Standard and Poor’s cut Japan’s sovereign debt rating today to AA-, the fourth highest rating S & P grants, putting Japan on par with China. In a warning that should get the attention of wealthy governments around the globe, fiscal responsibility is becoming a focus.
This morning the volatility in weekly jobless claims continues to complicate interpretations. Weekly claims rose to 454,000 in the most recent week, their highest level since October, and the four-week average rose to a seven week high.
The National Assn. of Realtors told us this morning that pending home resales rose 2% in December, which is a bit of good news for the residential real estate market.
Given the downgrade of Japan’s debt and the large increase in jobless claims one could have expected U.S. Treasuries to improve in price, however, the bond market is flat from the close on Wednesday as are mortgage prices.
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