Fundamentals 5/25

Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Applications:
– Purchase Index – Week/Week Change +1.5 %
– Refinance Index – Week/Week Change +0.9 %
– Composite Index – Week/Week Change +1.1 %

Home Prices:
FHFA House Price Index was -0.3% in March (these are prices on homes that have loans backed by Fannie & Freddie)

Durable Goods Orders:
– New Orders – Month/Month change -3.6 %
– New Orders – Year/Year Change +5.3 %
– Ex-transportation – Month/Month -1.5 %
– Ex-transportation – Year/Year +6.7 %

Durable Goods Orders have long lead times. This data says to me that manufacturers were getting ahead of themselves and cut back on durables in April. Economic recovery is perceived as not being as strong as a few months ago. Relevant thereto, 2nd look GDP for 1Q2011 is tomorrow.