Tag Archives: Federal Reserve

Household net worth improved $1.3 trillion in the second quarter--half as fast as the first quarter--as real estate values grew $626.7 billion, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday in its quarterly Flow of Funds report. But, with a drop in mortgage debt--including home equity loans and lines of credit--from $9.39 trillion in the first quarter to $9.34 billion in the second--homeowner equity grew to 49.8 percent in the second quarter from 48.1 percent in the first.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey has the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.50 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending September 19.

While noting improvement in economic activity and labor market conditions, the Federal Open Market Committee voted Wednesday to continue its policy of near-zero interest rates and its $85-billion-per-month bond-buying program. At the same time, the Federal Reserve's own economic projections suggested the economy might not grow this year as fast as it expected just three months ago.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to a five-month low of 76.8 in September's preliminary report, spelling a potentially weak third quarter for consumption growth. The decline in overall sentiment was largely due to a drop in the Expectations Index, which measures consumer confidence for the next six months. That index fell to an eight-month low of 67.2. Meanwhile, the Current Conditions Index fell to 91.8.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the average 30-year fixed rate staying put at 4.57 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending September 12.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending September 7 plunged 31,000 to 292,000, the lowest level since March 2006, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected the number of claims to edge up to 330,000 from the 323,000 originally reported for the week ending August 31. The number of filings for that week was unchanged.

Though the national unemployment rate continued to fall in August, disappointing payroll numbers over the last several months have analysts wondering what the latest jobs report might mean for the Federal Reserve's plan to taper its monthly asset purchases. "As it stands now, [the six-month payroll] average isn't much higher than it was a year ago when the Fed felt it necessary to launch QE3," commented Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for the firm.

The nation's economy added 169,000 jobs in August as the unemployment rate fell to 7.3 percent, the lowest level since December 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 180,000 and that the unemployment rate would remain at July's 7.4 percent.

Continuing to shrug off sequester cutbacks, but feeling the effects of adverse weather, the nation's economy "continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace" from early July though late August, the Federal Reserve reported in its Beige Book assessment. Residential real estate activity "increased moderately" and "demand for nonresidential real estate increased," though "lending activity weakened a bit." Lending standards have largely remained unchanged, while credit quality has improved.

After trudging along throughout the first half of the year, economic growth is gaining momentum as expected, according to an Economic and Housing Outlook from Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) group. Looking ahead, the group expects GDP growth will average 2.0 percent for the year, accelerating to 2.6 percent in 2014 as fiscal drags peel away and the housing recovery continues--though the expected tapering of the Federal Reserve's asset purchases may lead to volatility, chief economist Doug Duncan warned.