From Alan Zibel and Nick Timiraos at the WSJ: Watchdog to Set Loan Rules This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will define standards that all mortgage lenders are likely to follow when originating home loans. … The rules don’t specify a minimum down payment and instead focus on ensuring that banks document borrowers’...
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Based on an estimate from WardsAuto, light vehicle sales were at a 15.31 million SAAR in December. That is up 13% from December 2011, and down 1% from the sales rate last month. This was above the consensus forecast of 15.1 million SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rate). Note: Some of the increase in November...
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I’ve written extensively about the participation rate, see: Understanding the Decline in the Participation Rate and Further Discussion on Labor Force Participation Rate. A key point: The recent decline in the participation rate was expected, and most of the decline in the participation rate was due to changing demographics, as opposed to economic weakness. Here...
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There is a presidential debate tonight starting at 9 PM ET. The Wonkblog promises to “provide real time context for the many statistics and ideas”. There was a sharp decline in oil prices today, from Bloomberg: Oil Tumbles as [US} Crude Production Surges to 15-Year High Oil fell to a two-month low in New...
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First, from Reuters: JPMorgan Sued for Fraud by NY Attorney General New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Monday filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase for fraud over faulty mortgage-backed securities packaged and sold by the former Bear Stearns. The Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group was formed to probe the pooling and sale of...
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The Census Bureau reports New Home Sales in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 372 thousand. This was up from a revised 359 thousand SAAR in June (revised up from 350 thousand). Sales in May were revised down. The first graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions since 1963. The...
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Below are three more graphs based on the June employment report. For more employment graphs and analysis, see: • June Employment Report: 80,000 Jobs, 8.2% Unemployment Rate • Employment: Another Weak Report (more graphs) • Percent Job Losses: Great Recession and Great Depression • All Employment Graphs Participation Rate The following graph shows the...
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Reis reported that the vacancy rate for regional malls declined slightly to 8.9% in Q2 from 9.0% in Q1. This is down from a cycle peak of 9.4% in Q3 of last year. For Neighborhood and Community malls (strip malls), the vacancy rate declined to 10.8% in Q2, from 10.9% in Q1. For strip...
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Based on an estimate from Autodata Corp, light vehicle sales were at a 14.37 million SAAR in March. That is up 10.4% from March 2011, but down 4.4% from the sales rate last month (15.03 million SAAR in Feb 2012). This was below the consensus forecast of 14.7 million SAAR. This graph shows the...
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From the BLS: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread in the private sector, with large employment gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Government employment changed little...
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