This week is full of news that will certainly have investors (and me) keeping a close eye. The Federal Reserve president Ben Bernanke is holding a first-ever news conference tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what he has to say about the state of the economy, concerns about budget deficits, how oil prices are effecting business growth/profits, QE2, and the future outlook. This public pow-wow could be a huge market mover if Bernanke provides an honest look into our collective situation.
Another big event to watch this week is the auction of $99,000,000,000 (99billion) in Treasuries. That's a big number...a very big number. Given the down-grade by Standard and Poor of the US's credit outlook from 'Stable' to 'Negative' I would imagine investors won't be chomping at the bit to buy up Treasuries with a yield at the lowest level in months. If the auction results are poor we could see rates take a quick jump higher as bonds will fall and the yields will climb as a result.
As if those two juicy events weren't enough...the Case Shiller 20-city index for February showed prices collectively moved 3.3% lower year over year. This is the 8th straight monthly decline. With the housing market still struggling to get its feet under it and the general state of the economy as it is...guess what I am going to say.
If you are looking for a home loan...you should be making application as soon as possible and once you have found the lender/broker you want to work with you should lock in your rate immediately. The past few years we have seen rates rise and fall several times. I have blogged, tweeted and screamed from the roof tops that rates are going higher. I have been surprised (happily) that rates have remained at the levels they have for so long. I will warn you that at some point the interest rates will start a climb higher that we will not see reverse for a very long time.
That is all pretty depressing huh? Well, I guess the optimist would say that today is a great day to get a mortgage! Have a great week!
