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2017
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Inflation remained tame in October. The Fed's favorite inflation gauge, the annualized Core PCE, rose 1.4% from October 2016, well below the Fed's 2% target range. Despite low inflation, the Fed is on target to raise rates at next month's FOMC meeting. Don't expect many more hikes if inflation do...
11/30/2017
Solid economic growth was seen from the second reading on third quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) where strong business inventory and equipment investment offset an ease in consumer spending. The second read on Q3 GDP rose 3.3%, up from 3.0% in the first reading. This was the best number since...
11/29/2017
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The Federal Reserve reports that home equity hit an all-time high in mid-2017 at $13.9T, up $0.5T from the 2006 peak and up $6T from the lowest point in the Great Recession. Quickly rising home prices are the main reason for the equity gains. Increasing home prices have also helped many homeowner...
11/27/2017
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The National Association of REALTORS® reports that Existing Home Sales in October rose 2% from September to an annual rate of 5.48 million annualized units, above the 5.42 million expected. The 5.48 million is the highest since June’s 5.51 million. However, a severe shortage of homes for sales on...
11/21/2017
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In economic news, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims rose 10,000 to 249,000 and above the 234K expected. First-time claims are hovering near levels seen back in the early 1970's as the labor market is near to being very healthy. The November Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index fell to 22.7 from 27.9 ...
11/16/2017
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Retail Sales slowed in October after the big gain in September, which was boosted by post-hurricane spending. Retail Sales rose a modest 0.2%, just above the 0.1% expected and down from the 1.9% registered in September. Year over year, sales were up 4.6%. Despite the small gains in October, only ...
11/15/2017
The October Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.4% versus the 0.1% expected, fueled by higher costs for services. Core PPI also rose 0.4%, above the 0.2% expected. Year over year, PPI rose 2.8%, the biggest increase since February 2012, while Core PPI increased 2.4%. The PPI is a family of indexes ...
11/14/2017
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Worries on tax reform along with profit-taking is sending Stocks lower to begin the week as the Dow and S&P snapped an eight-week winning streak closing lower on Friday. Both major political parties have put forth prospective tax bills. The hard part is still to come on a compromise between the t...
11/13/2017
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The U.S. Senate released its version of a tax cut bill yesterday with the focal point being mortgage interest deductions. The Senate bill will keep in place the current mortgage interest deduction cap of $1,000,000. The House would cap the deduction at $500,000. The corporate tax rate for the Sen...
11/10/2017
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The Senate is supposed to introduce its tax bill later this morning. There is growing sentiment that that tax cuts don't go far enough, parts will be phased in and there is major concern that middle-to-high income earners in high-tax states like CA, NJ and NY will see little to no tax benefit. Th...
11/09/2017
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Steve Reed
Steve Reed Branch Manager | Benchmark Home Loans