Biden’s Mortgage Market! Mortgage Demand (Applications) Increase By 2.5% From Previous Week As Mortgage Purchase Demand Down -20% From Last Year (Refi Demand Down -7% From Last Year While Mortgage Rate Is UP 169% Under Biden)

US inflation is lower than it was a year ago (cheers from The View CNN and MSNBC cheerleaders), but inflation remains stubborning above The Fed’s 2% target rate and will likely remain above 2% for the nexf few years. So mortgage demand is much like inflation … mortgage demand increased in the latest week but generally is very low compared to last year.

Mortgage applications increased 2.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 3, 2023.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 2 percent from the previous week and was 7 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 20 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped by 25 basis points to 7.61 percent, the largest single week decline since July 2022. But, mortgage rates are up 169% under Biden and Bidenomics.

Bideomics is over, under, sideways, down. Mostly down.

“Boodle Biden” Strikes Again! Biden Announces $16.4B in New Funding For Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (For Middle Class Consumers, Borrowing Costs Rising, Housing Prices Rising, Banks Cautious About Consumer Lending, Shipper Maersk Announces Plans To Cut At Least 10,000 Jobs)

President Joe Biden and his boss Barack Obama remind me of the legendary corrupt Chicago politicians First Ward Alderman Michael “Hinky Dink” McKenna and “Bathhouse” John Coughlin. And their love of “boodle” (a slang term money, gained (Biden family payoffs from foreign countries), or spent improperly (Obama shipping large pallets of cash to US enemy Iran). Biden and Obama are indeed the modern day “Lords of the Levee”.

But in another example of Boodle, just in time for the 2024 election, we have Biden announcing $16.4 BILLION to …. Amtrak for the Northeast corridor (aka, the Acela train carrying Congress members, staff, media from Washington DC’s Union Station to NYC’s Penn Station. Bear in mind that the Amtrak route is not a payoff to the US middle class, but a gift to the elite passengers on the Washington DC to NYC (then on to Boston) route. But unlike Biden’s other boodle (the Ukraine war where Zelenskyy and his cronies are partying hearty with US taxpayer funds), at least no one will by dying on Amtrak. (other than in the film “Unbreakable.”)

But on the middle class front, we can see “cheap rates” are a thing of the past as markets have to deal with Biden’s inflation problem and Fed rate hikes.

And with rising home prices under Biden, the house price to income ratio is out of control and causing pain for the middle class.

On the MBS front, we see negative returns.

The 2-year Treasury yield is dropping faster than Biden’s polling numbers.

On the credit side, more lenders are tightening standards for C&I loans.

And banks remained restrictive in their willingness (or lack thereof) to make consumer loans, but there was a marginal improvement from prior release.

On the global front, Maersk announces plans to cut at least 10,000 jobs due to weakening global trade.

Here is a picture of Hinky Dink (Joe Biden) and Bathhouse Barry Soetoro. I mean Bathhouse John Coughlin, the Lords of the Levee.

Alarm! Bidenomics And The Tilt Effect (Mortgage Rates Up 174% Under Biden, 10Y Treasury Yield Up 402%, Real Disposable Income Declining, TLT Calls Explode!)

Alarm!

No, this isn’t the tilt effect in the mortgage market where inflation is front-loaded in mortgage rates making mortgage payments quite unaffordable. Although inflation is causing mortgage rates to be up 174% under Biden (while Biden continues to brag about how Bidenomics is helping). Meanwhile, the 10Y Treasury yield is up 402% under Biden (making refinancing the US staggering debt load more difficult to refinance. Higher mortgage rates tilt the present value of mortgage payments to the front, making housing even more unaffordable. Thanks Joe!

But the Tilt effect I am talking about is the TLT effect. TLT (iShares US Treasuries 20y+ ETF) calls. Friday was the largest TLT call volume ever.

Meanwhile, US real disposable income is declining.

I’ll feel a whole lot better when Biden is gone.

Meanwhile, inflation under Biden is still eight miles high.

“Rich Men North Of Richmond” Economy! US Debt Up 45% Since Q1 2020, But Consumer Debt Is Up 19% Under Biden (Personal Savings Down To 3.4% Compared To 7.7% In Last Month Before Covid Outbreak (Earnings Calls Reveal Concern About Continued Demand)

Call it “The Rich Men North Of Richmond” economy. Where the coastal elites drive the US economy off the cliff with insane spending and borrowing with much of the benefits flowing to big political donors, not the middle class. Think of Span Bankfraud Parboiled as an example.

