Gold has once again delighted its investors by reaching a new record high. The precious metal is benefitting from the tense geopolitical climate caused by the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and other countries. The precious metal is actively attracting investment as people seek safe assets amid renewed worries of a trade war between…
Belgium has launched a new government led by Flemish nationalists from the N-VA party, which won the elections eight months ago. For the first time in the country’s history, the post of Prime Minister of the federal government was occupied by N-VA leader Bart De Wever. The formation of the cabinet was completed after an…
by Calculated Risk on 2/04/2025 07:58:00 PM Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. Wednesday:• At 7:00 AM ET, The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the mortgage purchase applications index. • At 8:15 AM, The ADP Employment Report for January. This report is for private payrolls only (no government)….
by Calculated Risk on 2/04/2025 04:40:00 PM From the U.S. Courts: Bankruptcy Filings Rise 14.2 Percent Total bankruptcy filings rose 14.2 percent, with increases in both business and non-business bankruptcies, in the twelve-month period ending Dec. 31, 2024. This continues an ongoing rebound in filings after more than a decade of sharply dropping totals. According…
In early February, the U.S. stock market faced pressure following the announcement of new import tariffs by President Donald Trump. This decision to impose duties on goods from key trading partners raised concerns among investors about potential negative impacts on the global economy. As a result, the Dow Jones index dropped by 613 points, which…
President Trump’s preemptive tariffs achieved two victories, prompting Canada’s Trudeau and Mexico’s Sheinbaum to compromise and announce measures to strengthen their border and drug policies. However, China countered Trump’s announcements with retaliatory sanctions. Trade War Watch: Trump Trumps Canada and Mexico; China Retaliates President Trump announced the suspension of the executive order that enacted additional…
by Calculated Risk on 2/03/2025 08:31:00 PM From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Stay Flat Despite Underlying Market Volatility We know that mortgage rates are driven by financial markets and we know that financial markets have experienced volatility amid the roll-out of new tariffs over the weekend. But rates are starting the…
by Calculated Risk on 2/03/2025 05:00:00 PM Wards Auto released their estimate of light vehicle sales for January: U.S. Light-Vehicle Sales Start 2025 With 4% Increase in January (pay site). There did not appear to be an end-of-month boost in demand, either as a rebound from the mid-month weather-related losses or pull-ahead volume in case of…
Market sentiment turned bearish, affecting most cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin briefly dropped nearly 6% to $93,890, while smaller tokens saw even sharper declines. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, plunged 27% on Monday, February 3, to $2,135. It later rebounded slightly, but experts see this as its largest intraday drop since May 2021. On the morning…
by Calculated Risk on 2/03/2025 11:49:00 AM Today, in the Real Estate Newsletter: ICE Mortgage Monitor: “Lowest calendar year home price growth of any year since 2011” Brief excerpt: Here is the year-over-year in house prices according to the ICE Home Price Index (HPI). The ICE HPI is a repeat sales index. ICE reports the…