Mortgage Modifications

Daily Market Commentary for March 4, 2009 from Millennium-Traders.Com

Mortgage modifications announced today by the Obama Administration played a key role in the Wall Street rally today. (read more)

Economic data released today:

MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association) Purchase Applications:
U.S. MBA Refinance Index fell 15.3% to 3063.4 compared to previous week at 3618; U.S. MBA Purchase Index fell 5.6% to 236.4 compared to previous week at 250.5; U.S. MBA Market Index fell 12.6% to 649.7 compared to previous week at 743.5.

ADP Employment Report:
ADP February Private Sector Jobs expected to drop by 630,000; ADP Sees February US Private Sector Jobs down 697,000.

ISM Non-Manufacturing Index:
U.S. ISM Feb Non-Manufacturing Composite Index came in at 41.6 versus January reading of 42.9; U.S. ISM Feb Non-Manufacturing Composite Index expected to come in at 41.0; U.S. ISM Feb Non-Manufacturing Business Index 40.2 versus January reading of 44.2; U.S. ISM Feb Non-Manufacturing Employment Index 37.3 versus January reading of 34.4; U.S. ISM Feb Non-Manufacturing Prices Index 48.1 versus January reading of 42.5; U.S. ISM Feb Non-Manufacturing New Orders Index 40.7 versus January reading of 41.6.

EIA Petroleum Status Report from the Department of Energy:
U.S. Refineries ran at 83.1% was seen at increase by 0.1 Point at 81.5%; U.S. Distillate Stockpiles rose 1.7 Million Barrels in the week compared to expectations of a drop by 400,000 Barrels; U.S. Gasoline Stockpiles rose 169,000 Barrels in the week compared to expectations of a drop by 600,000; U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles fell 758,000 Barrels in the week compared to expectations of an increase by 1 Million Barrels; U.S. Refineries Ran At 83.1% versus 81.4% a week ago; U.S. Distillate Stockpiles rose 1.662 Million Barrels at 143.296 Million Barrels; U.S. Gasoline Stockpiles rose 0.168 Million Barrels at 215.51 Million Barrels; U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles fell 0.757 Million Barrels at 350.59 Million Barrels.

Beige Book:
U.S. economy eroded further through late February; economic slump 'broad based,' near-term prospects poor; significant recovery not seen until late 2009, 2010; spending slow; autos 'exceptionally sluggish'; housing mostly 'in the doldrums'; no sign of easing in home price drop; lending down; mortgage demand 'depressed'; unemployment up broadly; wage pressures muted.

At the NYSE closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange, here is how the major world indices and major U.S. stock indices ended the trading session on the world markets as well as the emerging markets including the stock market closing bell price:
DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit gain of 149.82 points to end the trading session at 6,875.84
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) triple digit gain of 130.19 points to end the trading session at 4,464.89
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) gain of 32.73 points to end the trading session at 1,353.74
S&P 500 (SPX) gain of 16.54 points to end the trading session at 712.87
BEL 20 (BEL20) gain of 17.92 points to end the trading session at 1,584.19
CAC 40 (CAC40) triple digit gain of 121.13 points to end the trading session at 2,675.68
FTSE100 (UKX100) triple digit gain of 133.78 points to end the trading session at 3,645.87
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) gain of 61.24 points at the end the trading session at 7,290.96

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 2,465, declined stock prices 669, unchanged stock prices 76, stock prices hitting new highs 3 and stock prices hitting new lows 298. NYSE quotes for volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the New York Stock Exchange stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RTP) stock price gained 10.32 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $106.54, low on the trading session $99.24, with a closing stock price at $103.00; Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) stock price gained 1.86 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $44.26, low on the trading session $42.00, with a closing stock price at $42.74; McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) stock price gained 1.55 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $11.69, low on the trading session $10.38, with a closing stock price at $11.42; ProShares Ultrashort Real Estate (NYSE: SRS) stock price shed 2.81 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $92.55, low on the trading session $83.03, with a closing stock price at $87.81; ProShares Ultrashort Financials (NYSE: SKF) stock price gained 2.88 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $218.00, low on the trading session $191.95, with a closing stock price at $207.88.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 1.955, declined stock prices 823, unchanged stock prices 140, stock prices hitting new highs 3 and stock prices hitting new lows 318. NASDAQ quotes, volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the NASDAQ stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: Baidu (NasdaqGS: BIDU) stock price gained 14.33 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $163.80, low on the trading session $151.70, with a closing stock price at $158.92; Apollo Group (NasdaqGS: APOL) stock price shed 5.60 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $74.70, low on the trading session $66.23, with a closing stock price at $66.51; Masimo (NasdaqGS: MASI) stock price gained 0.17 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $24.52, low on the trading session $21.00, with a closing stock price at $23.17; First Solar Incorporated (NasdaqGS: FSLR) stock price gained 1.56 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $117.79, low on the trading session $110.82, with a closing stock price at $112.00.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 348, declined stock prices 227, unchanged stock prices 61, stock prices hitting new highs 1 and stock prices hitting new lows 35.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market for the day, at time of this posting:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) Mar 09: End of trading session price 709; Change for the trading session 19.50
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) Mar 09: End of trading session price 1,102.25; Change for the trading session 30.25
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) Mar 09: End of trading session price 6,834; Change for the trading session 165
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) Mar 09: End of trading session price 427.90; Change for the trading session 13.60
E-mini S&P Small Cap 600 (HS) Mar 09: End of trading session price 7,375; Change for the trading session 325

