VABS News and Press, Virtus Newfleet ABS/MBS ETF From 03/13/23

2023-03-13 05:00:00 ET Summary Some of the issues at SVB are shared by almost all banks. Most local banks hold loans to maturity so they are carrying them at cost. Stocks fell early in the week as short-term rates rose and another rate hike was priced in based on Powell’...

2023-03-08 10:37:00 ET Summary When analysing the business cycle, there are few sectors and areas within the economy of more importance and influence than the housing market. Housing is both a cyclical and interest rates sensitive market. Thus, at the heart of the housing market l...

2023-03-07 14:00:00 ET Summary U.S. Agency Mortgages slumped after a promising start to the new year, as rising Vols detracted from embedded call structures like MBS. MBS issuance has taken a nosedive the past year plus, as rising rates, falling refinances and limited repeat busin...

2023-03-07 12:11:00 ET Summary In Europe, the UK, and Canada, most mortgages are floating rate or coming up for renewal over the next couple of years. The Bank of Canada saw the housing downturn underway when it paused its rate hiking cycle in December at 4.5%. As Treasury bon...

2023-03-07 11:49:00 ET Summary The relative affordability of the typical new home sold in the U.S. improved in January 2023. Looking forward, we already know mortgage rates averaged close to the same in February 2023 as they did in January. March 2023 however may present a ver...

Summary The duration of the Fed’s mortgage-backed portfolio has lengthened enormously since the positions were originally acquired by the Fed. Those mortgages are at very low interest rates; hence, the recent rise in rates means the amount of refinancing has dropped to minimal le...

Summary Why the U.S. economy continues to display polyurethane-like flexibility and resilience, despite encountering extraordinary shocks. How portfolios can also be built with flexibility and resilience in mind. Why high-quality fixed income assets are today a critical component of...

Summary One of the phrases making the rounds among the financial media chatterboxes this week has been “no landing”. The macro news has indeed given some cause for cheer relative to some of the more dour scenarios we’ve been looking at in the past few months. Wh...

Summary The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment added a stronger-than-expected 1.5 points to January’s strong gain to reach 66.4, the highest reading since January 2022. Beijing lashed out at President Joe Biden for saying Chinese leader Xi Jinping faces ‘enormous pr...

Summary Lower coupons provided the fuel to tightening while production coupons battled supply to a standoff. The market is still coming off the historic and Fed-induced lower interest rates sparked by COVID measures. While the U.S. housing industry faces headwinds, so do those who'v...