Gary Siegel

Housing finance agency delinquencies declined in the first quarter for the first time since loan performance began to deteriorate in the second quarter of 2008, Standard & Poor's reported Wednesday.

Mortgage loan application volume surged 13% on a seasonally adjusted basis as historically low interest rates spurred refinancing activity during the week ended Aug. 13, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

NEW YORK - Housing finance agency delinquencies, while still high, declined in the first quarter of 2010, the first time improvement since overall performance of loans began to deteriorate in the second quarter of 2008, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said in a report, which suggests default rates could rise in the second quarter.

NEW YORK - The Treasury Department today sold $25 billion 56-day cash management bills, dated Aug. 19, due Oct. 14, at a 0.145% high tender rate.

NEW YORK – Mortgage loan application volume surged 13% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ended Aug. 13, as refinancings soared 17.1% to their highest level since the week ended May 15, 2009, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Wednesday.

The Treasury Department auctioned $34 billion of four-week bills Tuesday at a 0.155% high yield, a price of 99.987944. The coupon equivalent was 0.157%. The bid-to-cover ratio was 4.23.

Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis president, said Tuesday that he is troubled by both the 9.5% national unemployment rate and the reasons it exists.

NEW YORK – The unemployment rate, and the reasons it is so high, trouble Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota, who said the Fed may not be able to resolve the problem.

NEW YORK - The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $34 billion of four-week bills at a 0.155% high yield, a price of 99.987944.

NEW YORK – Weekly chain store sales fell 1.3% in the week ending August 14, the third consecutive week retailers experienced a sales decline despite consumer traffic remaining steady, according to the ICSC and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed Monday, as the three-months incurred a 0.155% high rate, up from 0.150% the previous week, and the six-months incurred a 0.185% high rate, down from 0.190%.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed "conditions improved modestly in August" as the general business conditions index climbed to 7.10 from 5.08 in July, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday.

Homebuilder confidence in the market for new single-family homes continued to deteriorate in August, edging down to a 17-month-low as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index slipped to 13.

NEW YORK – Lending conditions are beginning to ease as banks relaxed some standards and terms in some loan categories, according to results of the Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officers Survey, released Monday.

NEW YORK - Tender rates for the Treasury Department’s latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed, as the three-months incurred a 0.155% high rate, up from 0.150% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.185% high rate, down from 0.190% the week before.

NEW YORK - The Treasury Department said it will auction $25 billion 56-day cash management bills on Wednesday, August 18.

NEW YORK - The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $34 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

NEW YORK - Builders’ confidence in the market for new single-family homes continued its slide, falling to its lowest level since March 2009, as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index - a monthly gauge of builder sentiment – dropped to 13 in August from an unrevised 14 in July.

NEW YORK - The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed “conditions improved modestly in August for New York manufacturers,” the Federal Reserve Bank of New York today reported, as the general business conditions index climbed to 7.10 in the month from 5.08 in July, the Fed reported.

The federal funds rate must stay accommodative, but also must begin to rise, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City president Thomas Hoenig said Friday.