19
Sep
By
Market Outlook, ,

Federal Open Market Committee, Fed Chair: No Rush to Raise Rates

Wednesday's customary post-meeting statement issued by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve provided some relief to investors and analysts concerned that the Fed may soon raise its target federal funds rate. The target federal funds rate has held steady at between 0.00 and 0.25 percent since the inception of the Fed's current quantitative easing program. The FOMC statement indicated that the committee does not expect to raise the target federal funds rate until the Fed's dual mandate of maximum employment and reaching its target inflation rate is achieved. FOMC members don't expect the wind-down of scheduled…
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11
Aug
By
Market Outlook, ,

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – Aug 11, 2014

Last week's housing related news was minimal, but a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers revealed that although credit standards for commercial and industrial loans as well as credit cards are easing, current mortgage credit standards are more stringent than in 2005. This could be a contributing factor to slowing housing market gains while other sectors of the economy are recovering at a faster pace. Qualified Mortgage Rules Impact Non-Conforming Mortgages The Senior Loan Officers survey also noted that qualified mortgage rules have slowed approval of prime jumbo mortgages and non-traditional home loans. This suggests that applicants falling outside…
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28
May
By
Mortgage Rates, ,

FOMC Minutes: Committee Discusses “Normalizing” Policy

April's meeting of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee was held along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Meeting minutes released Wednesday indicated the committee's interest in "normalizing" its monetary policy. This included the FOMC's ongoing commitment to tapering its asset purchases under its quantitative easing program. The committee agreed to taper the Fed's monthly asset purchases by $10 billion to $45 billion per month. Committee members discussed raising the target federal funds rate, which now stands at 0.00 to 0.25 percent, but the minutes clearly stated that this topic was undertaken as part of "prudent…
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