The London Metal Exchange needs to overhaul how it oversees live trading to prevent another market collapse after it was forced to cancel $4 billion in nickel trades, a report into the fiasco says. The exchange needs to improve its risk and control functions and upgrade its volatility controls, according to consultants Oliver Wyman, who…
The numbers: Mortgage rates rose in the first week of 2023, as mortgage applications sank to multi-decade lows. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.48% as of Jan. 5, according to data released by Freddie Mac FMCC, -0.48% on Thursday. That’s up 6 basis points from the previous week — one basis point is equal to…
ADELAIDE, Australia — BHP Group Ltd. on Thursday said it has signed an agreement to buy Australian copper miner OZ Minerals Ltd. in what would be its biggest acquisition in more than a decade. The world’s largest miner by market value said the companies have entered into a scheme implementation deed after BHP BHP, +1.82%…
The numbers: Mortgage rates continue to inch downwards, providing some relief to prospective homeowners. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.31% as of Dec. 15, according to data released by Freddie Mac FMCC on Thursday. That’s down 2 basis points from the previous week — one basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage…
The numbers: The housing sector continues to face headwinds. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.08% as of Nov. 10, according to data released by Freddie Mac FMCC, +0.03% on Thursday. The 30-year was last at this level in mid-2002. That’s up 13 basis points from the previous week — one basis point is equal to…
The midterm U.S. elections are coming. And elections have consequences for the housing market, according to a new report from investment bank Cowen. The report by Cowen’s Jaret Seiberg noted that the Nov. 8 elections will determine which party controls the House and the Senate for the next two years. And the result will then…
Home buyers are looking for ways to whittle down their mortgage rates. As a result, a once-popular home-selling tactic is making a comeback. It’s called a temporary buydown, and it was widely used when mortgage rates were zooming upward in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The revival of the temporary buydown is timely, as…
Prices are rising all over the world. With many economists predicting a recession in 2023, it’s time to take stock. Are you planning on a winter vacation? Do you want to buy that suit or dress for the office holiday party? Are you thinking of trading up your old jalopy? Is it a good time…
Interracial couples were assigned different appraisal values for their homes in the Baltimore, Md., area depending on the skin color of the partner who greeted the appraiser and whether the house was “whitewashed,” a new study from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition shows. In one case, a single row house was valued at $350,000 when the…
The numbers: Mortgage rates have risen to the highest level in 20 years. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.94% as of October 20, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday. That’s the highest since April 2002. Rates are up 2 basis points from the previous week — one basis point is equal to…
The numbers: U.S. mortgage rates have resumed their journey upwards, hitting a 20-year high. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.92% as of October 13, according to data released by Freddie Mac FMCC, -3.40% on Thursday. The 30-year was last at this level in April 2002. That’s up 26 basis points from the previous week —…
When will mortgage rates go down? And will they go down anytime soon? “Anyone forecasting mortgage rates needs to have a lot of humility,” Ali Wolf, chief economist at Zonda Research, a housing market-research platform, told MarketWatch in an interview on the Barron’s Live podcast. “You’re basically trying to forecast what happens to the 10-year,…
The real-estate market is taking a beating, with mortgage rates surpassing 7%. “Rates are still rising, and will continue to rise here on out,” Christine Cooper, chief U.S. economist and managing director at CoStar Group, told MarketWatch in an interview. But with home prices continuing to be elevated, that has really hurt affordability, she added,…
High prices for everything from groceries to gas aren’t the only things making this year feel like a throwback to the 1980s. After almost a decade of gains, homeownership in the U.S. also has slipped back to levels seen about four decades ago (see chart below), when former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was waging…
In a matter of months, it’s become more expensive to carry a credit card balance, a car loan or a mortgage as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes have seeped into borrowing costs. It’s tough medicine that central bankers hope will break the fever of hot inflation — and no one expects the doses to…
“‘I don’t think that home sales are going to grind to a complete halt. They’ll just slow. People will still be able to sell homes, but it may take you just a little bit longer than what it’s been.’” — Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac The U.S. housing sector is in the…
There is hope for first-time buyers looking to enter the U.S. housing market, but observers say they will have to be patient. After a two-year surge in home prices during the COVID-19 pandemic, the housing market is finally showing signs of cooling — in terms of demand and sales, if not those persistently high prices…
Remote work has played a big part in the rise in house prices in the U.S. during the first two years of the pandemic, but just how much? Many fortunate people have had the freedom to live wherever they choose during the pandemic. John Mondragon, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco…