Just the thought of Quantitative Easing 2 has put a floor under Austin interest rates. Why many expect the Fed to move in that direction (November meeting), nothing has yet to happen. Fed Chief Bernanke is leading the QE2 charge, talking about “additional purchases” and how it was an “effective program” earlier in the year. Better bet would be to put the money into tax cuts and/or a jobs program to put people back to work.
Japan chimed in, announced an interest rate move from .1% to 0. They also have announced a plan to purchase government fixed income assets, hopefully allowing the Yen to fall and improve their export business. Seems as though QE is going global.
Earlier today, the ISM Manufacturing Index rose nearly two points to 53.2. The index unfortunately is still below the first half of the year and reflects GDP growth of 1.8% to 2.0%. Stocks have had a nice day, starting with gains in Europe. Currently, the Dow is up 187 points while the Naz has tacked on 54 points.
Under “normal” circumstances, one would expect Austin mortgage pricing to be getting its head handed to it. Not so fast my quantitative fans. 10 year notes are up and mortgage backs are unchanged. Don’t expect much of a down draft in pricing unless the Employment Report, due out Friday at 7:30 am cst is plus 200K or higher. More on that Thursday.
