The Week Ahead—July 26, 2021: 6 Things to Look For
Good morning! Welcome to the busy, busy last week of July. Here are six things to look for this week:
First, the Fed. The Federal Open Market Committee meets this Tuesday, July 27 and Wednesday, July 28. With inflation rearing its head; a sharp increase in the Delta variant of the coronavirus and pressure to ease its bond-buying program, the Fed has a lot more on its plate than a decision whether to raise the federal funds rate (consensus: it won’t).
The FOMC will issue its policy statement at 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday; Mortgage Bankers Association Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni will provide analysis of the FOMC statement in the Thursday, July 28 edition of MBA NewsLink.
Second, the Mortgage Bankers Association. MBA has another busy week with reports and an important deadline coming up. The MBA weekly Forbearance & Call Volume Survey comes out this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. ET. The survey has shown drops in loans in forbearance for 20 consecutive weeks and has showed loans in forbearance at under 4 percent for the past month. MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni will provide analysis and commentary in Tuesday’s MBA NewsLink.
MBA also releases its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey this Wednesday, July 28, with analysis and commentary from MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan.
Third, Congress. The House and Senate are trying—really hard—to finish up business this week so that it can take its “traditional” August recess (or, as Congress likes to call it, “District Work Period”). Standing in the way: a number of fiscal 2021 appropriations bills and a hybrid infrastructure bill that remains in serious—and somewhat acrimonious—negotiations in the Senate.
Some 20 senators are involved in negotiation, which could make or break the package. The cat-herding is being led by Sens. Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio. And MBA is making sure that as negotiations continue, it and its members are being heard: on Thursday, MBA and more than two dozen trade groups sent a July 22 letter to Sinema and Portman urging them to ensure that g-fees would not be used as funding offsets. (For more on this, see the article in today’s NewsLink.)
Fourth, House and Senate Committees, which have another solid week of hearings. On Tuesday, July 27, the Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on “Cryptocurrencies: What are They Good For?”
Slated to testify: Angela Walch, Professor of Law, St. Mary’s University School of Law and Research Associate with the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies; Jerry Brito, Executive Director of the Coin Center; and Marta Belcher, Chair of the Filecoin Foundation.
The hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. ET Dirksen Senate Office Building 538 and can be accessed online here.
Also on Tuesday, July 27, the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy holds a hearing on “Protecting Student Loan Borrowers and the Economy in Upcoming Transitions.”
Witnesses include Randi Weingarten, President of thte American Federation of Teachers; and Letitia James, Attorney General for the State of New York. The hearing begins at 3:00 p.m. ET in 538 Dirksen and can be accessed online here.
On the House side, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy holds a hearing on “The Promises and Perils of Central Bank Digital Currencies.”
Slated to testify: Julia Coronado, President and Founder, Macro Policy Perspectives; Yaya Fanusie, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Energy, Economics and Security Program, Center for a New American Security; Julia Friedlander, C. Boyden Gray Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Atlantic Council; Andrew Levin, Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College; and Robert M. Baldwin, Head of Policy, Association for Digital Asset Markets
The hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. ET in 2128 Rayburn House Office Building and can be accessed online here.
On Wednesday, July 28, the full House Financial Services Committee holds a markup session of pending legislation. The session begins at 10:00 a.m. ET in 2128 Rayburn and can be accessed online here.
Also this week, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis holds a hearing on Tuesday, July 27 on “Oversight of Pandemic Evictions: Assessing Abuses by Corporate Landlords and Federal Efforts to Keep Americans in Their Homes.” The hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. ET and can be accessed online here.
Fifth, economists and statisticians. The last week of the month is always chock full of reports and this week is no exception. On Monday, in addition to the MBA Forbearance and Call Volume report, HUD and the Census Bureau release its June New Residential Sales Report and the Dallas Fed releases its monthly Manufacturing Survey.
Tuesday sees the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices; Consumer Confidence, Advance Durable Goods and the Richmond Fed Survey. Thursday sees the first report on 2nd Quarter Gross Domestic Product; Initial Claims; and the NAR Pending Home Sales Index. And Friday wraps up with the Employment Cost Index; Personal Income and the PCE Deflator; and the University of Michigan Consumer Survey (Final).
And Sixth, the upcoming MBA Annual Convention & Expo. Early registration deadline for the Convention & Expo is Aug. 1.
The MBA Annual Convention & Expo takes place Oct. 17-20 at the San Diego Convention Center. Keynote speakers include New York Times best-selling authors Malcolm Gladwell and Brad Meltzer; and Academy Award- and Presidential Medal of Freedom Award-winning actress Rita Moreno.
Gladwell, whose newest book, The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War, was inspired by the four-part series about General Curtis LeMay on his podcast “Revisionist History.” In it, Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history. Gladwell will discuss his book with MBA Chair-Elect Kristy Fercho on Tuesday, June 19.
Meltzer uses his trademark storytelling to emphasize the importance of knowing what really matters in your life. While saving the house where Superman was created, Meltzer started a quest to find out what his legacy might be. His funny, inspiring, and entertaining story will never let you look at your own life the same way again. Weaving together the historical stories of Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart and even Superman, Meltzer helps you reevaluate what’s truly important: family, friends and those whole lives you touch by making an impact in your workplace. Meltzer will speak on Tuesday, June 19.
Moreno is among just a handful of entertainers who have completed the “EGOT:” winning an Emmy (twice), a Grammy, an Oscar (for West Side Story) and a Tony Award. Her countless credits span more than seven decades, beginning with her Broadway debut at age 13. She has starred on Broadway and London’s West End, appeared in more than 40 feature films and countless television shows. And like Gladwell, she is a New York Times best-selling author with her first book, Rita Moreno: A Memoir, published by Celebra Books. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush and the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. Moreno will keynote the mPower Luncheon on Tuesday, June 19.
The MBA Annual Convention & Expo is largest annual gathering of real estate finance professionals, this is the one event you need to gain access to the industry’s power players and innovators.
Be inspired and get informed by engaging speakers on the Main Stage; meet with hundreds of exhibitors in THE HUB and get hands-on access to the latest products and services; dive deep into Breakout Sessions to get the insight you need on all the facets of the business; connect with industry peers through unparalleled networking opportunities; Leave with actionable takeaways for future success.
For more information and to register for MBA ANNUAL 21, click here.
For information about other upcoming MBA conferences, click here.
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!
