Real Estate Daily News Buzz September 20, 2013

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 40.39 points, or 0.3%, to 15,636.55. Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.18 points, or 0.2%, to 1,722.34. The NASDAQ composite index rose 5.74 points, or 0.2%, to 3,789.38.

The rebound in the U.S. Dollar knocked the Canadian Loonie out, the $1 Canadian coin, fell 0.4 percentage point to $1.0265 CDN per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto on Thursday, after earlier touching $1.0182 CDN, the strongest since June 19. In other words, one loonie buys 97.41 U.S. cents. The currency’s 200-day moving average was $1.0212 CDN.

US 30-year mortgage rate dipped to 4.50%
Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages declined this week amid signs the economic recovery slowing. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.50% from 4.57% last week. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage dipped to 3.54% from 3.59% last week.

Measure of US economy’s health up 0.7%
The Conference Board said Thursday that its index of leading indicators increased 0.7% in August from July. That followed a 0.5% gain in July from June. The index is designed to signal economic conditions over the next three to six months. A gauge of the U.S. economy’s future health posted a solid gain in August, signaling stronger growth in coming months. Factories also grew busier in the Mid-Atlantic region this month, underscoring recent signs of gathering economic momentum that’s likely to keep traders speculating about the timing of the Fed taper and all of us debating it.

US home sales hit 6 1/2-year high although apprehensively
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that U.S. home resales surged in August to a 6-1/2-year high. U.S. home sales rose last month to the highest level since February 2007, as buyers rushed to close deals before mortgage rates rose. Yet the gain could represent a temporary peak warns N.A.R., if higher rates slow sales in coming months. Sales of previously occupied homes rose 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million in August, a level consistent with a healthy market.

US unemployment benefit applications rose to 309,000 maybe
The US Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose 15,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 309,000. But the data was distorted for the second straight week by reporting delays. The Labor Department says the less volatile four-week average fell 7,000 to 314,750, the lowest in six years. Applications plummeted two weeks ago when California and Nevada were unable to report all their data because of computer upgrades being done in both states.

Whale of a deal for JPMorgan to admit fault and pay $920 million in trading loss
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will pay $920 million total fine for trading losses of $6 billion that shook the financial world last year. But perhaps the bigger shock is a few words rarely uttered in settlements with U.S. regulators: The nation’s largest bank admitted “wrongdoing” revolving around failure of oversight to more than $6 billion. Last month two traders were charged with covering up the losses. The U.K. trader who placed the bad bets, became known as the “London Whale” because of his large “whale-size” trades.

US current account deficit drops to $98.9 billion
The US Commerce Department reported Thursday that the U.S. current account trade deficit narrowed in the April-June quarter to the lowest level in nearly three years. The imbalance fell to $98.9 billion in the second quarter, a drop of 5.7% from the first quarter deficit of $104.9 billion. The spring deficit was the lowest since a $93.8 billion imbalance in the third quarter of 2009, a period when the Great Recession had cut into demand for foreign goods.

Last but not least, Here’s the truth: The government won’t really shut down
Here’s the truth about a government “shutdown” ask anyone, I’ve checked with many sources. The government doesn’t just shut down. So the world won’t end if a dysfunctional Washington can’t find a way to pass a funding bill before the new budget year begins on Oct. 1. Social Security checks will still go out. Troops will remain at their posts. Doctors and hospitals will get their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. In fact, virtually every essential government agency, like the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard, will remain open. Furloughed federal workers probably would get paid, eventually. TSA officers would continue to man airport checkpoints. But lurking around the corner is far bigger danger: Sometime in late October or early November the government could run out of cash. The U.S. government would be unable to pay all of its bills in full and on time for the first time in history, if it couldn’t borrow more money.