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Weekend Market Update

Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2009

Stocks sold off across the board on heavy volume on Friday, and the VIX (volatility index) closed above 30, its highest level in four months. The Dow Jones average of large-cap stocks shed 250 points on the day after a triple-digit gain on Thursday. Increasing volatility typically accompanies a selling market. During October, the Dow had 10 days of double-digit moves. As we noted here last week, the Dow has sputtered after touching the 10,000 mark, and in the absence of traction, the short-term view is for more selling in those and broader market equities.

Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities benefited from money running from stocks and into safer plays. Setting off Friday's session was data showing that spending by Americans fell 0.5% in September, the largest drop since December 2008, while consumer confidence in October also slipped. The downturn began in the morning and selling increased as the day wore on in what traders called a herd mentality. Financial issues were hit hardest as Bank of America dropped 7.3% and JPMorgan Chase lost 5.8%.

The 10-year Treasury closed at a yield of 3.39%.

30-Year Conventional Fixed
4.875% $100,000-$417,000

FHA-100% VA
5% $100,000-$393,300

100% Guaranteed Rural Housing w/no MI

6% $100,000-$417,000

30-Year Jumbo Fixed

6% $417,001-$1,000,000

30-Year Jumbo 5/1 ARM (15% down, No MI)

5.25% $417,001-$900,000

(Interest-only available-Call me)

Call for free pre-approval and to discover

the best financing for you!

...by Gary Moore

Cell: 615-579-8658 Toll-free fax: 866-321-6513

"The significance of man is that he is insignificant and is aware of it." -Carl Becker

Visit my mortgage website:

http://www.BrentwoodHomeLoan.com

(0% points, 1% origination, subject to program and lock period. Market Update informs on market trends and is not a quote for a unique borrower. Reply "remove" with your name and email to discontinue Update.)

Weekend Market Update

Oct. 17-18, 2009

Halloween is the witching hour for getting a free $8,000 from your Uncle Sam, if you qualify. The Recovery Act's deadline for that windfall for first-time homebuyers is that your home purchase must be closed by Nov. 30. Effectively, assuming a 30-day period for processing and closing the sale and loan, get your loan and sale contract done this month in order to close in time to receive $8,000.

Contact me right away to get your best financing plan pinned down and to get my pre-approval certificate, which will help you negotiate with a seller. Keep in mind that persons who have not owned a home within the last three years qualify as first-time buyers.

Stocks slumped Friday at the end of an upbeat week on Wall Street as a sour response to General Electric and Bank of America's quarterly results gave investors a reason to retreat.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 67 points, or 0.7%. After closing above 10,000 for two straight sessions, the Dow ended just below that psychological benchmark. The S&P 500 index shed 9 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 16 points, or 0.8%.

One of America's wealthiest men was among six hedge fund managers and corporate executives arrested Friday in a hedge fund insider trading case that authorities say generated more than $25 million in illegal profits and was a wake-up call for Wall Street.

Raj Rajaratnam, a portfolio manager for Galleon Group, a hedge fund with up to $7 billion in assets under management, was accused of conspiring with others to use insider information to trade securities in several publicly traded companies, including Google Inc.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas F. Eaton set bail at $100 million to be secured by $20 million in collateral despite a request by prosecutors to deny bail. He also ordered Rajaratnam, who has both U.S. and Sri Lankan citizenship, to stay within 110 miles of New York City.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara told a news conference it was the largest hedge fund case ever prosecuted and marked the first use of court-authorized wiretaps to capture conversations by suspects in an insider trading case.

He said the case should cause financial professionals considering insider trades in the future to wonder whether law enforcement is listening.

"Greed is not good," said Bharara, according to Associated Press. "This case should be a wake-up call for Wall Street."

Mortgage rates bounced around during the week after settling mostly unchanged. The 10-year Treasury note closed at a yield of 3.42%.

30-Year Conventional Fixed
4.875% $100,000-$417,000

FHA-100% VA
5% $100,000-$393,300

100% Guaranteed Rural Housing w/no MI

6% $100,000-$417,000

30-Year Jumbo Fixed

6% $417,001-$1,000,000

30-Year Jumbo 5/1 ARM (15% down, No MI)

5.25% $417,001-$900,000

(Interest-only available-Call me)

Call for free pre-approval and to discover

the best financing for you!

...by Gary Moore

Cell: 615-579-8658  Toll-free fax: 866-321-6513

"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."

- John F. Kennedy

Visit my mortgage website:

http://www.BrentwoodHomeLoan.com

(0% points, 1% origination, subject to program and lock period. Market Update informs on market trends and is not a quote for a unique borrower.)

Weekend Market Update

Oct. 10-11, 2009

Stocks broke a two-week losing streak as the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a closing high for 2009 at 9,865. Investors were optimistic about third-quarter earnings which will be reported next week.

It was two years ago---on October 9, 2007---that both the Dow and the S&P 500 finished at their all-time closing highs. The Dow finished that day at 14,164.53, while the S&P 500 closed at 1565.15. While those averages are still currently about 30 percent below that level, they're also about 50 percent above their lows reached back in March.

Bonds and Treasuries were off after an auction of 30-year bonds on Thursday was met with lackluster buying. The 10-year Treasury closed Friday at a yield of 3.38%.

The direction of money from bonds into stocks was punctuated when Australia announced it was raising its prime interest rate, signaling growing economic stability overseas. In the near term, multinational U.S.-based corporations that generate revenue from foreign currency may attract investors that want exposure to global economic activity.

30-Year Conventional Fixed
4.875% $100,000-$417,000

FHA-100% VA
5% $100,000-$393,300

100% Guaranteed Rural Housing w/no MI

6% $100,000-$417,000

30-Year Jumbo Fixed

6% $417,001-$1,000,000

30-Year Jumbo 5/1 ARM (15% down, No MI)

5.25% $417,001-$900,000

(Interest-only available-Call me)

Call for free pre-approval and to discover

the best financing for you!

...by Gary Moore

Cell: 615-579-8658  Toll-free fax: 866-321-6513

"The most important questions in life are, for the most part, really only problems of probability." - Pierre Simon de La Place

Visit my mortgage website:

http://www.BrentwoodHomeLoan.com

(0% points, 1% origination, subject to program and lock period. Market Update informs on market trends and is not a quote for a unique borrower.)