Category: Business & Markets

• March 31, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

March UofM Consumer Sentiment Index 96.9 vs. estimates of 97.6. A slight miss, but still at elevated levels..not a major factor in pricing for interest rates today.

• April 27, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

New orders for U.S. durable goods rose 0.7% in March to mark the third straight gain, though demand was inflated by new bookings for fighter planes and passenger aircraft.

• March 31, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

March Chicago PMI 57.7 vs. estimates of 56.5. This is a red-hot reading and generally negative for pricing, but today we re moving better for interest rates leading into the weekend.

• April 27, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

The number Americans who recently lost their jobs and sought unemployment benefits rose last week to a one-month high, though the increase appeared largely concentrated in New York state. Initial jobless claims jumped by 14,000 to 257,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

• March 31, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Housing affordability continues to slip lower, hitting levels not seen since 2008 and 2009. More housing markets are slipping below historical levels and homeownership is becoming out of reach for many as average incomes can’t keep up with growing home prices.

• April 27, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged and made no adjustments to its monetary guidance.This guidance disappointed some traders who had bet that it might signal that interest rates could soon rise, despite the central bank’s warnings to the contrary.

• April 1, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

The dangerous thing about using credit cards is that if you don’t use them carefully, you can wind up neck-deep in debt — and getting out of that debt will cost you dearly. If you’re paying off a $10,000 balance over two years, and your APR is 18%, then you can expect to pay about

• April 2, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

Although a balance transfer to a 0% card may sound inviting, you need to be aware for the 2%, 3%, or even 4% that is charged upfront for the transfer. The interest rate may be lower that the current location of the debt, but what is the term of the new offer? You effective rate

• April 2, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

The American jobs engine got off to a explosive start in the first two months of 2017 as the economy added nearly half a million new workers, but keeping the pedal to the metal will be hard to sustain. After 238,000 people were hired in January and 235,000 in February, Wall Street looks for a

• April 27, 2017
• no comment
• realestatelife

An early look at U.S. trade patterns in March shows a 1.4% widening in the nation’s trade deficit. The trade gap in goods—services are excluded—widened to $64.8 billion in March from $63.9 billion in February, the government said Thursday in its advanced report. This widening of the deficit only partially reversed a sharp narrowing in