Looks Like Floating Was A Good Idea (part 2)

With the LEI (leading economic indicators) report and Philly Fed Survey yet to be released this morning, it is still too early to say definitively, but MBS look to improve again today on worse than expected economic data.

The Jobless Claims number was released this morning at 378,000, reasonably higher than the consensus at 360,000.  CNBC notes that the four week moving average for the report now stands at 365,250, which is the highest it's been since the post-Hurricane-Catrina time period in late 2005. Weak employment data is yet another fan in the cheering section for a recession, which is growing quite large.  In general, recessionary data tends to support higher MBS prices and thus lower rates. 

If the LEI and Philly Fed numbers are also at or below expectations, MBS should continue to hold their gains barring any headline shockers.  Bloomberg notes in their "last minute survey" that analysts are expecting these numbers to be weak.

I'll be back with an update after those reports are released.  As of now (9AM Eastern), here are the MBS prices: