MBS MID-DAY: Conservatively Inside Yesterday's Range Ahead of FOMC

I'm not sure why anyone is writing article headlines that reference the approaching Fed announcement.  Does the Fed even matter right now?  Or perhaps a better question would be: does the Fed matter enough to be the focal point in headlines?

No, not really.  It's getting the play time for two reasons though.  First, it's a force of habit.  No event has as much market moving potential over time.  So it's hard to mentally adjust to new realities--let alone trust that they'll continue to hold true. 

More importantly, there's not much else going on today.  There is no meaningful domestic data.  And the meaningful events from the overnight session have come and gone.  Incidentally, those resulted in a record low close for German Bund yields (0.354).  That European market momentum (strong bonds and weak stocks) was the biggest motivator for Treasuries.  Things have been even more sideways and range-bound since Europe closed.   In that sense, we really are waiting on the Fed.