Phil Grossfield's Blog

Lenny Kravitz Is Cool  I’m a fan…love his music. And if you look Lenny Kravitz up in the dictionary it simply says, “cool.”  I even follow him on Facebook and I don’t follow any other celebrities…not really my style. So let me make a case for this odd and somewhat embarrassing behavior.

First, he married Lisa Bonet who I was absolutely in love with when I was in high school…she’s my age you know. Ugh. Second, even though he is divorced from Lisa, they have a kid together and remain close friends. They even hang out with each other and with their new spouses. I don’t think I could do that but I admire it…very mature. Third, Lenny is very laid back and seems to me to be very down to earth, unlike most Hollywood types. I love this post he put on Facebook…he was having a drink in New Orleans and heard a band playing his song “Fly Away” in the distance. So, he went to investigate…see what happens….  I don’t even think most of the kids realized who he was…you got to check this out. 

My Market Watch:  Bonds Up – ARM & Fixed Pricing Improved.  The 30-year Fannie Mae bond is trading positively this morning and is up +13bps on the day. As a result, fixed pricing is improved from Friday.

This week has a lot of housing reports. Hopefully with QE Tapering off the table for a month we might see some stable responses from Capital Markets when the reports starting coming in tomorrow. I think this is a good time to lock although I wouldn’t be surprised to see many float in hopes of better pricing throughout the week. For my money, I think we’re at the top of the roller coaster.

I could write something about Durable Goods or other housing data, but suffice it to say the reports have been uneventful this week so far and bonds remain sticky at their current levels. This is a welcome sight since volatility seems to work against bonds most of the time, at least for the last 4 months. The other encouraging news is the data on the purchase market which seems to be strong. This is a bit concerning to me since the brokers I speak to indicate that purchases have been harder to find. Hopefully the uptick in MBS buying will help.

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