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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve Lokness who wrote (11029)	8/25/2004 2:04:38 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Pensions may need a taxpayer bailout A $350-billion pension shortfall among U.S. companies may force the federal agency that insures retirement plans to seek a taxpayer bailout similar to the one during the savings and loan crisis, according to the Cato Institute, a Washington-based policy research group. freep.com ===================================================== Based on previous statements by POTUS and Greenie re Social Security, there will be no "bail out" of the PBGC, but rather benefit cuts deep enough to make up the deficit.

To: Steve Lokness who wrote (11029)	8/25/2004 2:09:27 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Fed's Guynn says economic soft patch won't last long By Greg Robb WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- The soft patch that the U.S. economy hit in June will not last long, said Jack Guynn, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. "My sense is that the recent softness in the economy...is more fleeting than fixed," Guynn said in a speech prepared for delivery to an industry group in Atlanta. In a hawkish-sounding tone, Guynn said he wasn't convinced that recent price pressures would turn out to be transitory. "In fields where demand is strong and growing, we are seeing price increases beginning to stick," Guynn said. The Atlanta Fed president said recent data supports continuation of measured rate hikes. "Although troublesome inflation problems do not seem imminent, a continuation of accommodative monetary policy is not appropriate as the economic expansion gains momentum and breadth," he said.

To: Steve Lokness who wrote (11029)	8/25/2004 2:33:16 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 25, 2004)—The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 20. The Market Composite Index of mortgage loan applications - a measure of mortgage loan applications - was 646.3, an decrease of 6.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 689.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased by 7.3 percent compared with last week but was up 1.8 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. The MBA seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased by 5.0 percent to 443.7 from 467.1 the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Refinance Index decreased by 8.0 percent to 1824.9 from 1982.7 one week earlier. Other seasonally adjusted index activity included the Conventional Index, which decreased 6.6 percent to 953.5 from 1021.2 the previous week. The Government Index decreased 1.5 percent to 133.8 from 135.8 the previous week. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 40.4 percent of total applications from 40.7 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 32.1 percent of total applications from 33.6 percent the previous week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.78 percent from 5.75 percent one week earlier, with points decreasing to 1.37 from 1.45 the previous week (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.13 percent from 5.15 percent one week earlier, with points increasing to 1.38 from 1.33 the previous week (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 3.90 percent from 3.95 percent one week earlier, with points decreasing to 1.12 from 1.16 from the previous week (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. mbaa.org