Vital Statistics:
| Last | Change | |
| S&P futures | 3379 | -6.25 |
| Oil (WTI) | 53.76 | 0.45 |
| 10 year government bond yield | 1.54% | |
| 30 year fixed rate mortgage | 3.69% |
Stocks are lower this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are up.
The FOMC minutes didn’t reveal anything too surprising. The central bank is concerned about coronavirus, and the situation “warranted close watching.” In his Humphrey Hawkins testimony, Jerome Powell said he wanted to see evidence that Chinese disruptions are having a material effect on the US economy that will last. China is idling factories and restricting travel, and companies are now seeing the downside of stretched supply chains. In addition they fretted about persistently low inflation and searched for reasons why it has consistently missed their 2% target to the downside. Basically the message is that if rates are going anywhere, it is down not up.
In other economic news, initial jobless claims came in at 210,000 and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey surged to a robust level of 37.
Mortgage delinquencies are the lowest on record (going back to 2000). The total 30 day + DQ rate came in at 3.22%, which was down 14% YOY and down 5% on a MOM basis. This is unusual given that DQs often spike early in the year as holiday spending gets the better of people.
The Daily Tearsheet 