“Regulators, mount up”! Not exactly what Warren G. had in mind when he recorded the song but fitting just the same.  Next time we see a regulator entering our building, his or her card will read, “ Joe Regulator, we regulate any stealing of his property and we darn good too, but you can’t be a geek off the street, gotta be handy with the steel if you know what I mean, earn your keep”!  Just had to have a little fun with the passing of FinReg.  As my first boss always told me, “ Change is always for the better but sometimes it takes time to see it.”

Stocks are getting pounded, down 200 on the Dow, the 10 year note is up 12/32’s, and mortgage backs are plus 4 to 6/32’s depending on the coupon. Why you ask.  First up, CPI, inflation at the consumer level fell .1% while the “core index” (ex-food and energy”, rose .1%.  Tame by any means with a whiff of deflation in the cards (slim chance in our opinion).  Michigan Sentiment Survey was the one that raised an eyebrow, falling nearly 10 points to 66.5.  Economists noted that consumers have gone into a cocoon, chaining their wallets to themselves only to be opened for necessitates.  Expect Retail Sales to soften in the future.

BP finally put a cork in their crude oil jug, a welcome site indeed. Technically, the late rally (yesterday) provided the perfect set up for a continuation pattern (further rally).  Stocks are really the major influence here.  We see this a just a move to the top of the range (2.90% 10 year note).  Any where here, current mortgage pricing or a little better is a good place for borrowers to lock in their Austin mortgage interest rates.  Any reversal in stocks will simple reverse our direction and take the market to the lower part of the range.  Enjoy the historic low Austin mortgage rates.