mortgages

Mortgage backed securities (MBS) have sold off sharply over the past month as fixed income markets face the new reality of rising rates. But unlike most other fixed income securities, MBS duration tends to increase with yield.

As mortgage rates in the US reach the highs not seen since early 2012, many are asking the key question: would this rise in rates impact the housing market or consumer sentiment?

This is a more in-depth follow-up piece to the free article I wrote yesterday. In the wake of the recent Ira Sohn conference and the revelation that hedge funds are starting to short housing-related Canadian stocks, there is a lot of bubble…

Australia just cut its policy rate to 2.75%, the lowest on record. That puts Australia into the same camp as all of the other major economic areas, where policy rates are all at record low levels. If you believe that Australia has used…

Some recent data out of Canada points to a slowdown in growth of consumer indebtedness. According to RBC, the non-mortgage consumer debt has grown at the slowest rate in 20 years. This is clearly a positive development, but when taking…

I listed Ireland in two of my surprises for 2013. I wrote that Ireland’s government bonds do not outperform again. Greece outperforms this year. I also wrote that Ireland goes to OMT. The first prediction is probably more controversial…

Today I thought I would try a little experiment by beginning to write a daily commentary. I have been thinking about doing this for a while and decided I needed to give it a go here because I don't have an in-depth article I am working on.…

Sweden has been one of the countries to have best weathered the economic crisis. Despite a hiccup in its domestic economy and the extra deflationary impulse from souring loans to the Baltics in 2009, the Swedish economy has been remarkably…

Nationalised Dutch lender SNS Reaal, the fourth largest bank in the Netherlands has recently been nationalised despite a reported 13 percent Tier 1 capital level in the most recent round of banking stress tests in Europe. Clearly, the…

Moody's Investor Service released the following note in conjunction with a ratings action it took on Canadian banks today.