Confounded Interest – Anthony B. Sanders
Financial Markets And Real Estate
The US Q1 GDP report is due out tomorrow morning. The forecast is for -1.3% decline in GDP.
The Atlanta Fed GDPNow real-time GDP tracker is for 1.806% for Q2. If this holds, then recession fears will diminish.
Even though the US may avoid consecutive negative GDP quarters, M2 Money Velocity (GDP/M2 Money) got crushed by The Fed’s reaction to Covid back in 2020.
Talk about a bad return on “the people’s money”.
All I can say is “Wow.” Tobias Peter and Ed Pinto of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) released their April housing report and it was a doozy. The AEI’s home price appreciation index came in at a blood curdling 17.3% YoY.
The reason why home prices are still raging at 17.3% YoY? The Fed’s monetary stimulypto is STILL in place! The Fed’s balance sheet (green line) is still staggering, and The Fed Funds target rate (white line) is a measly 1%.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic is talking about a pause in Fed tightening. Which they haven’t paused yet.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is really “slowhand,” not Eric Clapton. Bostic is now a member of The Fed’s “Slowhand” strategy.
Mortgage applications decreased 1.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 20, 2022.
The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 75 percent lower than the same week one year ago. And under Biden, the refinance index is down -83.2%.
The good news? The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 16 percent lower than the same week one year ago. And the mortgage purchase applications index is down -12% under Biden.
While mortgage interest rates are up 71.7% than one year ago and mortgage rates are up 87% under Biden. As The Federal Reserve signals (but not yet accomplished) monetary tightening.
Once again, The Fed is dead set on cooling inflation caused by 1) Biden’s anti-drilling policies and 2) the remnants of the Federal government spending splurge to combat Covid. The Fed has been increasing their asset purchases (purple line) as inflation increase (blue line). Now they are signaling a decline in the balance sheet (green line) in the hope that it will cool inflation. Fat chance.
Let’s see how DEAD SET The Fed is about tightening monetary policy in the face of rising energy and food prices while a war rages in Ukraine and China in a Covid lockdown.
We are all goin’ down the road feelin’ bad under Biden.
I have never seen two Federal entities make such a mess in my life. The Federal Reserve and The Federal government.
The good news? The 10-year Treasury yield is down -12.9 BPS this morning generally resulting in lower 30-year mortgage rates. Of course, the reason why the 10-yield is falling is generally bad news.
The bad news? US New Home Sales fell -16.6% MoM in April as mortgage rates skyrocketed.
Since the installation of Joe Biden as President, new home sales have plunged -31.2%, mortgage rates are up 88.9%, and framing lumber prices are up 29.2%.
Biden is out there bragging about rising energy prices which he views as a necessity to force the conversion of America to electric cars and trucks. Biden is the first President in history to gloat over the suffering of American households.
Under Biden, regular gasoline prices are up 92%, diesel prices are up 111%, and CRB Foodstuffs are up 61%.
Say, framing lumber for housing is cheaper than food. Maybe Biden will suggest Americans transform to being beavers and gnaw on wood.
The US economy us approaching recession as inflation soars and expected growth declines.
Food and energy prices are soaring, hitting middle class and low-wage households like a hammer. While the headline inflation rate is 8.3% YoY, food is up 63% under Biden and gasoline is up 92%.
The 10-year Treasury note yield is down today, which bodes well for 30-year mortgage rates.
The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ are all down over -1% today.
Baby please don’t go! Down the economic drain.
US Existing Home Sales were 5.61M SAAR in April, down -2.4% from March’s -3.0% MoM reading. But median prices YoY for existing home sales printed at 14.85%, still hot, hot, hot.
With 3 consecutive declines in MoM existing home sales, how can prices still be raging at 14.85%? First, inventory for sale in April remains low compared to 2010 (yellow line). Second, The Federal Reserve’s Stimulypto (excessive monetary easing) is still out there in force despite Jerome “Slowhand” Powell signaling rate increases (green line). 30Y mortgage rates are still rising.
