Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Trouble in Greece...Again?

Mortgage bond prices remain higher mid-morning Wednesday adding to the gains seen Tuesday afternoon. Rates are finding support from weak stocks.

In news released this morning, new home sales stood at 343K vs. the expected 339K. That data was near expectations and had little effect on trade.

Traders will spend the day watching headline news and stocks as they wait for the results of the Treasury auction this afternoon. The Treasury will auction $35B of 5-year notes with results by 1:15 pm ET. Lets hope the 5’s go as well as the 2’s did yesterday. At the 10:00 am ET price point the Dow was down 66-points.

Europe: Global equity markets took a tumble after former Greek premier Lucas Papademos said it was possible that preparations were being made for Greece's exit from the euro. He spoke of the catastrophic consequences to both Greece and Europe should Greece either decide to leave the euro zone or be kicked out. His comments only confirm what others in the business world have been saying for months. Following the previous election in May, Greece was unable to form a collation government and will hold another election on June 17th. Here is the rub, if the anti-austerity groups win more seats in June, which currently appears likely, this would only further inflame the issue.

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