One of the most comforting things about trying to predict the future in financial markets is that there are always so many other people trying to predict the future at any given time. That means the entirety of investor expectation is always baked in to current levels. In other words, if there was a way for investors to know that stocks and rates would continue lower from here, people would already be trading accordingly.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
2016’s Wild Ride Already Over or Just Getting Started?

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The big story of 2016 continues to be the heavy losses in risk markets and the resulting improvements in safer haven markets. A risk market is anything with a greater risk of loss in exchange for a greater potential for reward. Stocks are the quintessential risk market, but oil prices have been even more volatile of late.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Oil and Stocks Continue Dominating Interest Rate Markets

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Although mortgage rates managed to move lower in the immediate wake of the Fed rate hike, they’ve since moved back up to the highest levels since July. This casts doubt as to the direction of the first dose of mortgage rate momentum in 2016. Or worse yet, it removes some of the doubt that currently exists about rates calmly following the Fed Funds Rate higher.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Housing Market Has Plenty to Consider in 2016

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Last week I said that the Fed had done a great job of making sure markets were fully prepared for the upcoming rate hike. That’s no great mystery, but it is something that needed to be seen to be truly believed. Markets were so prepared, in fact, that mortgage rates moved lower on the day of the Fed rate hike, and substantially lower the following day.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Fed Finally Hikes. Mortgage Rates Fall. Wait… What?!

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The Fed spent the last several months making sure markets are fully prepared for a rate hike in the December meeting. They’ve done a great job too. The consensus for a hike has never been higher, as measured by Fed Funds Futures (where traders bet on the probability of various Fed Funds Rate levels) or by surveys (where more than 90% of economists see a rate hike next week).
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Fed Rate Hike Next Week. Do We Care?

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