Are we there yet
Forget about the ink not being dry on the stimulus bill — it hasn’t even hit the paper. President Obama is due to sign a $787 billion economic stimulus bill into law on today, but investors want the recession over — now — showing their impatience with a huge drop this morning in the market. Ours is a society of instant gratification — perhaps partially to blame for getting ourselves in debt up to our collective eyeballs. Fortunately though, relief is in sight there are mreaany of us that value responsibility and tomorrow it’s the American homeowner that takes central stage.
Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan has traveled to Arizona to release its proposed $50 billion program to aid homeowners with alternative real estate mortgage payment plans. For some borrowers, monthly payments could be brought as low as 31% of their pre-tax income. The Treasury plans to use $50 billion of the remaining $350 billion in a bank-bailout fund for a program to help troubled Summit County homeowners avoid defaulting on their loans by subsidizing Summit County real estate listings mortgage payments. The cost of the subsidies would be paid for by the government and mortgage services. The White House hopes the package will also create 3.5 million jobs.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped last week, after several weeks of increases, according to real estate Web site Zillow.com. Pennsylvania’s average rate was down, to 5.18% for the week ended Feb. 15, from 5.34% for the week prior, a decrease of 3%. For the week ended Feb 15, the average 30-year rate nationally was 5.23%, down from 5.44% the week prior, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor. Georgia had the lowest average rate last week at 5.14%, and Illinois had the highest rate at 5.36%.
The market was closed yesterday and ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 189, or 2.43%, to 7,590. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures declined 26.10, or 3.18%, to 794.20, while Nasdaq 100 index futures tumbled 35.75, or 2.91%, to 1,993.50. The Dow Jones industrial closed Friday at 7,850.41.
U.S. Treasury debt prices extended gains after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York?s general economic index fell to minus 34.7, the lowest level since records began in 2001. The Summit county mls benchmark 10-year Treasury note’s price, which moves inversely to its yield, traded up 1-15/32 for a yield of 2.72% versus 2.90% late Friday.
Finally, Wal-Mart, the country’s largest retailer and the life blood of many Americans, saw U.S. sales rise 6% in the quarter as it attracted more sales in the recession. Net sales rose 1.7% to $108 billion. The rise supports the theory that America is not as bad off as what Wall Street naysayers claim.
