Today’s News Synopsis:
The national unemployment rate remained at 10 percent during December. LPS reports that 1 in every 7.5 fell into foreclosure or delinquency during November. According to Fitch Ratings, 2009 commercial delinquency rates ended at 4.71%.
In The news:
Bloomberg - “Shrinking U.S. Labor Force Keeps Unemployment Rate From Rising” (1-9-09)
“An exodus of discouraged workers from the job market kept the U.S. unemployment rate from climbing above 10 percent in December, economists said.”
Housing Wire – “More than 13% of Mortgages Delinquent or Foreclosed in November: LPS” (1-11-09)
“One in every 7.5 homeowners either fell into delinquency or foreclosure as of November 30, 2009, according to the December mortgage monitor report from Lender Processing Services (LPS), a mortgage data provider. The total amount of delinquencies reached a record high 9.97%, a 5.46% increase from the previous month and a 21.29% increase from November 2008. In a sign that homeowners continue their struggle to meet their monthly mortgage payments, loans falling into more severe delinquent categories reached 5.01% through November, compared to 1.52% of loans improved toward a current status.”
Housing Wire – “$47bn of Interest-Only RMBS Loans to Recast This Year, Fitch Says” (1-11-09)
“More than $47bn of collateral backing prime and Alt-A residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) is scheduled to recast over the next 12 months from an interest-only (IO) payment to a fully amortizing payment, Fitch Ratings said in market commentary Monday.”
Housing Wire – “Financial, Mortgage Hirings Up as Overall Employment Dips” (1-11-09)
“The DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday said the national unemployment rate was 10% in December, unchanged from November. Despite the overall loss, the financial-activities sector gained a net 4,000 jobs in December, the first gain since summer 2007, according to a search of the Bureau of Labor Statistics online database. Jobs increased from November (7,691,000) to 7,695,00 in December.”
Housing Wire – “Q409 Losses on the Way for Banks: Citi” (1-11-09)
“Citigroup (C: 3.63 +1.11%) analysts expect Q409 losses for Morgan Stanley (MS: 32.04 -0.65%), Goldman Sachs (GS: 171.56 -1.58%), Bank of America (BAC: 16.93 +0.89%) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 44.53 -0.34%) due to a “substantial” decline in fixed-income, commodities and currencies (FICC) trading, according to a 2010 Outlook report.”
Housing Wire – “CMBS Delinquencies May Double by 2012, Says Fitch” (1-11-09)
“An increase in defaults across property types pushed total commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) delinquencies 42 bps higher, closing 2009 at 4.71% delinquent, according to credit-rating agency Fitch Ratings. The rate of growth in delinquent CMBS looks set to continue in coming years, with a potential peak at 12% in 2012.”
Housing Wire - “Redefault Rates ‘Tragic’, Says Amherst” (1-11-09)
“According to Amherst Securities Group, default and prepayment rates on non-agency, private-label mortgage-backed securities (MBS) were constant in November. However, re-performance rates, where payments return to less than two months delinquent, were down and re-default rates “tragic” in November, according to market commentary provided by the firm.”
Bloomberg - “Fed’s Bullard Says Asset-Purchase Adjustments Main Policy Issue” (1-11-09)
“Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the main challenge for U.S. policy makers will be to adjust the asset-purchase program so as to continue supporting economic growth without stoking inflation. ”
Looking Back:
One year ago, some Realtors forecasted that condo prices would not bottom in 2009. Congressional budget analysts anticipated a $1.2 trillion deficit for 2009.
Tags: Alt-a, Amherst, Bank of America, BLS, BofA, Chase, Citigroup, delinquent, economic, economy, employment, Federal Reserve, FICC, Fitch, foreclosure, Goldman Sachs, inflation, james bullard, JPMorgan, Lender Processing Services, LPS, morgan stanley, mortgage, residential, RMBS