Todays economic news

Monday’s bond market has opened down slightly even though the major stock indexes are showing early losses. The Dow is currently down 55 points while the Nasdaq has lost 8 points. The bond market is currently down 3/32, which may push this morning’s mortgage rates slightly higher than Friday’s morning pricing. However, the increase should be minimal if your lender actually does move higher. There is nothing of importance scheduled for release today that is likely to influence mortgage rates. The rest of the week has five economic reports for the markets to digest, but one is considered to be highly important. The remaining reports are moderately important to the markets, meaning they have the potential to affect mortgage rates but usually don't cause a noticeable change. The most important data comes late in the week, but sizable moves in stocks can impact bond trading and mortgage rates any day. The week's first data comes Wednesday with the release of January's Factory Orders report during late morning hours and the Fed Beige Book during afternoon trading. The Factory Orders report will give us a measurement of manufacturing sector strength while the Beige Book details economic activity throughout the country by Federal Reserve region. There are also some private sector employment-related reports due to be posted Wednesday morning that could affect bond trading enough to move mortgage rates if they show significant surprises. Overall, look for a fairly active week in the markets and mortgage rates, especially the middle and latter days. I suspect there will be some optimism leading up to Friday's Employment report, which could lead to support in stocks and pressure in bonds as we get closer to Friday. That day is undoubtedly the biggest of the week, but Wednesday’s events and some central bank news from overseas early Thursday morning could also heavily influence mortgage rates. Please be careful this week if still floating an interest rate, especially the latter part of the week. If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock 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