President Biden loves to spend billions and go on endless vacations (he is in Rehobeth Beach Delaware yet again). He (illegally) forgave student debt, keeps spending billions on Ukraine and keeps spending on failed green energy nightmares.

Biden and his allies will tout the latest GDP numbers as an example of how marvelous Bidenomics is. BUT that GDP report was driven largely by consumer spending.

Since the Covid outbreak in 2020, Federal (public) debt is up 45%! Wow. And consumer debt is up 19% under Biden to cope with inflation (caused primarily by massive Federal spending).

To fuel consumer spending, the personal savings rate has fallen to 3.4%. For point of reference, the personal savings rate in Februray 2020 was 7.7%, so the consumer is running out of gas thanks to inflation and spending.

And with a debt-stressed consumer, earnings call revealed concern about continued demand.

Note the trend in jobs added as The Fed tightened to fight inflation.

Jobs Come Crumbling Down! October Jobs Added Only 150k, 50% Drop From September (Unproductive Government Jobs Increased By 51k While Productive Construction Jobs Grew By Only 23k) Bidenomics Hurts So Good??

Yes, the jobs come crumbling down!

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 150,000 in October, below the average monthly gain of 258,000 over the prior 12 months. This represents a drop of more than 50% from the original Sept print, and the second lowest since 2022!

In October, job gains occurred in health care, government, and social assistance. Employment in manufacturing declined due to strike activity. (See table B-1.) Health care added 58,000 jobs in October, in line with the average monthly gain of 53,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in ambulatory health care services (+32,000), hospitals (+18,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+8,000). Employment in government increased by 51,000 in October and has returned to its pre-pandemic February 2020 level. Monthly job growth in government had averaged 50,000 in the prior 12 months. In October, employment continued to trend up in local government (+38,000).

In October, construction employment continued to trend up (+23,000).

So, unproductive government jobs increased by 51k while productive construction employment grew by only 23k.

Average weeky; earnings growth YoY slowed to 3.2%. Too bad core inflation last printed at 4.13% YoY in September.

But the household survey shows employment collapsed by 348K, the biggest drop since the Covid shutdown.

As usual, historical data was revised massively lower, with the jobs change for August revised down by 62,000, from +227,000 to +165,000, and the change for September was revised down by 39,000, from +336,000 to +297,000. With these revisions, employment in August and September combined is 101,000 lower than previously reported. In total, 8 of the past 8 months have been revised sharply lower in what only idiots can not see is clearly mandated political propaganda designed to make the economy look stronger at first glance then quietly revise the growth away.

Bidenomics hurts so good? At least that is what Biden and KJP will say.

Soft Jobs Report Weakens Impetus for Fed Rate Hike in December. Translation? Weak jobs report = no more Fed rate hikes = falling interest and mortgage rates.

10-year US Treasury yield now down a whopping 40 basis points in the last three trading sessions.

And its beginnig to look a lot like a BAD Christmas!

How do you recession? B-I-D-E-N-O-M-I-C-S.

Biden’s Fiscal Folly! Massive Federal Spending Is NOT Sound Fiscal Policy, Another $1.6 TRILLION In Debt (Yields Show Washington’s Interest-Rate Payments Will Eclipse Australia’s GDP)

Appartently, Joe Biden and fellow big spenders in Washington DC, Mordor on The Potomac, don’t care about fiscal discipline. With seemingly endless spending of wars (Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the invasion at our southern border, and inane “green” spending,

Janet Yellen and the US Treasury will be auctioning off $776 billion of debt in the final quarter of calendar 2023, a bit below market expectations. Treasury said it will auction another $816 billion in the first quarter of 2024. So, that is yet another $1.6 TRILLION in debt.

The rapid rise in US yields to ~5% points to the government’s annual interest-rate bill rising to 4.5-5% of debt outstanding in the next six months. That’s in the region of $1.7 trillion – or the GDP of Australia – each year.

Such large payments are negative for the economy. Interest is likely to be paid for using higher-velocity money (e.g. taxes) and received by holders less likely to spend the proceeds in the broad economy, and instead re-invest it. Independent monetary policy becomes increasingly difficult when the equivalent of 6% of US GDP is being diverted towards interest payments each year.

It’s not only the size of Treasury borrowing that’s a problem, but it’s maturity composition.

