Market Analysis

The US Treasury Market is down slightly but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) are holding steady.

In economic news, initial jobless claims for the week ended 11/21 were down by 35,000 which was much better tha the 5,000 expected decrease.  October's Personal Income increased .2% which matched expectations and Personal Spending increased .7% vs .5% expected.  October's Personal Consumption Expenditure Index (PCE), which is a measure of inflation at the consumer level, increased .2% vs .1% expected increase.  October Durable Goods Orders were down .6% which was worse than the .5% expected increase.  The University of Michigan/Reuter’s Consumer Sentiment Index was 67.7 vs expected 67.0.  October's New Home Sales increased 6.2% which was much stronger than the 1.9% expected increase.