Progress in fiscal stimulus negotiations between House Democrats and the White House is contributing to higher and steeper Treasury yields this morning. Leaders from both sides said they are very close to an agreement, reportedly in the neighborhood of $2 trillion, but the wild card in this is support from Senate Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly warned White House officials that a deal of that size might split his caucus ahead of the Amy Coney Barret vote and the upcoming election.
Mortgage application activity cooled for the second straight week according to the MBA Mortgage Market Index. Overall application activity fell 0.6% last week, driven by a 2.1% decline in purchase applications. Refinance applications rose 0.2% last week following a 0.3% decline the prior week. The average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were essentially unchanged for the third consecutive week at 3.02% and 2.61%, respectively.
Jason Haley
Chief Investment Officer
Date | Event | Survey | Actual | Prior | Revised |
10/19/20 | NAHB Housing Market Index | 83 | 85 | 83 | — |
10/20/20 | Housing Starts | 1465k | 1415k | 1416k | 1388k |
10/20/20 | Housing Starts MoM | 3.50% | 1.90% | -5.10% | -6.70% |
10/20/20 | Building Permits | 1520k | 1553k | 1470k | 1476k |
10/20/20 | Building Permits MoM | 3.00% | 5.20% | -0.90% | -0.50% |
10/21/20 | MBA Mortgage Applications | — | -0.60% | -0.70% | — |
10/21/20 | U.S. Federal Reserve Releases Beige Book | ||||
10/22/20 | Initial Jobless Claims | 870k | — | 898k | — |
10/22/20 | Continuing Claims | 9625k | — | 10018k | — |
10/22/20 | Bloomberg Economic Expectations | — | — | 41.5 | — |
10/22/20 | Bloomberg Consumer Comfort | — | — | 48.2 | — |
10/22/20 | Leading Index | 0.60% | — | 1.20% | — |
10/22/20 | Existing Home Sales | 6.30m | — | 6.00m | — |
10/22/20 | Existing Home Sales MoM | 5.00% | — | 2.40% | — |
10/22/20 | Kansas City Fed Manf. Activity | 11 | — | 11 | — |
10/23/20 | Markit US Manufacturing PMI | 53.5 | — | 53.2 | — |
10/23/20 | Markit US Services PMI | 54.6 | — | 54.6 | — |
10/23/20 | Markit US Composite PMI | — | — | 54.3 | — |
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