In an effort to offer a more transparent alternative to U.S. dollar Libor, the New York Federal Reserve released its first Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Tuesday. SOFR opened at 1.80. Considerably lower than either the ICE Libor 1 month or 3 month rates. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) is a broad measure of […]
My Kuroda! Not a Single Japanese 10-Year Bond Traded Tuesday…
The Bank of Japan has vacuumed up so much of the government bond market — in excess of 40 percent — that it’s left fewer securities for others to buy and sell. Some other buyers, such as pension funds and life insurers, also tend to follow buy-and-hold strategies. That’s the backdrop to Tuesday’s session, when […]
An Accomplishment! House Passes Good Flood-Insurance Reform…
It wasn’t easy, but House Republicans, who battled through the summer and fall against members of their own party, finally managed to negotiate bipartisan passage of flood insurance reform last week. To secure sufficient buy-in from coastal Republicans, key concessions were made, but the final product was worth the compromise. “Everything is a compromise in […]
HUD Poised to End Obama’s Illegal Section 8 Housing Grant Scheme…
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is poised to reverse the Obama administration’s policy and return to a competitive bidding process to award Section 8 housing, according to a well-placed source in the department. The move would overturn the Obama-era methodology of using a grant-style process that was rebuked by administrators and…