A Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (September 21, 2010 Edition)
September 21st, 2010 categories: Market Trends, Mortgage Guidelines, Mortgage Rates, Statistics
Today, in its 7th meeting of the year, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-to-1 to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged.
The Fed Funds Rate remains at a historical low, within a Fed’s target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
In its press release, the FOMC said that the pace of economic recovery “has slowed” in recent months. Household spending is increasing but remains restrained by high levels of unemployment, falling home values, and restrictive credit.
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A Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (June 23, 2010 Edition)
June 24th, 2010 categories: FOMC
Today, in its first meeting in 5 weeks, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-to-1 to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged.
The Fed Fund Rate remains within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
In its press release, the FOMC said that, since April, “the economic recovery is proceeding” and that the jobs market “is improving gradually”. Business spending “has risen significantly”, too, with the exception of commercial real estate.
Today’s statement is the 8th straight press release in which the Fed shows optimism for the U.S. economy, dating back to June 2009. Since that time, the Fed has terminated all of the programs it created to support the economy through the economic crisis.
The recession is widely believed to be over.
And, although the Fed’s statement acknowledged economic growth, it did highlight lingering threats, too.
- Employers are still reluctant to hire new workers
- European debt concerns could spill-over to the U.S.
- Bank lending is contracting
Also, as expected, the Fed re-affirmed its plan to hold the Fed Funds Rate near zero percent “for an extended period”, citing that “inflation has trended lower” recently.
Mortgage market reaction has been positive thus far. Mortgage rates in Tennessee are slightly improved post-FOMC.
The FOMC’s next scheduled meeting is August 10, 2010.
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The Fed Adjourns From A 2-Day Meeting Today And What It Means For Mortgage Rates
April 28th, 2010 categories: FOMC, Market Trends, Mortgage Rates
The Federal Reserve adjourns from a scheduled, 2-day meeting today. It’s one of 8 scheduled Fed meetings for 2010.
Upon adjournment, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke & Co. will release a formal statement to the market. In it, the Fed is expected to announce “no change” in the Fed Funds Rate.
The Fed Funds Rate is currently in a target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
The Fed Funds Rate is an inter-bank lending rate. It’s also the basis for Prime Rate, a consumer interest rate on which credit card payments are based, among other consumer loans. Prime Rate is equal to the Fed Funds Rate + 3 percent. Credit card rates, therefore, will likely stay flat today, too.
Mortgage rates, however, should change. Possibly by a lot. The 30-year fixed mortgage does not correlate with the Fed Funds Rate (as shown in the chart at right).
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Just What Is The Federal Reserve Doing?? Here Is A Simple Explanation After Their Meeting (April 28,2010 Edition)
April 27th, 2010 categories: FOMC, FOMC Minutes, Housing Starts, Market Trends, Mortgage Guidelines
Today, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-to-1 to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within in its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
In its press release, the FOMC noted that, since March, the U.S. economy “has continued to strengthen” and that the jobs markets “is beginning to improve”. This is a step up from the last meeting after which the Fed said jobs were “stabilizing”.
It also reiterated that business spending “has risen significantly”.
Today’s statement marks the 7th straight press release in which the Fed shows optimism for the U.S. economy. Furthermore, the Fed has now closed all but one of the programs it created to support markets during last year’s financial crisis.
Threats remain to growth, however. The Fed fingered a few:
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A Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (March 16, 2010 Edition)
March 16th, 2010 categories: FOMC, FOMC Minutes, Market Trends, Mortgage Rates, Statistics
Today, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-to-1 to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged, in its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
In its press release, the FOMC noted that the U.S. economy “has continued to strengthen” and that the jobs markets “is stabilizing”. It also said that business spending has “has risen significantly”.
This is a slight departure from the Fed’s January statement in which housing was not mentioned and business spending was said to be “picking up”.
It’s also the sixth straight statement from the FOMC in which the Fed described the economy with optimism. This is a signal to markets that 2008-2009 recession is over and that economic growth is returning.
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A Rate-Locking Strategy For Today’s Fed Meeting
March 16th, 2010 categories: FOMC, Market Trends, Mortgage Rates, Statistics
The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from a scheduled 1-day meeting today, its second of the year.
The FOMC has held the Fed Funds Rate in a target range of 0.000-0.250 percent since December 16, 2008, and the voting members of the Fed are expected to vote “no change” again today.
However, no change in the Fed Funds Rate doesn’t necessarily mean no change in mortgage rates. This is because the Fed Funds Rate is a different interest rate from the rates Knoxville home buyers get from a loan officer.
- Fed Funds Rate : Short-term rate at which banks borrow from each other
- Mortgage Rate : Long-term rate of interest a homeowner pays on a mortgage
Mortgage rates are more responsive to what the Fed says as compared to what the Fed does.
After each FOMC meeting, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke & Co issue a formal press release to the markets. At roughly 400 words, the statement is a brief commentary on the strengths, weaknesses, and threats for the U.S. economy.
Wall Street watches the statement with great interest and this is why mortgage rates are often volatile on the days of an FOMC adjournment. One mention of a word like “inflation” and traders rush to dump their mortgage bond positions.
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