Where do we go from here? 30 year mortgage rates have been climbing as The Fed signals its intents to tighten monetary policy. But with global economic slowing, Treasury yields have been coming down (like today’s -5.2 BPS drop (Germany’s 10Y Bund Yield dropped -8 BPS on slowing global economic growth).
But remember, the Existing Home Sales numbers are for April.
Jay the Revelator! He revealed that The Fed will not hesitate to keep raising rates until inflation comes down. Which means that mortgage rates may be rising.
Mortgage applications decreased 11.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 13, 2022.
The Refinance Index decreased 10 percent from the previous week and was 76 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 12 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 12 percent compared with the previous week and was 15 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
Of course, The Fed has about as much chance of slowing down energy and food prices as I do of becoming King of the United States. But Jay the Revelator may be able to cool housing demand with rising mortgage rates.
Goldman Sachs Senior Chairman Lloyd Blankfein urged companies and consumers to gird for a US recession, saying it’s a “very, very high risk.”
I am not surprised. Take a look at The Fed’s Overnight Reverse Repo operations. As inflation surged in 2021 and 2022, banks are parking more funds at The Fed. Fear?
We are seeing the S&P 500 futures down today after a nice rally on Friday. The &P 500 forward 12-month P/E ratio is back to pre-Covid, pre Federal spending surge, pre Fed monetary Stimulypto of 2016.
Goldman Sachs see the 10-year Treasury yield rising to 3.3%. That bodes ill for 30-year mortgage rates, perhaps push mortgage rates up another 40 basis points to 5.80%.
And NASDAQ is having its worst year since 2008.
Its The Medusa Touch of Big Government.
Americans are suffering under Joe Biden. Call it Inflation Inferno!
Foodstuff are up 61.5% under Biden’s Reign of Error. Gasoline prices are up 85.8%, diesel prices are up 111%. Yet the government inflation index (aka, CPI) is up only 8.3% in April.
But while energy and food prices are soaring, the CRB Spot Metals Index has plummeted -15% since May 4 as Covid is ravaging the Chinese economy. Recession alter anyone?
And then we have soaring home prices and rents. But notice that Zillow’s Rent index is slowing down as mortgage rates soar.
We have a stalling Chinese market, down 28% since October. Is Biden President of China??
On the currency front, the Russian Ruble is soaring relative to the US Dollar while the Chinese Renminbi, the Japanese Yen and the Euro (or in this case, the Gyro) are sinking like a rock.
If I compare the Russian Ruble and Ukrainian Hryvnia, you can see Ukraine is losing the currency war with Russia.
Inflation Inferno thanks to Biden’s misguided energy executive orders and cancellation of Alaskan and Gulf of Mexico drilling leases.
Biden’s economic mismanagement team: American Gothics Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chair Jay Powell.
I feel like we are in an economic demolition derby under Joe Biden and The Federal Reserve (with freshly reappointed Fed Jerome Powell at the helm).
Under Biden, regular gasoline prices are UP 85%. The Biden Administration recently cancelled 0il-and-gas drilling leases in Gulf of Mexico and Alaska Coast, helping to drive up gasoline prices even higher.
In the two-pronged attack out of Washington DC, The Federal Reserve is tightening their monetary policy in an effort to combat 40-year highs in inflation (caused by excessive Federal spending and Biden’s ill-advised energy policies), causing residential mortgage rates to soar 93.4% under Biden’s Reign of Error.
It is almost like the Biden Administration and The Federal Reserve are engaged in an economic demolition derby to see who can cause the most destruction to America’s middle class and lower-wage workers.
We should call the current administration and The Federal Reserve “Demolition Men.”
And here is Biden’s Disinformation Chief giving out penalties for whatever Biden doesn’t like.
1984 anyone?
Confounded Interest - Anthony B. Sanders 
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