Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
A clarification has been issued by the Internal Revenue Service about the deductibility of interest that is paid on home-equity and junior-lien products.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was approved by Congress and signed into law last year by President Donald Trump and enacted on Dec. 22.
Under the law, joint taxpayers can deduct interest on home loans up to $750,000. Married taxpayers filing separately can each deduct interest on loans up to $375,000.
From:: Financing
Stamps.com Inc. jumped in late trading Wednesday after reporting much higher profit than expected in its fourth quarter and projecting higher profit in the current year as well. The online-postage company reported net income of $40.2 million, or $2.15 a share, in the fourth quarter on sales of $132.5 million, up from $105.9 million a year ago. After adjusting for stock-based compensation and other effects, the company claimed earnings of $4.68 a share, up more than 70% from $2.73 a year before. Analysts on average were expecting adjusted earnings of $2.78 a share on sales of $119.5 million, according to FactSet. The company’s forecast for the current year projects more profit gains: The company said it expects earnings of $7.09 to $8.04 a share on sales of $530 million to $560 million for the full year, with adjustments sending profit to $8.80 to $9.80 a share. Analysts on average were expecting adjusted profits of $8.53 a share on sales of $532 million for the current fiscal year. Shares shot up more than 15% in late trading after closing at $184.95.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Shares of Cheesecake Factory Inc. fell more than 6% late Wednesday after the restaurant chain reported quarterly sales below expectations. Cheesecake Factory said it earned $57.7 million, or $1.24 a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $32.4 million, or 68 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $24.7 million, or 53 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with 67 cents a year ago. Comparable-restaurant sales fell 0.9% in the quarter. Revenue reached $571.8 million, compared with $603.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected GAAP and adjusted earnings of 53 cents a share on sales of $573 million.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Shares of Mellanox Technologies Ltd. rallied in Wednesday’s extended session after the computer networking products company raised its quarterly revenue outlook. Mellanox projected fiscal first-quarter revenue of $240 million to $250 million versus $222 million to $232 million issued on Jan. 18. It also announced that Chief Financial Officer Jacob Shulman will step down on May 4 to join a “pre-IPO” company. Mellanox shares rallied 8% after hours.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Shares of Avis Budget Group Inc. rose more than 10% late Wednesday as the rental-car company swung to a profit in the fourth quarter and sales beat forecasts. Avis said it earned $220 million, or $2.65 a share, in the quarter, versus a loss of $31 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company said it earned 45 cents a share, compared with 15 cents a share a year ago. Revenue rose to $2.02 billion, from $1.88 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 22 cents a share on sales of $1.99 billion. Avis called for revenue between $9.2 billion and $9.5 billion for 2018, and adjusted per-share earnings between $2.90 and $3.75 for the year.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Shares of Pandora Media Inc. gained 8.6% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. Pandora reported a net loss of $44.7 million, compared to $90 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the company lost 21 cents, whereas it lost 38 cents a year ago. The adjusted net loss was 21 cents, compared to 13 cents a year ago and expectations for a 7-cent loss. Pandora posted revenue of $395.3 million, up from $392.6 million a year ago and ahead of expectations for $375.8 million. Listener hours fell to 5.03 billion during the quarter, from $5.38 billion a year earlier. The company said it had a combined total of 5.48 million paying subscribers for its Pandora Plus and Premium products. “From launching on-demand for our ad-supported listeners to expanding multiple device partnerships in the last quarter alone, we’re building a strong foundation for audience growth and improved monetization,” CEO Roger Lynch said in a release. Shares fell 8.6% during the regular session Wednesday and they’re down 63% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 Index has gained 14% in that time.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
(TNS)—World events are conspiring to make it more expensive for you to borrow money to buy a house.
Mortgage rates have increased for five consecutive weeks, according to Bankrate data, bringing interest on a 30-year fixed rate loan to 4.44 percent—the highest level in 11 months—while home prices continue to rise due to a lack of available homes.
After years of tepid economic growth, animal spirits are aflame. Inflation and wage growth recently found a groove, while the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise short-term interest rates multiple times for a consecutive year has reduced the value of government debt. The yield on 10-year Treasuries is close to a four-year high. (Bond prices and yields are inversely related.)
Oh, and China may reduce its appetite for U.S. bonds.
