Key Insight: The U.S. involvement in the war with Iran has driven energy prices higher, a development economists say could add to inflation and reduce the likelihood of rate cuts this year. Expert quote: “I think the Fed is just going to sit on its hands quite happily because of what’s going on in Iran […]
Iran scrambles inflation signals as Fed mulls interest rates Read More »
A federal judge on Friday blocked subpoenas that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) served the Federal Reserve in a case involving Jerome Powell’s Congressional testimony on the central bank’s headquarters renovation, concluding the effort appeared designed to “harass and pressure” him to lower interest rates or resign from his position. The DOJ served the
Federal judge blocks DOJ subpoenas targeting Federal Reserve Chair Powell Read More »
Key Insight: U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote in documents unsealed Friday that the Trump administration produced no evidence to suspect Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of a crime, justifying the tossing of the subpoenas. The Justice Department said it would challenge the decision. Expert quote: “The Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect
Judge tosses out ‘unsubstantiated’ subpoenas into Powell Read More »
After spiking last week, mortgage rates remained relatively stable this week. But the question for housing market professionals is whether the brisk spring homebuying season that was anticipated at the start of 2026 will actually materialize due to rising headwinds. Mortgage News Daily reported Monday that 30-year fixed rates averaged 6.14%, their highest level in
Mortgage rates steady near 6.15% as oil and jobs data pose risks Read More »
As we enter another week of the Iran conflict, the question now is what will this do to the economy, but for this article, we want to focus specifically on what this conflict means for the U.S. housing market. There are currently two sides to this discussion. One camp believes the economy is still expanding
How will rising oil prices impact the U.S. housing market? Read More »
Treasuries opened softer this morning, but Friday’s trading was nothing short of insane. Processing Content One thing happened, which did seem to make sense, the yield curve finally had a day of steepening, but that was about it. After opening weaker in front of a shockingly soft jobs report, the 5-year yield dropped 7+ bps
Treasury yields whipsaw as oil spike looms over Fed Read More »
Oil prices are surging and mortgage rates are roughly flat so far today. It has been a crazy day in the bond market: the 10-year yield first went lower after the jobs report, then Trump posted that the goal in Iran is “ultimate surrender,” which sent the 10-year yield higher with oil prices over $90.
Negative jobs report keeps mortgage rates calm amid surging oil prices Read More »
In a sign of a still-softening labor market, U.S. employers eliminated 92,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in February, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Economists say the report is unlikely to change the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates. Meanwhile, the jobs numbers for December 2025 were downwardly revised
Job market softens as US payrolls fall by 92K in February Read More »
Key insight: Fed Gov. Cook said artificial intelligence may already be influencing employment trends, pointing to lower demand for computer engineers as one potential sign of change. Expert quote: “It is very difficult to measure labor productivity and total factor productivity. So we should be patient and we should be nimble in thinking about the
Cook: AI’s labor impact may take years to measure Read More »
Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.Want unlimited access to top ideas and insights? Subscribe Now Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman for Supervision Michelle Bowman gave a very significant statement about banks and the Basel III risk weights for residential loans and mortgage servicing rights to the American Banker
Basel proposal helps banks, but changes little Read More »