US Treasury bonds are improved this morning but mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are relatively flat.  Stocks are down after having improved in early morning trading on news that Berkshire Hathaway had purchased $5 billion in preferred stock in Bank of America (B of A stock increased 25% on the news). In economic news, Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended 8/20 came in at 417,000 which was higher than the 400,000 expected.