Mortgage Rates Sink to Record Low
Interest rates on home loans have reached the lowest level on record this week, surpassing the previous record set in December 2009. The average rate for a 30-year home loan — the most used of home loan options — fell to 4.69% from 4.75% last week. The new rate comes in below the previous record… Continue Reading
Fed Offers a Bearish Outlook
The Fed has pointed out a number of key weaknesses with the US economy, though offered little information as to how those weaknesses will be fought. This is a sell the news statement — markets should decline from here. “Extended period” of low rates continues.
Daily Forex Signal: NZD/USD Rises Ahead of Major Drop
The New Zealand dollar is moving higher in Asia trading today, following a 0.25% rate hike out of the RBNZ. While the rate hike was anticipated coming into the session, the price action that followed suggests that some traders were taken off guard. The NZD/USD bounced as much as 100 pips following the hike, but… Continue Reading
Mortgage Rates Decline to New 2010 Lows – 4.78%
The decline in US mortgage rates continued this week, fueled by growing demand for US government securities amid broad aversion to riskier assets. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage declined to 4.78 percent from 4.84 percent a week earlier. The loans are now priced at their lowest levels since December 2009, when 30-year… Continue Reading
Mizuho: Sell Sterling Against Loonie on Interest Rate Bet
Mizuho Asset Management is selling the British pound against the Canadian dollar, betting that the economic realities of either country should result in a widening interest rate differential, favoring Canadian assets. According to the firm, the poor economic conditions in the UK will lead to a prolonged period of record low interest rates. Rates in… Continue Reading
UBS: Euro, Sterling Heading Significantly Lower Against Dollar
UBS is revising its forecasts for the euro and British pound against the US dollar as economic policies begin to diverge and favor the greenback. Larry Hatheway, chief economist at UBS, along with his team, wrote to clients that the euro will trade down to $1.15 by December and $1.10 by the end of 2011…. Continue Reading
Mortgage Rates Back Under 5% as Risk Aversion Depresses Yields
Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest level of the year this week, as global aversion to risk helps keep rates low in the U.S.. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage — the most popular of loan options — dipped below the 5 percent mark to 4.93 percent. Rates are at their lowest… Continue Reading
Traders Add to Bets on Bank of Canada Rate Hike
Expectations of a BOC rate hike at next month’s meeting are on the rise, following a record jobs report out of Canada. Canada’s two-month overnight index swap, which measures average rate expectations for that period, increased to 0.36 percent, as data pointed to 108,700 jobs added in April. The jobs report greatly exceeded expectations, where… Continue Reading
Bloomberg: Bank Funding Crunch Deepens as Swap Rates Soar
This is what investors need to be concerned with in the weeks ahead: The Bank Funding Crunch May 10 (Bloomberg) — Europe’s government debt crisis is starting to infect the bank funding system, driving borrowing costs higher from Asia to the U.S. and threatening to slow the global economic recovery. The interest rate that financial… Continue Reading
Standard Bank: EUR/USD Headed to 1.15; ECB, Germany Resist ‘Nuclear Option’
The euro may fall to as low as 1.15 in the months ahead, as the eurozone’s debt crisis steepens, according to Standard Bank Plc. According to Steven Barrow, head of G-10 currency research for the bank, “We see no sign that this crisis is going to end; instead it is likely to get much worse.”… Continue Reading
