Posted on

Mortgage Rates Hover in Place

By Susanne Dwyer

Average fixed mortgage rates remain largely unchanged ahead of this week’s employment report, according to Freddie Mac’s recently released Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.42 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending October 6, 2016, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.76 percent.

“The 10-year Treasury yield leaped to a two-week high following reports of the European Central Bank retreating from its bond-buying program ahead of its initial March deadline,” says Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac. “In contrast, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged. Over the past two weeks, mortgage rates have remained fairly flat while Treasury yields have fallen and risen.”

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.72 percent with an average 0.5 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.99 percent.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.80 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.81 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.88 percent.

For more information, visit www.FreddieMac.com.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News

Posted on

Weekly Mortgage Activity Slowed by Refinances

A week-over-week slowdown in refinancing activity helped pull down overall new mortgage activity. But one category — jumbo business — turned positive for the week.

An indication of upcoming residential loan originations, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from OpenClose and Mortgage Daily, was 162 in the week ended Oct. 7.

New loan activity declined 9 percent from the previous seven-day period. But compared to the same week last year, new business has improved by 15 percent.

…read more

From:: Financing

Posted on

Twilio drops on pending sale of stock by shareholders

Shares of Twilio Inc. fell in Friday’s extended session after the cloud communications platform company said its shareholders will sell stock in a follow-on offering. The exact number of shares to be sold has not been determined and the company will not receive any of the proceeds. The company listed on the stock exchange in late June and is the only start-up to go public this year. Twilio slid 2% 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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Posted on

Mylan shares surge on EpiPen settlement news

Shares of Mylan N.V. rose more than 8% late Friday after the maker of anti-allergy device EpiPen said its subsidiary Mylan Inc. has agreed to a $465 million settlement with the Justice Department and other government agencies stemming from the classification of EpiPen for Medicaid rebates. The terms of the settlement “do not provide for any finding of wrongdoing” by Mylan, and provides a resolution for all potential liability claims by federal and state governments, Mylan said in a statement. In the same statement, Mylan lowered its 2016 adjusted earnings expectations to between $4.70 a share and $4.90 a share, from $4.85 a share to $5.15 a share. The company will include a pre-tax charge of $465 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30 as a result of the settlement, Mylan said. The company has been under fire for recent EpiPen price hikes and for reporting the EpiPen as a generic drug with multiple competitors, which allows for fewer rebates than if it were classified as a brand-name drug.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Posted on

Fed to weigh in on blockchain and other financial innovations, Brainard says

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The Federal Reserve plans to publish a paper later this year outlining its views on the start-up financial innovations sweeping the banking sector, said Fed Gov. Lael Brainard on Friday. Banks have been testing applications of blockchain, the technology underlying bitcoin, for trading derivatives, as a way to replace existing systems that require each party to a trade plus a central clearinghouse to record the trade. Blockchain-based networks can allow banks and regulators to share a single record of a trade over a network. “We are paying close attention to distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, recognizing this may represent the most significant development in many years in payments, clearing, and settlement,” Brainard said in a speech to the Institute of International Finance. The U.S. central bank wants “to maintain public confidence in the payments system, while supporting innovation that provides broadly shared benefits to the public over time, including through the reduction of unnecessary frictions, costs, and delays,” Brainard said. The deployment of any new financial technology must be undertaken with a thorough understanding and management of risks, she said.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Posted on

Ginnie MBS Issuance Surges to New Record

Monthly loan securitizations on behalf of the Government National Mortgage Association soared to a new all-time high, with jumbo activity reaching a record high.

Issuance of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities came to $54.639 billion during September — the biggest month on record for the government-owned corporation.

The findings, based on an analysis of monthly operational data reported by the Washington-based firm, indicate that there were $48.424 billion in prior-month issuance.

…read more

From:: Financing

Posted on

U.S. blames Russia for election-year hacking incidents

The U.S. is “confident” that the Russian government is behind recent hacking incidents including into the Democratic National Committee, according to a statement from two agencies. “These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process,” said a statement from the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “Only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities,” the statement said.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Posted on

U.S. stocks close lower after jobs report, snap 3-week winning streak

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, turning in the first losing week out of the past four, after the economy added fewer than expected jobs in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28.01 points, or 0.2%, to close at 18,240.49, weighed down by declines in United Technologies Corp. and Home Depot Inc. . The S&P 500 Index declined 7.03 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 2,153.74, led by declines in the materials and industrials sectors. The Nasdaq Composite index slipped 14.45 points, or 0.3%, to close at 5,292.40. For the week, both the Dow and the Nasdaq declined 0.4%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.7%. The U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in September, just shy of the 172,000 expected from economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News