GMAC Hires Goldman To Sell Mortgage Unit In a story from the New York Post, GMAC has hired Goldman Sachs to start the process of selling Res Cap. Between GMAC being mostly owned by the government ($17 billion for 56%), and Res Cap losing billions of dollars, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owning a sizeable
Housing Starts
Mortgage Rate/Lock Update A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. His grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.” We started off the week with both the stock and bond markets making a little change for investors: both improved. The folks on Wall Street, if
Warren Buffet Quote on Bank Tax In an interesting quote, Warren Buffett weighed in on the plan to tax banks. “I don’t understand plans for a bank tax – it just doesn’t make any sense to me that banks should be taxed to cover losses at other bailed-out companies, such as automakers, Fannie Mae, or
Rates Up On Better Economic Stats With rates moving higher yesterday, and prices lower (stocks were also lower), Wall Street traders saw a decent amount of selling. 30-yr Treasury rates hit their highest levels since August. Obviously volatility picked up, which tends to make mortgage prices a little worse. The news that inflation at the
My 86-year old Dad caught me taking a nap over the weekend. Not one to miss an opportunity, he said, “You practically invented lazy. People should have to call you and ask for the rights to the word “lazy” before they use it.” That’s my Dad… Lock Desk personnel are seldom lazy, and in fact
The other day we were playing Monopoly. Of course someone inevitably landed on Park Place, which happened to have three houses on it, and he promptly declared bankruptcy, but then wanted to keep playing. It reminded me that “declaring bankruptcy” doesn’t seem to have quite the finality that it once did. This year many well-known
Recently several people were seriously injured during the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. As it turns out, unleashing angry bulls onto a narrow crowded city street is dangerous. Incredible! Speaking of danger, how about this economy? The volatility has certainly increased, with one day rates going up because “the worst is behind us” and
Would you like to feel your head spin? Check out the US Debt Clock. ARM Originations Up As Rates Rise Folks following rates will notice that with the steeper yield curve, interest in ARM loans has picked up. Bank-to-bank lending rates have plunged to near record lows in recent weeks, a positive indication for the
What Can The Yield Curve Tell Us About The Economy? What is the yield curve, and why should anyone care about it? Yes, the stock market is rallying, in part because some corporate earnings are not as bad as expected, but also because many feel that the stock market “looks ahead” into future business patterns.
Where Should 30yr Rates Be? In a “perfect world”, where should 30-yr mortgage rates be? Traditionally, and of course tradition has little to do with the current credit markets, 30-yr fixed mortgage rates are about 1.50% above the 10-yr yield. (Traditionally, servicing companies assumed that they would have the mortgage on their books for 10
GM wants $17 billion more. One trader from Cantor Fitz mentioned that, “GM seems like a pension plan that occasionally makes a car somebody occasionally buys.” Citi Loan Changes First things first. Yesterday I mentioned that “CitiMortgage now requires the following minimum FICO scores on all FHA and VA loans, including FHA Streamline and VA
Life of an Ex-Mortgage Banker What do ex-Secondary mortgage guys do? One wrote to me last week and said, “Last night I placed an incendiary device in a bucket of water, in our living room. I wrapped it good and tight with electrical cords, plugged it in, then hung tin and wood figurines from it…………..for
The US Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation at the consumer level of the economy, was -1% in October and +3.7% year-over-year through October. Excluding volatile oil and food costs from the readings, “Core” CPI for October was -0.1% and +2.2% YOY through October. Here’s a link to complete CPI numbers for 3Q2008. The yearly
When I was a kid, boy bands wrote songs about girls, cars, and school. Well, I guess the times have changed. This one, from Isaac Hollingsworth, comes from the son of a principal in a mortgage-related recruiting firm. State of Mortgage Banking/Brokering Where are the investors going? How about, “Away”? A good-sized, relatively well capitalized
Why couldn’t I have been born a Saudi prince? Then I could influence the supply and demand of a commodity. Crude oil prices hit a 13-month low, and so now OPEC will probably announce production cuts at a meeting next week. Under the heading, “nothing goes up, or down, forever”, oil has tumbled more than
I was lying awake the other night, worrying about all of the debt on my credit card. The jet ski, mink socks, the ATV, my new plasma TV, ruby encrusted dog food bowl, surround-sound stereo – they are great, but darn they cost a lot. And then it dawned on me: it wasn’t my fault!
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