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Friday's bond market opened in negative territory following early gains in stocks, but the markets have since swapped positions with stocks in negative ground and the bond market up slightly. The Dow is currently down 40 points while the Nasdaq is nearly unchanged from yesterday's close. The bond market is now up 2/32, but we will likely still see an increase in this morning's mortgage rates of approximately .125 of a discount point due to weakness late yesterday.

Today's economic news was fairly uneventful. July's Personal Income and Outlays report showed no change in income and a 0.2% increase in spending. The income reading was slightly lower than forecasts and can be considered favorable for bonds, but the spending portion of the report matched expectations.

The second report of the day was the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment revision for August. It showed a reading of 65.7 indicating that consumers were more optimistic about their own financial situations this month than previous thought. That is bad news for bonds, but has not significantly impacted this morning's mortgage rates.

Next week brings us the release of several very important reports and the minutes from the last FOMC meeting. There is no relevant data scheduled for release Monday, so expect the bond market to react to movements in stocks. Look for more details on next week's data and events in Sunday's weekly preview.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

©Mortgage Commentary 2009