Issuance has latterly been skewed to bills, which has ameliorated the impact on liquidity as money market funds have been able to intermediate through the reverse repo (RRP) facility at the Fed. But as issuance skews back towards longer-term debt (watch for increases in auction sizes in 2y, 3y, 5y, 7y, 10y, 20y and 30y debt for insight on this), that will have an increasingly negative impact on liquidity, especially if the Treasury maintains its large cash balance at the Fed (as it said on Monday it expected to do).

The Fed has little (or no) say over any of this.

Monetary policy will become increasingly overwhelmed in such an environment, which is why today’s Fed meeting, where it is expected to keep rates on hold, is a bit of an afterthought.

Also of more consequence currently is Japan.

The BOJ’s decision to maintain negative yields and keep its yield curve control policy largely intact ladles on yet more underlying risks to the global macro environment.

Allegedly, The Fed isn’t interested in buying additional US debt, and likely China and Japan won’t be buying our debt either. But maybe the REAL Federal government, Blackrock and their friends will buy the debt!

Back In Time! MBA Mortgage Purchase Demand (Applications) Decline To Lowest Level Since 1995 (Down -22% Since Last Year)

We are back in time … at least for the mortgage market. Thanks to Bidenomics!!!!

Mortgage applications decreased 2.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 27, 2023.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 12 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 22 percent lower than the same week one year ago. Back to 1995 levels.

At least mortgage refinancing applications are back to only 2001 levels.

Two-year yields have risen 5%.

At least it looks like Powell will pause rate hikes … for the moment.

I want a new drug, other than Biden’s top-down, big-donor friendly Soviet-style command economy. How about a free market without Fed interest rate manipulation??

Guns Of August? Home Prices Rise Again In August, +2.57% YoY (Illegal Immingrant Destinations Like Chicago, New York And Detroit Are Up The Most)

Bidenomics is best represented by the novel “The Guns of August” since American’s middle class is getting blasted by Biden’s economic policies and The Fed’s rate rate hikes. Find out where Texas Governor Abbot is bussing illegal immigrants and buy in the market!!

Home prices rose for the 5th straight month in August (the latest data released by S&P Global Case-Shiller today), up 1.01% MoM (better than the 0.8% rise expected).

Source: Bloomberg

The ongoing MoM rises pushed the YoY gain in home prices at America’s 20 largest cities up 2.16%, the most since January 2023. The National Home Price index rose even faster at 2.57% YoY.

Illegal immigration destinations Chicago, New York, and Detroit all saw major home price rises (+5.0%, +4.9%, and +4.8% YoY respectively). Las Vegas, Phoenix, and San Francisco remain lower YoY (-4.9%, -3.9%, -2.5% respectively).

But, judging by the resumption of the rise of mortgage rates since the Case-Shiller data was created, we would expect prices to also resume their decline…

Source: Bloomberg

Inventory is going nowhere, buyers and sellers are stuck (affordability for the former and the mortgage cost gap for the latter), and The Fed isn’t cutting rates any time soon. Not pretty…

The Crazy World Of Bidenomics! Actual Cost Of Charging An Electric Vehicle Is $17 Per Gallon, Automakers Losing $36,000 Per EV Sold (Big Boondoggle For China)

Biden is the God of Hellfire! Forcing Americans to support China.

The actual cost of charging an electric vehicle is $17 per gallon, and automakers are losing $36,000 per EV they sell. Its enriches China and makes the US dependent on Chinese batteries and minerals controlled by China.

Ford EV sales are almost nonexistant. High prices, big losses per vehicle sold, a dearth of charging stations for travel.

At least Biden will say the pain he is causing actually “hurts so good.”

Here is California governor and greaseball Gavin “Gruesome” Newsom test driving a Chinese EV on his trip to China to undercut Biden’s dying reelection prospects.

Shapes Of Things Under Bidenomics! Russell 2000 Hit Lowest Level Since Nov 2020 As Bidenomics Bites Hard (Mortgage Rates UP 181% Under Biden, Home Prices UP 32.3%)

Shapes of things under Bidenomics! More like Over, Under, Sideways Down.

The benchmark small cap index, the Russell 2000, has hit the lowest levels since November 2020, when the world was still without a vaccine and shut down from Covid. And before Biden’s/Congress wild spending spree and debt volume explosion creating massive inflation causing The Fed to hike rates.