The Week Ahead, Dec. 12, 2022: The Fed and Five Other Things to Know
Good morning, and happy Monday! The holidays are coming up quickly, and a lot has to happen before then. Here’s what you need to know this week:
First, the Holiday Schedule: MBA offices will close on Friday, Dec. 23 at 5:00 p.m. ET and will remain closed throughout the holidays, reopening on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.
MBA NewsLink will not publish from Monday, Dec. 26 through Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, returning on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. MBA Servicing NewsLink will not publish on Tuesday, Dec. 27; MBA Commercial Multifamily NewsLink will not publish on Thursday, Dec. 29.
On behalf of MBA officers and staff, have a safe and happy holiday season.
Second, the Fed. The Federal Open Market Committee holds its final policy meeting of 2022 this Tuesday, Dec. 13, and Wednesday, Dec. 14.
The Fed has raised the federal funds rate six times since March, the past four times by 75 basis points each. The federal funds rate now stands at 3.75-4.00 percent, its highest level since 2008.
Consensus among economists and pundits suggest the rate hikes will continue Wednesday, perhaps by 50 basis points this time instead of 75 basis points. MBA NewsLink will provide coverage in the Thursday, Dec. 15 edition, with commentary and analysis from MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.
Third MBA Reports. MBA releases its Weekly Applications Survey this Wednesday, Dec. 14, with commentary and analysis from MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan.
Looking ahead, MBA will release its monthly Loan Monitoring Survey on Monday, Dec. 19; its monthly Builder Applications Survey on Tuesday, Dec. 20; its final Weekly Applications Survey of the year on Wednesday, Dec. 21; and its monthly Purchase Applications Payment Index on Thursday, Dec. 22.
Fourth, Other Economic Reports. Here’s this week’s other economic/housing reports; those MBA NewsLink will cover are in italics:
Monday: (no reports)
Tuesday: Consumer Price Index
Wednesday: MBA Weekly Applications Survey; Federal Open Market Committee statement; Imports/Exports
Thursday: Advance Retail Sales; Empire State Manufacturing Survey; Initial Claims; Industrial Production/Capacity Utilization; Business Inventories
Friday: (no reports)
Fifth, Congress. As the 117th Congress hurtles toward its final adjournment (both the House and Senate scheduled to adjourn Dec. 22), we at least know how the 118th Congress will shape up, with a 49-49-2 Senate, thanks to Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who defended his seat in a runoff election last week against Herschel Walker; and Sen. Kyrsten Simena, who announced her switch from Democrat to independent; she joins Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as the Senate’s independents, although both are expected to generally support Democratic Party legislation.
The House and Senate intend to adjourn this week; that depends on their ability to agree on final acts of legislation–specifically, whether to attempt to pass a fiscal year omnibus spending bill, or, lacking the votes to do that, pass (another) stop-gap spending bill to keep the federal government running through the holidays and leave the heavy lifting for the 118th Congress.
For more information about the House and Senate, visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov, respectively. For more information about upcoming hearings in the Senate Banking Committee, click https://www.banking.senate.gov/hearings. For more information about upcoming hearings in the House Financial Services Committee, click https://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/?EventTypeID=577&Congress=117.
Sixth, MBA Conferences. Here’s a list of upcoming MBA conferences:
Jan. 23-26, 2023: MBA Independent Mortgage Bankers Conference, Coronado, Calif. For more information, click here.
Feb. 12-15, 2023: CREF 2023, San Diego. For more information, click here.
Feb. 21-24, 2023: MBA Servicing Solutions Conference & Expo, Orlando. For more information, click here.
Apr. 17-18, 2023: MBA State & Local Workshop, Washington, D.C. For more information, click here.
Apr. 18-19, 2023: MBA National Advocacy Conference, Washington, D.C. Fore more information, click here.
May 9-12, 2023: MBA Commercial/Multifamily Housing Servicing and Technology Conference, Chicago. For more information, click here.
May 21-24, 2023: MBA Secondary and Capital Markets Conference & Expo, New York. For more information, click here.
For more information, click the links above or visit https://www.mba.org/conferences-and-education/conferences-and-meetings.
For the most up-to-date information regarding legislative activity at the state and local level, visit the MBA State Legislative Database here.
For information about MBA Education events, visit http://www.mbaeducation.org.
For information about the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America (NAMMBA), visit https://www.nammba.org/.
Enjoy the week!
