Vital Statistics:
| Last | Change | |
| S&P futures | 3659 | 32.6 |
| Oil (WTI) | 45.07 | -0.31 |
| 10 year government bond yield | 0.89% | |
| 30 year fixed rate mortgage | 2.78% |
Stocks are higher on positive vaccine news. Bonds and MBS are down.
Home prices rose 1.1% MOM and 7.3% YOY in October, according to CoreLogic. Detached home prices rose 7.9% while attached rose only 4.5%. This is almost certainly due to COVID and buyer preference for isolation from neighbors. Phoenix experienced the biggest gains, rising 12%, while the New York City area MSA only grew by 2%.
Jerome Powell will head to the Hill today for testimony. Here are his prepared remarks. He mainly discussed the various lending programs for small businesses and municipalities. He didn’t really talk about MBS purchases.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers are preparing a $908 billion stimulus plan. It will provide an additional $300 a week in unemployment benefits, which is lower than the $600 a week Democrats want. It will provide $240 billion in aid to state and local governments, which Republicans oppose, and another 6 month moratorium on COVID-related lawsuits which Democrats oppose. We will see if this plan has any White House support.
New home inventory is at a 3 year low. A picture is worth a thousand words:
Construction spending rose 1.3% MOM and 3.7% YOY, according to the Census Bureau. Residential construction spending rose 2.9% MOM and 14.6% YOY.
The Daily Tearsheet 