Bond Market Distress: Updated

By: Francis Cianfrocca (Diary)  |  May 28th at 08:48 AM  | 

I’ve been telling people privately to watch the bond market for about a week now. Since last Thursday, we’ve seen a very sharp, fast drop in prices for medium and long-term US Treasury securities, which (in consequence) increases yields. The yield of the 10-year note, which is a critical indicator for mortgage rates, has leapt up above 3.70%, from below 3% just a few weeks | Read More »

Interpreting the Nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

By: Francis Cianfrocca (Diary)  |  September 8th at 07:33 AM  | 

There are two points I want to make to you this morning, as the impact of yesterday’s nationalization of the mortgage GSEs works its way through the system. Here’s more information. First: while this is most definitely a fundamental change in the structure of the mortgage markets, it is not a change in our government’s existing policy of deep intervention in housing. The people who | Read More »