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.7915 to U.S. Dollars 1.2634
Japanese Yen 99.040 to U.S. Dollars 0.0101
British Pound 0.7064 to U.S. Dollars 1.4157
Canadian Dollar 1.2743 to U.S. Dollars 0.7847
Swiss Franc 1.1712 to U.S. Dollars 0.8538

COMMODITY MARKETS:

Energy Sector - Nymex:
Light Crude (April 09) gained $3.73 on the trading session for a closing price of $45.38 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (April 09) gained $0.03 on the trading session for a closing price of $1.21 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (April 09) gained $0.05 on the trading session for a closing price of $4.34 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (March 09) gained $0.06 on the trading session for a closing price of $1.38 a gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (April 09) shed $6.90 on the trading session for a closing price of $906.70 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (May 09) gained $0.20 on the trading session for a closing price of $12.92 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (April 09) gained $8.50 on the trading session for a closing price of $1,049.90 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (May 09) gained $0.09 on the trading session for a closing price of $1.69 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (April 09) gained 1.48 on the trading session for a closing price of 62.33
Pork Bellies (May 09) gained 3.00 on the trading session for a closing price of 81.55
Live Cattle (April 09) gained 0.43 on the trading session for a closing price of 84.65
Feeder Cattle (April 09) gained 1.05 on the trading session for a closing price of 93.85

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (May 09) gained 13.00 on the trading session for a closing price of 363.50
Soybeans (May 09) gained 15.00 on the trading session for a closing price of 868.50

BOND MARKET:
2 year Bond Closing price 99 27/32, change -4/32, Yield 0.95, Yield change 0.07
5 year Bond closing price of 99 20/32, change -9/32, Yield 1.95, Yield change 0.06
10 year Bond closing price 97 31/32, change -27/32, Yield 2.98, Yield change 0.10
30 year Bond closing price 96 26/32, change -1 5/32, Yield 3.67, Yield change 0.06

Thanks for reading
Millennium-Traders.Com

When considering a mortgage loan, knowing how much money you have and will have and how much you are willing to pay for the loan including the interest and principal is very, very important. To help you decide on projecting how much you will be paying bi-weekly or monthly, depending on the payment term you choose for the entire loan period of your mortgage, various mortgage calculators are available.

These mortgage calculators are categorized into 15 classifications depending on the type of mortgage you want and the terms in interests and principal you want to apply. These classifications for mortgage calculators are the following:

a. Mortgage calculator to determine a borrowers ability to afford a house. This type of calculator can be classified into two. There is a mortgage calculator that determines if a borrower can afford a house and mortgage calculator to help the borrower determine if it is better for him to make a small down payment or no down payment at all or save up first, then make a bigger down payment later on.

b. Mortgage calculator for consolidating non-mortgage debt. There are three types of calculators under these. The first one is used for borrowers who want to consider merging non-mortgage debt in their bought mortgage. The second type of mortgage calculator is for those who want to consider refinancing their mortgage by cash-out or by taking another mortgage. The third kind is for borrowers who already have 2 mortgages for a particular loan and are considering other options to help pay off the 1st mortgage.

c. Mortgage calculator to determine the monthly payments of their mortgage. The types of mortgage calculator to be used will depend on the terms you choose. There is a mortgage calculator for fixed rate mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages without negative amortizations, adjustable rate mortgages with negative amortizations, adjustable rate mortgages with flexible amortizations and mortgage payments with temporary buy downs.

d. Mortgage calculator to determine how much interest borrowers can save should he decide to pay an additional amount for the principal value during payment. The mortgage calculator varies depending on the number of payments a borrower is willing to give. These are extra monthly payments, bi-weekly payments applied monthly, bi-weekly payments applied bi-weekly and extra monthly payments to be paid in a specific period.

e. Mortgage calculator to determine if refinancing a mortgage will reduce its cost. This type of mortgage calculator can be applied to a borrower who wants to refinance a mortgage or 2 mortgages. Other calculators are used to determine if refinancing one mortgage into two can reduce costs while others are used to determine if cash-out refinancing is better than deciding to take on a second mortgage.

f. Mortgage calculator for determining the length of time borrowers have to pay insurance premiums applied to their mortgage.

g. Mortgage calculator to determine amortizations. There are 2 kinds of these. One determines the savings a borrower can have on his tax on the interests and the second mortgage calculator determines the appreciation of property being mortgaged.

h. Mortgage calculator to compare two mortgages. These are different types of calculators that compare the various mortgages that include amortizations and non-amortizations, government and non-government loans, fixed rate and adjustable interests.

i. Mortgage calculator to compute points and fees in a mortgage. The calculator is used to determine the rate of return of ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) and FRMs (Flexible Rate Mortgages) and the amount that can be saved or lost by using paying points for interest reduction on FRMs.

j. Mortgage calculator for determining amounts to be paid for a mortgage insurance and down payment and

k. Mortgage calculator to determine the feasibility of having a mortgage loan in a shorter term.

These mortgage calculators and other various mortgage calculators are available for use in the Internet. Companies such as Freddie Mac, Fannie May, Real-Time-Rates.Com and Mortgage-X have interactive pages in their websites where you can do your calculations online. Aside from these, other sites such as HSH Associates give free downloads of their loan calculators.

It seems some factors of th U.S. economy are showing improvement.