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Central Bank Meetings
Overview: While the stock market experienced little change over the past week, mortgage rates continued to increase, reaching the highest levels in years. The main influence was a comment from a central bank official in Europe. The U.S. economic data and the Federal Reserve meeting caused little reaction. 
At its meeting late last week, the European Central Bank (ECB) made no policy changes, as expected. The ECB also provided very little new information in terms of guidance about future policy, and the impact on U.S. mortgage rates was minor. On Monday, however, an ECB official said that the ECB should end its bond purchases as soon as possible after the current program ends in September. The possibility of reduced demand for bonds caused global yields to rise, including U.S. mortgage rates. Like the ECB meeting, no surprises emerged from Wednesday's U.S. Fed meeting. Expectations for the pace of future federal funds rate hikes remained nearly the same following the meeting. Jerome Powell will officially take over as Fed Chair during the first week of February. The major economic data released over the past week was roughly neutral for mortgage rates and had little impact. The core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the inflation indicator favored by the Fed, remained at an annual rate of increase of just 1.5%. This is well below the Fed's target level of 2.0%. Gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic growth, increased 2.6% during the fourth quarter of 2017. This was less than expected, but the shortfall was completely due to a decline in inventories. Investors generally view changes in inventory levels simply as a transfer of growth between quarters rather than as an indicator of the strength of the economy. They focused much more on the strong consumer and business spending during the fourth quarter. Week Ahead Looking ahead, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Index will come out on Thursday. The key monthly Employment Report will be released on Friday. As usual, this data on the number of jobs, the unemployment rate, and wage inflation will be the most highly anticipated economic data of the month. The ISM Services Index will come out on February 5. The efforts to reach an agreement to fund the government after February 8 also could influence mortgage rates.
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Contact me to discuss how I can help your clients with their mortgage needs.
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February 4, 2018 |
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Global Ecommerce Topped $2.3 Trillion in 2017, eMarketer Estimates
Mobile
commerce was a key factor, with mcommerce sales worldwide reaching an
estimated $1.357 trillion in 2017, or 58.9% of ecommerce spending
overall, according to eMarketer's latest data. Read Article
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Bad News Doesn't Rattle Walmart Shoppers
It takes more than store closures and layoffs to change consumers' loyalties, new data from CivicScience finds. Read Article
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Retailers Are Making Strides with In-Store Data
Instead
of fearing technology, retailers in the know are embracing new digital
tools to help gather consumer information and improve the shopping
experience. Read Article
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Many Brand Marketers Plan to Try Conversational Commerce
A
survey of ecommerce professionals worldwide—representing agencies and
brand marketers—found respondents plan to test a diverse range of
technologies within the next two years, although some of their goals
differ. Read Article
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Nearly Half of US Households Are Now Amazon Prime Subscribers
New
data from Kantar Consulting shows that an impressive 45% of households
are more than willing to pay Prime membership fees, in exchange for free
two-day shipping, along with ancillary benefits like access to Amazon’s
streamable content. Read Article
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Managing Multiple Priorities, Projects and Deadlines
The Managing Multiple Priorities, Projects and Deadlines, organized by the Fred Pryor Seminars & CareerTrack will take place on 6th March 2018 at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York, United States Of America. The conference will cover areas like How to plan for the unexpected and manage the most difficult people and situations easily.
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