Introducing The RateWatch!
 Capital Pacific is pleased to introduce The RateWatch, a weekly blog entry on the Capital Markets. The commentary is provided by William Brizendine of Melody Capital Markets. We hope The RateWatch will provide you with valuable insight into the Federal Reserve, treasury yields, and the overall real estate lending environmentThe RateWatch The markets, both debt and equity, rallied late last week on news that the rate of growth in the economy slowed last quarter. During the second quarter, the economy grew at a modest annual rate of 2.5%, down sharply from the 5.6% annualized rate during the first quarter of the year. The markets celebrated in the hope that these figures would encourage the Fed to stop raising interest rates. The Dow gained 119 on Friday and was up 3.2% for the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.99%, down 5 bps week-to-week to close below 5% for the first time in over a month. So, next week when the Fed meets, will they focus on slowing growth or will they be able to find in inflation or employment figures the cover they need to continue their two-year assault on interest rates? We are betting on the latter. |