by Calculated Risk on 3/31/2016 01:47:00 PM

On Friday at 8:30 AM ET, the BLS will release the employment report for March. The consensus, according to Bloomberg, is for an increase of 210,000 non-farm payroll jobs in March (with a range of estimates between 175,000 to 241,000), and for the unemployment rate to be unchanged at 4.9%.

The BLS reported 242,000 jobs added in February.

Here is a summary of recent data:

• The ADP employment report showed an increase of 200,000 private sector payroll jobs in March. This was close to expectations of 203,000 private sector payroll jobs added. The ADP report hasn't been very useful in predicting the BLS report for any one month, but in general, this suggests employment growth close to expectations.

• Since the employment report is being released on the 1st of April, the March ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing employment indexes are not available yet, and will be released after the employment report this month.

• Initial weekly unemployment claims averaged close to 263,000 in March, about the same as in February. For the BLS reference week (includes the 12th of the month), initial claims were at 265,000, up slightly from 262,000 during the reference week in February.

This suggests about the same level of layoffs in March as in February (very few).

• The preliminary March University of Michigan consumer sentiment index decreased to 90.0 from the February reading of 91.7. Sentiment is frequently coincident with changes in the labor market, but there are other factors too - like lower gasoline prices.

• Conclusion: Some of the usual indicators will be released after the employment report this month. The available data suggests job growth in the 200 thousand plus range again in March.

by Calculated Risk on 3/31/2016 11:45:00 AM

A few excerpts from a note by Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle: March Payrolls Preview

We expect a 220k gain in nonfarm payroll employment in March, above consensus expectations for a 205k increase and in line with the average rate of employment growth over the last year. A further decline in jobless claims and improvements in the employment components of most business surveys were the highlights of the overall improvement in labor market indicators in March.

The unemployment rate is likely to remain unchanged at 4.9%, with risks to the downside. Average hourly earnings are likely to rise at a trend-like pace of 0.2% this month, with a rebound from last month’s surprisingly soft print offset by negative calendar effects.

by Calculated Risk on 3/31/2016 09:52:00 AM

Chicago PMI: March Chicago Business Barometer Up 6.0 Points to 53.6

The Chicago Business Barometer increased 6.0 points to 53.6 in March, led by sharp bouncebacks in Production and Employment.
...
The increase in the Barometer was led by a very sharp rise in Production, which followed an even steeper decline in the previous month. The biggest surprise came from the Employment component which rose above the 50 mark in March and to the highest level since April 2015.
...
Chief Economist of MNI Indicators Philip Uglow said, “The most signficant result from the March survey is the pick-up in the Employment component which has remained weak for much of the past year. Looking through some of the recent volatility, the data are consistent with steady, not spectacular, economic growth in the US.“
emphasis added

This was above the consensus forecast of 50.3.

by Calculated Risk on 3/31/2016 08:34:00 AM

The DOL reported:

In the week ending March 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 276,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 265,000. The 4-week moving average was 263,250, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 259,750.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 56 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973.

The previous week was unrevised.

Note: The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.

Click on graph for larger image.


The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased to 263,250.

This was above the consensus forecast of 266,000. The low level of the 4-week average suggests few layoffs.

by Calculated Risk on 3/30/2016 06:40:00 PM

From Merrill Lynch on March payroll report:

The March employment report likely showed another strong month for the labor market. We anticipate a healthy 190,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls, with the private sector contributing 185,000. Job cuts likely continued in the mining sector given low oil prices. Meanwhile, early signs from the manufacturing sector point to a rebound in activity this month, so we may see a pick-up in hiring after the decline in February. Elsewhere, construction and services likely saw further healthy gains.

We expect the unemployment rate to hold in at 4.9% ... there is a risk that the unemployment rate heads lower to 4.8%. On wages, we think average hourly earnings posted a nice 0.3% mom gain, reversing the 0.1% decline previously. This would leave the yoy rate unchanged at 2.2%.

Thursday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released.  The consensus is for 266 thousand initial claims, up from 265 thousand the previous week.

• At 9:45 AM, Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for March. The consensus is for a reading of 50.3, up from 47.6 in February.

by Calculated Risk on 3/30/2016 04:41:00 PM

Fannie Mae reported today that the Single-Family Serious Delinquency rate declined in February to 1.52%, down from 1.55% in January. The serious delinquency rate is down from 1.83% in February 2015.

