UMBS up 9 bps on the morning.

Bonds were sideways to slightly stronger amid quiet trading in Asia.  Things got more volatile in Europe, but mostly for EU bonds (dueling narratives from different ECB speakers).  Treasuries made better gains heading into the 7am hour.

Domestic traders have been better sellers so far this morning.  Bonds are still in positive territory, but have given up about half of the overnight rally (a bit less than half for Treasuries, but more than half for MBS).

The week ahead should be relatively eventful with Jerome Powell heading to the Hill for his Humphrey-Hawkins testimony. We will also get the jobs report on Friday, and JOLTS on Tuesday

The homebuilders are under pressure this morning as J.P. Morgan downgraded KB Home and D.R. Horton based on valuation. It wasn’t all glum however as Meritage was upgraded to Overweight from neutral.

The homebuilders are the classic early-stage cyclical. The timing isn’t right yet – we have to wait for rate cuts – but we are getting close.

Mat Ishbia takes great pride in stating that United Wholesale Mortgage(UWM) doesn’t lay anyone off.  While that may be true, it doesn’t mean the company never sheds jobs.

According to its annual report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), since January 2021, UWM has reduced its workforce by 2,600 employees — or about 30%.

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