ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2009
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Both Corporations and government can issue bonds. A special category of government bonds are municipal bonds which are frequently offered tax free. They are issued by cities, counties and states. The principal and interest are usually insured and the minimum increment for investors is $5,000. ...
10/30/2009
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Mortgage backed securities (MBS) closed up 41 basis points today at 101.19 once again closing above the 25 day moving average. Today was almost an exact reversal of yesterday's MBS selloff. The core Personal Consumption Expenditure Index (PCE), the Fed's favorite measure of inflation, reported ...
10/30/2009
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The government's Treasury offerings are classifed by duration. Treasury bills are products maturing in leas than one year, while notes mature in durations from one year up to ten years. Treasury bonds have maturities greater than 10 years. The varying maturies give investors an opportunity to ...
10/29/2009
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Mortgage backed securities (MBS) were down 50 basis points today closing at 100.66 below the 25 and 50 day moving averages and just above the 200 day moving average. When the government announced tha the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had grown in the third quarter stocks rallied and money rushed ...
10/29/2009
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What are people talking about when they use the term "fixed income" securities? They are talking about bonds. Other than taxes governments have two ways to raise money either stocks or bonds. Bonds are the preferred choice. They are called fixed income because quite literally the interest rat...
10/28/2009
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Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) closed up 44 basis points today at 101.16 above the 200, 50 and 25 day moving averages. New Home sales unexpectedly fell and there was a general malaise in stocks worldwide as global earnings did not meet expectations. As a result, stocks fell fulfilling a much ...
10/28/2009
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Fannie Mae Vice President Jeff Hayward spoke yesterday about the Home Affordable Program. The Program was put in place by Fannie Mae to set forth guidelines undeer which modifications might be made. The banks are not required to utilize them, however. In order to seek a modificataion, a borro...
10/27/2009
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Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) closed up 47 basis points today at 100.72 just above the 200 day moving average. Positive results at today's Treasury auction caused MBS bonds to rally at 1 PM and they closed near their highs of the day. Consumer Confidence came in lower than expected which als...
10/27/2009
I attended a breakfast this morning in Connecticut sponsored by the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport. The Panel discussion was entitled "The State of the Housing Crisis." The lead speaker was Michael J. Williams, President and CEO of Fannie Mae. He stressed the commitment of all Fanni...
10/26/2009
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Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) closed down 34 basis points today at 100.25. The drop brought MBS bonds below both the 50 and 200 day moving averages and just above support at the 100 day moving average. It was an unusual day in that bonds, stocks and oil all sold off on the same day. The rec...
10/26/2009
