January 26, 2009
January 26, 2009 by admin
The stock market moved up following a report that existing home sales were up over six percent for the month of December. This was one of the first positive news reports of the year and a provided a sign of confidence to the economy and housing industry. Home prices are continuing to move lower, but eliminating inventory is a good first step towards placing a bottom to the housing crisis.
Mortgage rates have moved up slightly over the past two weeks. The yield on the ten year bond is not at 2.66% and fixed mortgage rates on both fifteen and thirty year loan terms have moved up over .25% recently. Long term thirty year fixed mortgage are still offering rates in the low to mid fiver percent range and offer consumers a great avenue to refinance and lower house payment by locking into historically low rates.
The stock market is also digesting some breaking news on the merger and acquisition front. Pfizer is moving forward in a combined cash and stock acquisition of rival drug maker Wyath, while Rohm & Haas has announced that Dow Chemical will likely miss their closing date in their acquisition of the chemical maker. Both pieces of news have helped to provide some stability for the stock market and bring investors back into equity positions.
The news on the jobs front is not as positive as some of the worlds largest employers have announced plans to further reduce their workforce. Home Depot, Caterpillar and Sprint have announced they will be reducing their workforce, news that may be welcome to investors but is a large concern for the health of the U.S. economy and hopes to end the economic recession.