Good Monday AM,

Bonds are flat this morning. This sideways trend will likely stay in place until the end of the week when the Fed meets. At that point, anything can happen. The market is awaiting a couple of large events. One is the minutes from the infamous annual, Fed Sponsored Jackson Hole meeting. The other event is the PCE numbers that we will see on Friday. PCE is a measure of our Consumption expenditures, and the FED watches these numbers with even greater interest than the CPI numbers. As for the Fed Symposium, all ears are pinned to Chairman Powell’s remarks coming Friday and any crumbs he leaves on the ground regarding bond tapering and when it may start. Two camps, one to start in October, the other in 2022. I am in the latter but that doesn’t count for much. We could see some whipping around as we get closer to the above-mentioned events. This can happen when the amateurs try and guess the direction of the news. Typically, we end up very near the middle of the range when the news is about to be announced. At this point, things may get interesting.

Rob Chrisman had two interesting tidbits to share today…

• For a borrower-initiated request to terminate conventional mortgage insurance based on current property value, including requests for substantial improvements, servicers must order an interior and exterior Broker Price Opinion (BPO) for one-unit properties or condominium units unless state law requires an appraisal. 

• Fun fact: the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) dates back to the 1880s.

Please remain safe and healthy, make today great!