A Historic Day for Our Country

Following yesterday’s historic impeachment of President Trump, many were wondering how the US stock market would react this morning.  In response, investors showed their lack of concern by driving stock prices to new all time highs. In my opinion, the impeachment process was a clear sign of politics at their worst. If this was more than a political game on either side, we would have seen our representatives vote based on their true beliefs, not their politics. With all but two Democrats saying the president is guilty and 100% of voting republicans stating he is innocent, there is a clear bias on both sides. It leaves many unsure of what to believe. For the sake of the stock market, at least investors have largely ignored this vote, clearly discrediting the process.

Initial Jobless Claims showed that there were 234,000 people filing for Unemployment benefits last week. Since this was not a holiday week, it is a more accurate reflection of the true state of the labor market.  As we move closer to Christmas, we will see employers wait to lay off employees to avoid the stigma of letting people go during the holidays. That is not considered to be a kind thing to do, so many will hold off until early 2020.

There remains great risk to mortgage interest rates moving higher. We will maintain a locking bias.