Three Reasons Why Mortgage Rates Are Higher This Morning

Mortgage markets are making like last night's fireworks, exploding in the sky with a bang.

There are three main factors pushing rates higher today:

1. Bank of England raised their interest rates by 0.25% and foreshadowed future increases
2. European Central Bank Chairman Jean-Claude Trichet said that inflation is "likely to rise again significantly towards the end of the year".
3. The ADP National Employment Report showed 150,000 new jobs created in June, putting pressure on traders siding with the economists' predictions of 120,000 new jobs created.

Trading volume is still light and that makes rates more volatile than usual. Tomorrow's government jobs report has the potential to really shake up the markets -- for good or for bad.

Independence Day

On July 4 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed and for the most part was written by Thomas Jefferson. The 13 colonies were essentially set free from British control and were on the road to a sovereign nation. The 4th of July is the most American of all holidays. We mark the day with fireworks, parades and backyard barbecues.

Did You Know?
a.. In July of 1776 the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation was 2.5 million.

b.. Today there are 302 million.

c.. The first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence was the Pennsylvania Evening Post on July 6, 1776.

d.. On July 8, 1776 the Declaration had it's first public reading in Philadelphia's Independence Square.

e.. The first Independence Day celebration took place the following year - July 4, 1777.

f.. The official recognition of America as a nation didn't come until 1783, when peace was made in Paris. Thus the United States of America came into existence with a union of 13 thirteen sovereign states from Main to Georgia.

g.. The 4th of July wasn't declared a legal holiday until 1941.

h.. The estimated amount of hot dogs eaten by Americans on the Fourth of July is 150 million.

i.. Approximately 74 million Americans participated in a Fourth of July barbecue in 2006.

j.. The fireworks imported from China into the United States were valued at $216 million in 2006.

Have a Happy 4th of July!

Brought to you, courtesy of The Mortgage Market Guide

The Oldest And Shortest Written Constitution Of Any Major Government Belongs To The U.S.

In honor of Independence Day, here are 13 little-known bits of trivia about the United States constitution, courtesy of constitutionfacts.com:

1. The first constitution was not known as the Declaration of Independence. It was called the Articles of Confederation.
2. The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world.
3. There are spelling errors throughout the Constitution, but the misspelling of the word "Pensylvania" above the signers’ names is a notable one.
4. Thomas Jefferson did not sign the Constitution. He was in France during the Convention, where he served as the U.S. minister.
5. The Constitution was "penned" by Jacob Shallus, a Pennsylvania General Assembly clerk, for a fee of $30.
6. The entire Constitution is displayed in public just one day a year -- September 17. This is the anniversary of the day the framers signed the document.
7. Patrick Henry was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, but declined, because he "smelt a rat."
8. The oldest person to sign the Constitution was Benjamin Franklin (81). The youngest was Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey (26).
9. When the Constitution was signed, Philadelphia was the nation’s largest city, with 40,000 inhabitants.
10. Because of his poor health, Benjamin Franklin needed help to sign the Constitution. As he did so, tears streamed down his face.
11. The first time the formal term "The United States of America" was used was in the Declaration of Independence.
12. There was initially a question as to how to address the President. The Senate proposed that he be addressed as "His Highness the President of the United States of America and Protector of their Liberties." Both the House of Representatives and the Senate compromised on the use of "President of the United States."
13. The word "democracy" does not appear once in the Constitution.

Have a safe and happy July 4th, everyone.

Source
Fascinating Facts about the U.S. Constitution
http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=constitution&page=fascinatingFacts.cfm

Strong Demand for the iPhone's Long Awaited Debut

The long awaited iPhone from Apple hit stores on Friday and was met with long lines of consumers, some who had waited almost two days for the new device. The phone was retailing for $499 with 4 Gigabytes and $599 with 8 Gigabytes.

Most customers chose the more expensive version. One estimate brings the total number for the weekend at almost 500,000 units as some stores were processing up to 1,000 iPhone sales per hour. Apples estimates that 3 million units will be sold this year and 10 million in 2008.

Apple boss Steve Jobs said that the iPhone will become Apple's third main business after the iPod music player and Mac computer. Buyers also must commit to a two-year contract with AT&T at a minimum of $59.99 per month.

The iPhone is a multimedia and Internet-enabled mobile phone by Apple. The functions include those of a camera phone, Internet services including e-mail, text messaging, web browsing, Visual Voicemail, and local "Wi-Fi" connectivity. User input is accomplished via multi-touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons.

Brought to you, courtesy of The Mortgage Market Guide

The Week In Review (July 2, 2007) : What To Watch For

As expected, Ben Bernanke & Co. left the Fed Funds Rate unchanged at 5.250% last week but that didn't stop markets from improving slightly overall.

Markets were buoyed by a low reading on last Friday's PCE index, the Fed's favored inflation measure.

Low inflation readings are good for mortgage rates so it's no surprise that as the week opens, mortgage rates are about 0.125% lower than at the start of last week.

Of course, different home loan products carry different risks so the drop isn't present equally in all mortgage types.

Because Independence Day falls in the middle of the week this week, many traders are just taking the whole week off. Therefore, expect very light trading in mortgage bonds.

Low trading volume, of course, creates volatility as buyers have a hard time finding sellers and vice versa.

The major wildcard this weekend is Friday's Non-Farm Payrolls report (i.e. the jobs report). Economists are predicting 120,000 new jobs created.

If the number is off the mark, expect a more wild ride than normal. If the actual falls short, rates should improve; if it's running hot, rates should spike.

Fun Fact Of The Day: Congress made Independence Day a federal holiday in 1870, but didn't make it a paid federal holiday for government employees until 1941.