Good Thursday Afternoon from your Hometown Lender,

There is a good amount of data today.

The BOE cut rates and unemployment claims came in higher than expected. Productivity increased and while that is a good thing for the economy, it also puts downward pressure on employment (we don’t need as many workers to accomplish the same tasks). That all said, the biggest market mover today is yesterday’s FOMC meeting. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said officials could cut interest rates at their meeting in September, moving closer to a new phase that seeks to avoid weakness in the labor market amid signs inflation is heading lower. While Powell and his colleagues didn’t commit to any such move when they held rates steady on Wednesday, he appeared to suggest during a news conference after the meeting that a cut was more likely than not. “The broad sense of the committee is that the economy is moving closer to the point at which it will be appropriate to reduce our policy rate,” Powell said. “A reduction in the policy rate could be on the table as soon as the next meeting in September.”

During the 50-minute news conference…

Powell cited better news on inflation, a desire to prevent a material rise in unemployment, and his view that Fed policy is beginning to slow activity more meaningfully. His remarks did little to dispel widespread expectations in financial markets of a rate reduction at the next meeting.

If you floated into the meeting, you won.

Rates have improved by almost .25% and the 10yr note is now below 4% (the lowest in 6 months). Tomorrow is a big day with the BLS jobs report. If it comes in tame, rates will improve even further. If not, we could see a knee jerk reaction back up .125%. I don’t recommend floating into the report.

HUD looks into the future

To increase the supply of affordable housing, HUD is taking part in a pilot program to use 3-D printing technology to create high-quality, reasonably priced, energy-efficient, and sustainable housing.

Stay safe and make today great!