Forecast for the Week 
The economic calendar is quiet this week, but the Fed meeting minutes could move the markets.
- Housing data is front and center, with Existing Home Sales on Wednesday and New Homes Sales on Friday.
- The only other report of significance is Thursday’s Weekly Initial Jobless Claims.
In addition, the minutes from the Fed’s latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting will be released on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET. If the minutes hint that the Fed may start tapering its Bond purchases after its September meeting, this could cause volatility to ramp up to an extremely high level.
Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result. The chart below shows Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which are the type of Bond that home loan rates are based on.
When you see these Bond prices moving higher, it means home loan rates are improving — and when they are moving lower, home loan rates are getting worse.
To go one step further — a red “candle” means that MBS worsened during the day, while a green “candle” means MBS improved during the day. Depending on how dramatic the changes were on any given day, this can cause rate changes throughout the day, as well as on the rate sheets we start with each morning.
As you can see in the chart below, last week was a rough one for Mortgage Bonds and home loan rates. I’ll be watching the news closely to see if economic reports continue to be positive…and if there is more talk of the Fed’s tapering its Bond purchases in September.
Chart: Fannie Mae 3.5% Mortgage Bond (Friday August 16, 2013)
The Mortgage Market Guide View…
Activity or Action
Do You Know the Difference?
The words activity and action sound similar, and are sometimes used as synonyms. To a casual observer, there may not be any visual difference between one person’s activity and another’s action. Yet when it comes to reaching goals in business or life, activity and action are two very different things.
So what’s the difference?
Activity is ‘doing’, it has no destination, it is an expense of energy. Action is ‘accomplishing’, it is based on a plan, it builds its own momentum. Here are a few examples to help clarify:
Activity: Making a New Year’s resolution. Action: Stop smoking.
Activity: Planning a newsletter to clients. Action: Send a newsletter to clients.
Activity: Researching gym memberships. Action: Exercise.
Activity: Reading diet books. Action: Eat healthy.
Is activity bad?
Absolutely not. We need to plan, and activity is an essential step in the process. This is the appropriate place to prepare, research, study, set goals, or create a vision. Still, it’s a preliminary step, and that’s where people tend to get stuck. (Did you ever notice how busy you feel when you’re procrastinating?)
In reality, activity is only preparation for the actions that will make a difference in your life and career.
How to take more action:
If activity has become your preferred form of procrastination, here’s what to do:
Schedule it.
Schedule everything from working out, to writing prospecting emails, to sending newsletters. Remember, don’t use this time for planning goals, use it for taking actions that move your goals ahead.
Pick a date.
For larger scale goals or projects requiring more planning, it’s good to put your deadline in your calendar. Schedule all the pieces as they come up, but stick to your deadline.
Tell somebody.
Always try to build accountability into taking action. Make both your goals and your deadlines public by telling a close friend, a mentor, posting it on Facebook, or even enlisting as many people as you can. There’s pressure, but it’s the good kind!
Economic Calendar for the Week of August 19 – August 23
|
Date
|
ET
|
Economic Report
|
For
|
Estimate
|
Actual
|
Prior
|
Impact
|
| Wed. August 21 |
10:00
|
Existing Home Sales |
Jul
|
5.20M
|
5.08M
|
Moderate
|
|
| Wed. August 21 |
02:00
|
FOMC Minutes |
7/31
|
NA
|
NA
|
HIGH
|
|
| Thu. August 22 |
08:30
|
Jobless Claims (Initial) |
8/17
|
337K
|
320K
|
Moderate
|
|
| Fri. August 23 |
10:00
|
New Home Sales |
Jul
|
490K
|
497K
|
Moderate
|
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Mortgage Info By Michelle Wickett 