Mortgage bond prices are lower this morning applying additional upward pressure to mortgage rates. Industrial production rose 0.6% versus the expected 0.1% increase. Capacity use came in @ 78.8%, expected 78.5%. The data was not rate friendly The Fed meets and will announce any changes to monetary policy Wednesday. Prepare yourself and your borrowers for potential volatility. Remember, not all volatility is negative, however all volatility is disruptive to your daily business. The situation in Ukraine remains tense. The secession vote in Crimea passed. Crimeas parliament declared the region an independent state and expressed a desire to become part of Russia. Now strategists fear that Putin will continue to push both in Ukraine and beyond in an effort to reunite many of the states of the former Soviet Union. The U.S. has called for tough sanctions on Russia and with emotions running high anything could happen.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:55:40 +0000