by Calculated Risk on 3/02/2010 08:41:00 AM

Just something I forgot to mention yesterday ...

Press Release: FHFA Extends Refinance Program By One Year

Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Ed DeMarco today announced the extension of the Home Affordable Refinance Program, (HARP), a refinancing program administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to June 30, 2011. ... The HARP program expands access to refinancing for qualified individuals and families whose homes have lost value. The program was set to expire on June 10 of this year.

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by Calculated Risk on 3/01/2010 09:40:00 PM

Larry Summers on CNBC: "Very important to look past the next [employment] figures." (27 second long after ad)

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by Calculated Risk on 3/01/2010 07:32:00 PM

Binyamin Appelbaum, at the WaPo, reports that Senators Dodd and Corker (Tenn) are nearing a deal to give authority for financial consumer protection to the Federal Reserve.

Uh, wasn't the Fed already responsible for consumer financial protection?

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by Calculated Risk on 3/01/2010 04:02:00 PM

REO: Real Estate Owned.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph (ht Tom Lawler) shows the REO inventory for Fannie, Freddie and FHA through Q4 2009.

Even with all the delays in foreclosure, the REO inventory has increased sharply over the last two quarters, from 135,868 at the end of Q2 2009, to 153,007 in Q3 2009, and 172,357 at the end of Q4 2009.

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by Calculated Risk on 3/01/2010 01:53:00 PM

The ISM report provides some hints for the BLS report later this week, but it is important to remember that manufacturing employment is a small percentage of the overall work force.

From the ISM Manufacturing report on employment:

ISM's Employment Index registered 56.1 percent in February, which is 2.8 percentage points higher than the seasonally adjusted 53.3 percent reported in January. This is the third month of growth in manufacturing employment, and the highest reading since January 2005 (58.7 percent). An Employment Index above 49.8 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on manufacturing employment.

The following graph shows the ISM Manufacturing Employment Index vs. the BLS reported monthly change in manufacturing employment (as a percent of manufacturing employment).

The graph includes data from 1948 through 2009. The earlier period (1948 - 1988) is in red, and the last 20 years is in blue.

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