Homebuyers Should Get off the Fence
Mortgage rates are moved by the yield on 10-year Treasuries, rather than short-term rate hikes by the Fed. That’s why mortgage rates fell throughout 2017, for instance, even as the central bank raised the federal funds rate three times.
Rates remain cheap, however, compared to historical prices. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage came with an interest rate above 6 percent just before the Great Recession in 2007.
Potential homeowners should get off the fence and make a bid, assuming you have an affordable home target and adequate savings, because rates are likely only heading north.
Why Mortgage Rates Are Increasing
You’ve seen this movie before.
Immediately after the 2016 election, investors sold government debt en masse, causing the 10-year yield to rise from 1.88 percent on November 8 to 2.60 percent five weeks later. That dramatic rise was predicated on investors thinking a newly Republican-controlled Washington would bring about faster economic growth through infrastructure spending and tax cuts.
Optimism waned throughout 2017, though, as the GOP failed to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, casting doubt on their cohesion as a governing party. The long-promised massive infrastructure bill never materialized, while the prospects of a tax overhaul dampened. By the first week of September, the 10-year yield was 2.05 percent.
But then Republicans made progress on a $1.5 trillion tax bill, while the employment picture continued to brighten, and the U.S. economy grew at a solid clip over the last six months of the year.
With Congress agreeing to a $300 billion spending bill—which will only throw more coal on the burning economy—investors see fewer reasons to own bonds. Economic growth and higher pay could result in long-awaited inflation gains. Prices have been rising below the Fed’s 2 percent target, according to the central bank’s preferred prices gauge, for years now.
Higher inflation is a boon for fixed-rate borrowers but hurts debtors. The January jobs report, which showed a 2.9 percent-year-over year earnings increase, was a signal to market observers that inflation may be coming.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported in January that China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, may reduce or cease U.S. debt purchases, causing market jitters.
Should You Be Worried?
Given the recent run-up in yields, you may be worried—but don’t panic just yet.
“This is not alarming,” notes Chris Vincent, fixed income …read more
From:: Real Estate News
BitFunder, an unregistered online bitcoin exchange, and its founder Jon E. Montroll were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday with allegedly operating unregistered online securities and defrauding customers by misappropriating their bitcoins. BitFunder also to disclose a cyberattack on its system that resulted in the theft of more than 6,000 bitcoins. The SEC also charged Montroll with making false and misleading statements in connection with an unregistered offering of securities. In a parallel criminal case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a complaint against Montroll for perjury and obstruction of justice during the SEC’s investigation. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions and disgorgement plus interest and penalties.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
A afternoon rally for the Dow Jones Industrial Average melted on Wednesday as Wall Street struggled to interpret minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting. The Dow was up 18 points, or less than 0.1%, at 24,995, eroding what had been a nearly 300-point rally in the wake of the release of minutes at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The S&P 500 index was up 5 points, or 0.2%, but had been up more than 1% earlier in the session, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5% at 7,265. A deflation of the brisker rise for stocks following meeting minutes from the late-January gathering of the Federal Open Market Committee was attributed in part a climb in yields for the 10-year Treasury note to a session high at 2.95%, while the dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index also picked up steam up 0.4% at 90.09. Minutes from the Jan. 30-31 Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed that officials saw a stronger economy than at the end of 2017 and that more rate hikes were in the offing. The strengthening “increased the likelihood that a gradual upward trajectory of the federal funds rate would be appropriate.” To convey this message, officials altered their statement to point to “further gradual increases,” according to the minutes. However, the Fed minutes don’t incorporate recent signs of rapidly rising inflation, which could make the Fed more inclined to hike rates faster than the three that Wall Street is forecasting, some market participants speculated.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Wednesday afternoon was rallying after the market digested minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy gathering. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 190 points, or 0.8%, to 25,151, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.7% at 2,736, while the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index , a proxy for risk appetite on Wall Street, climbed 1.1% to 7,308. Minutes from the Jan. 30-31 Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed that officials saw a stronger economy than at the end of 2017 and that more rate hikes were in the offing. The strengthening “increased the likelihood that a gradual upward trajectory of the federal funds rate would be appropriate.” To convey this message, officials altered their statement to point to “further gradual increases,” according to the minutes. However, the Fed minutes don’t incorporate recent signs of rapidly rising inflation, which could make the Fed more inclined to hike rates faster than the three that Wall Street is forecasting, some market participants speculated.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News