Category Archives: Weekly Financial News

Why the Record Low Interest Rates?

The Mortgage Corner fred.stlouisfed.org The 30-year fixed rate conforming mortgage rate fell to a 1-year low, according to Freddie Mac, the GSE still in government conservatorship, and major purchaser of conforming conventional mortgages. The 30-year fixed-rate averaged 4.35 percent in … Continue reading

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Housing Market Still Alive and Well!

The Mortgage Corner Calculated Risk The Mortgage Bankers Association said last week its Builder Applications Survey data for January showed mortgage applications for new home purchases jumped by 43 percent from December, though was unchanged from a year ago.  This … Continue reading

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What If No Brexit Deal?

Popular Economics Weekly Equalitytrust.org We know why the UK voted to exit the EU—UK working class anger at not gaining many of the benefits from joining the EU, while experiencing its downside with the influx of eastern EU citizens that … Continue reading

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More Job Creation Coming

Popular Economics Weekly Wrightson-ICAP The number of job openings reached a series high of 7.3 million on the last business day of December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday. Over the month, hires and separations were little changed … Continue reading

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What is Driving Household Formation and Home Sales?

The Mortgage Corner SF Federal Reserve The growth in household formation, the major determinate of home ownership, is slowly returning to pre-housing bubble levels, according to a 2016 report by the San Francisco Fed’s economic research dept. This is a … Continue reading

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Can U.S. Economy Weather Trade Wars?

Financial FAQs Econoday.com Why is manufacturing doing so well in the face of rising tariffs—in January when mid-winter business activity tends to slow? Consumers flush with cash from rising wages and full employment are powering higher domestic demand. Exports, on … Continue reading

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Very Strong January Employment

Popular Economics Weekly MarketWatch.com Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 304,000 in January, and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.0 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in several industries, including leisure and hospitality, construction, … Continue reading

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Best Wage and Benefit Rise in 11 Years

Financial FAQs MarketWatch.com Workers’ wages and benefits are finally rising at a decent clip from being fully employed, said the Labor Department. Total compensation, including health and pension benefits, rose in 2018 2.9 percent, up from 2.8 percent in 2017. … Continue reading

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It’s the Consumer, Stupid

Answering the Kennedys Call—Part II New York Times’ economic writer Neil Irwin in a recent Op-ed is not seeing a very robust future for global economic growth. “…what the last few months have made clear is that the forces that … Continue reading

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What is a Living Wage?

Answering the Kennedys Call The Washington Post published a recent interview with new Democratic House Member Alexandria Octavia-Cortez in which she said, “I think it’s wrong that a vast majority of the country doesn’t make a living wage, I think … Continue reading

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