Monthly Archives: March 2015

Why Doesn’t Government Want Fannie, Freddie to Succeed?

Posted on March 30, 2015 by

The Mortgage Corner At a time when the housing market is just beginning to recover, the US Treasury wants to close down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two GSEntities under government conservatorship. Counselor to the Secretary for Housing Finance … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Home Sales Surging

Posted on March 28, 2015 by

The Mortgage Corner New U.S. homes sold at an annual rate of 539,000 in February to mark the best month of sales in seven years, the government reported Tuesday. The pace of sales for January was also revised up sharply … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Ted Cruz Presidency?

Posted on March 25, 2015 by

Financial FAQs Texas Senator Ted Cruz is about to announce his candidacy for the 2016 presidential campaign. What would his presidency look like, if he were elected? “Mr. Cruz has also begun championing a message of economic populism,” said the … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Macro Economics, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Celebrating Our Great Society

Posted on March 22, 2015 by

Popular Economics Weekly We are in the midst of celebrating the 50th anniversary of President Johnson’s Great Society, enacted for the most part from 1964-66, perhaps the greatest legislative achievement of any president since FDR and the New Deal. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Keynesian economics, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Labor Force Participation Improving

Posted on March 19, 2015 by

Popular Economics Weekly One lament by Fed Chairperson Janet Yellen and others has been the low labor participation rate of the prime-age workers—those 25 to 54 year-olds that have dropped out of the labor force, or are working part time.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2014 Household Formation Rebounds

Posted on March 16, 2015 by

Financial FAQs Breaking news. The latest Homeownership & Vacancy Survey, released by the Census Bureau, estimated household formation surged to 1.7 million in 2014 from 400,000 the previous year. That is really big news. Household formation, which is the bottom … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Will 2015 Interest Rates Remain This Low?

Posted on March 12, 2015 by

The Mortgage Corner Record low interest rates are holding, in spite of the latest stock market selloffs, and may remain low throughout 2015. Why? Oil prices are still below $50/barrel, and overall prices are falling throughout the developed world. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Good Employment Report for Most

Posted on March 7, 2015 by

Financial FAQs The stock market plunged on news total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 295,000 in February, and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The DOW fell 279 points, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Governor Scott Walker vs. Education

Posted on March 3, 2015 by

Financial FAQs It is hard to believe, but prospective presidential candidate Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s main platform seems to be his antipathy towards education, and higher education, in particular. He has obfuscated his near hatred of higher education to date … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Keynesian economics, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pending Home Sales, Consumer Confidence Looking Better

Posted on March 2, 2015 by

The Mortgage Corner Oh, the winter is freezing consumers, as I’ve said! It affected January existing-home sales, but the NAR’s January Pending Home Sales index rose sharply 1.7 percent. So pending sales of contracts signed may give a boost to … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment