Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
The housing market thrives on optimism, which is what the market is getting so far under President-elect Donald Trump, at least that’s what OwnAmerica CEO Greg Rand said. Taking into account that Ben Carson is now slated to lead HUD, rand explains what positive areas he sees ahead for housing. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
The world of post-crisis mortgage bond trading is about to change, as a new mortgage bond is set to hit the market that features loans that would be considered non-prime, and also carries AAA ratings – a post-crisis first. Both Fitch Ratings and DBRS handed the deal AAA ratings on the largest tranche of the deal, but the deal is not a return to the pre-crisis Wild, Wild West of credit ratings, at least not yet. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Oil futures settled higher Friday, with major oil producers set to meet this weekend with plans to shore up their recent decision to cut back output. For the week, however, prices lost about 0.4% as some doubts lingered that producers outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will fully support the agreement. January West Texas Intermediate crude rose 66 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $51.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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
Gold futures settled Friday at their lowest level since February, posting a weekly loss for a fifth straight week amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its meeting next week. February gold lost $10.50, or 0.9%, for the session to settle at $1,161.90 an ounce-the lowest finish since early February, according to FactSet data. For the week, prices declined by roughly 1.1%.
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
Data from Baker Hughes Friday revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil climbed by 21 to 498 rigs this week. That’s the highest level since January, according to Citi Futures’ Tim Evans. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also jumped by 27 to 624, according to Baker Hughes. “It looks like the OPEC deal, as well as the end of the year, is inspiring the drillers to get cracking,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. He also pointed out that “some drillers may have to start drilling before the end of the year to keep leases.” Prices for oil appeared unfazed by the rig data, with January crude holding onto its gains, trading at $51.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 59 cents, or 1.2%.
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
Corn futures edged lower Friday, falling back further from the five-month high they hit earlier this week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture left its forecast on U.S. corn production unchanged for the 2016/2017 crop year at 386.75 million metric tons and raised its world output projection by more than 9 million metric tons to 1.0397 billion metric tons. “Looks like plenty of grain inventories globally, which is what people will take away from this report,” Sal Gilbertie, president and chief investment officer at Teucrium Trading, said about the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. “There is once again record global demand for grains and nearly all the major crops covered in this report,” he said. But “the world has become reliant on record production to meet record demand.” March corn was down 0.2% at $3.53 a bushel in Chicago. It settled at over $3.60 a bushel on Tuesday, which was its highest level since mid-July.
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 data is in for the newest profile of this year’s first-time homebuyer. MGIC pulled out these seven handy facts and created a shareable infographic to describe top traits of the homebuyer group. Sneak peak: Do you know the average age of a first-time homebuyer is? It’s 32 years old. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
There’s still plenty of opportunity in the single-family rental market as steadily rising home prices keep profits up. The top places to invest in America, however, are always fluctuating, with this quarter’s top 25 list showing a notable departure from the past several quarters. Say goodbye to the Sunshine State. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
President-elect Donald Trump’s surprising win in the presidential elections is pushing consumer sentiment to just below 2015 highs. The Survey of Consumers’ chief economist explains the effect this will have on Trump’s administration when he takes over the oval office in January. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
General Electric Co. said Friday that it raised its quarterly dividend by 4.3% to 24 cents a share from 23 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable Jan. 25 to shareholders of record on Dec. 27. At the current stock price of $31.59, up 0.2%, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 3.10%, compared with the aggregate dividend yield for the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 2.34%. “We have a disciplined capital allocation strategy with a plan to return approximately $30 billion of cash to shareholders this year,” said Chief Executive Jeff Immelt. “This dividend increase is in line with our multi-year capital allocation framework to have a dividend payout ratio of 45-50% and then grow the dividend in line with earnings.” The stock has gained 1.4% year to date, while the Dow has climbed 12.9%.
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