Monday morning. In addition to the moderately important economic reports, Fed Chairman Bernanke has a public speaking engagement that may influence the markets and possibly mortgage pricing. It is worth noting that there are officially only three full trading days with the markets closed Thursday for Thanksgiving while the stock and bond markets have early closes scheduled for Friday. There is also a decent possibility of seeing light trading Wednesday afternoon as some traders head home for the holiday. Look for details on next week’s schedule and calendar of events in Sunday’s weekly preview. If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now...       Alan Russell 161 South San Antonio Rd. | Los Altos, CA 95022 Ph: 650-947-2296 ? Fax: 408-335-1118 alanrussell@princetoncap.com CLICK HERE TO STOP RECEIVING OUR REPORT