Category Archives: Weekly Financial News

Are Home Prices Rising Too Fast?

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner No, they are just catching up to 4 years of weak household formation and even weaker income growth. Home prices have been held down from a combination of government austerity policies and private sector hoarding since the … Continue reading →

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Builder Confidence Soaring

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The National Association of Home Builders just announced that home builder confidence soared to the highest level since 2006, the height of the housing bubble.  This can only mean more new-home construction to fill the pent up … Continue reading →

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Shadow Inventory of Bad Loans Still Too High

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs The shadow inventory of troubled homes fell to about 2 million in April, down 18 percent from the same period in the prior year, and down 34 percent from a peak of 3 million in early 2010. But … Continue reading →

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No Tapering By Fed This Year

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly Fed Chairman Bernanke once more ‘clarified’ his remarks, saying there is no way the Fed will even begin to raise their (short term) interest rates when the unemployment rate falls to 6.5 percent. “There will not be … Continue reading →

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Mortgage Delinquencies Continue Decline

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures continue to decline. According to Lender Processing Services (LPS), 6.08 percent of mortgages were delinquent in May, down from 6.21 percent in April, while 3.05 percent of mortgages were in the foreclosure process, … Continue reading →

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QE3 Works, So Please Don’t Mess With It!

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Dear Federal Reserve Governors; Please don’t mess with QE3 just yet! Not in September, or even December. There are still too many reasons not to begin to taper the $85 billion per month in purchases that have kept … Continue reading →

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Managing Expectations—The Fed’s Two-Edged Sword

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly It does look like the results of Fed Chairman Bernanke’s push for greater transparency in Federal Reserve policy deliberations are coming home to roost. Stock and bond prices have been whipsawed since Bernanke made the seemingly offhand … Continue reading →

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Pending Home Sales Soaring As Well

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Watch out, homebuyers! There may be few homes left on the market if the National Association of Realtors’ May Pending Home Sales Index is any predictor of future sales. This is even though mortgage rates have risen … Continue reading →

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New-Home Sales Up, Delinquencies Down

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Lots of news today. New-home sales are surging, while mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures continue to drop. Consumer sentiment is also up sharply, maybe because housing prices are soaring according to both the S&P Case-Shiller and FHFA (for … Continue reading →

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Managing Fed’s Expectations—Why Austerity Now?

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly It seems that Ben Bernanke’s Federal Reserve has lost its nerve. Last week’s FOMC meeting confirmed that its Open Market Committee has decided to end the monthly QE3 security purchases sooner rather than later. We already see … Continue reading →

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