This is the lowest rate since July 2008.

The Fannie Mae serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 5.59%.

Note: These are mortgage loans that are "three monthly payments or more past due or in foreclosure".

Note: Freddie Mac has not reported for February yet.

Click on graph for larger image

The Fannie Mae serious delinquency rate has only fallen 0.31 percentage points over the last year - the pace of improvement has slowed - and at that pace the serious delinquency rate will not be below 1% until 2017.

The "normal" serious delinquency rate is under 1%, so maybe Fannie Mae serious delinquencies will be close to normal some time in 2017.  This elevated delinquency rate is mostly related to older loans - the lenders are still working through the backlog.

by Calculated Risk on 3/30/2016 11:27:00 AM

The Case-Shiller house price indexes for January were released yesterday. Zillow forecasts Case-Shiller a month early, and I like to check the Zillow forecasts since they have been pretty close.

From Zillow: February Case-Shiller Forecast: More of the Same, But Slightly Slower

The January Case-Shiller indices grew at the exact same annual pace as December. Looking ahead, expect all three February Case-Shiller indices to show similar but slightly slower slower growth, with the 10-City Composite Index expected to register sub-5 percent annual growth for the first time in months, according to Zillow’s February Case-Shiller forecast.

The February Case-Shiller National Index is expected to gain another 0.3 percent in February from January, down from 0.5 percent growth in January from December. We expect the 10-City Index to grow 4.5 percent year-over-year, and the 20-City Index to grow 5.3 percent over the same period. The National Index also looks set to rise 5.3 percent year-over-year.

All SPCS forecasts are shown in the table below. These forecasts are based on today’s January Case-Shiller data release and the February 2016 Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI). The February Case-Shiller Composite Home Price Indices will not be officially released until Tuesday, April 26.

The year-over-year change for the 10-city and 20-city indexes, and the Case-Shiller National index, will probably be slightly lower in the February report than in the January report.

by Calculated Risk on 3/30/2016 08:19:00 AM

From ADP:

Private sector employment increased by 200,000 jobs from February to March according to the March ADP National Employment Report®. ... The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
...
Goods-producing employment rose by 9,000 jobs in March, up from a downwardly revised 2,000 in February. The construction industry added 17,000 jobs, which was down from February’s 24,000. Meanwhile, manufacturing added 3,000 jobs after losing 9,000 the previous month.

Service-providing employment rose by 191,000 jobs in March, down from 204,000 in February.
...
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “The job market continues on its amazing streak. The March job gain of 200,000 is consistent with average monthly job growth of the past more than four years. The only industry reducing payrolls is energy as has been the case for over a year. All indications are that the job machine will remain in high gear.”

This was close to the consensus forecast for 203,000 private sector jobs added in the ADP report. 

The BLS report for March will be released Friday, and the consensus is for 210,000 non-farm payroll jobs added in March.

by Calculated Risk on 3/30/2016 07:00:00 AM

From the MBA: Refinance Applications Down, Purchase Applications Up in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

Mortgage applications decreased 1.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 25, 2016.
...
The Refinance Index decreased 3 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week and was 21 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
...
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 3.94 percent from 3.93 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.


The first graph shows the refinance index since 1990.

Refinance activity was higher in 2015 than in 2014, but it was still the third lowest year since 2000.

Refinance activity picked up earlier this year as rates declined.


The second graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index.  

According to the MBA, the unadjusted purchase index is 21% higher than a year ago.

by Calculated Risk on 3/29/2016 06:34:00 PM

Wednesday:
• At 7:00 AM ET, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

• At 8:15 AM, the ADP Employment Report for March. This report is for private payrolls only (no government). The consensus is for 203,000 payroll jobs added in March, down from 214,000 in February.

From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Drop After Yellen Speech

Mortgage rates moved decisively lower today, following a speech from Fed Chair Janet Yellen. ... In fact, the MBS gains were so steep that most lenders didn't adjust rates to fully account for the market movement. This is typical when volatility increases, for better or worse. If markets are able to hold current levels, rates would continue to drop. As it stands, the most prevalent conventional 30yr fixed quote on top tier scenarios is now easily back down to 3.75%, with many lenders pushing back into 3.625%. Just last week, there were quite a few lenders up at 3.875%.
emphasis added

Here is a table from Mortgage News Daily:

Home Loan Rates

View More Refinance Rates