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[ad_1] The Indian rupee is expected to appreciate on Wednesday amid a soft dollar and rise in risk appetite in the global markets. Meanwhile, investors will remain vigilant ahead of US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech. “Additionally, capital outflows due to sustained selling by FPI’s will hurt the rupee. Market participants fear that support for European ban on Russian oil is growing inside the bloc, raising the possibility of volatility in crude oil prices,” said ICICI Direct. In the previous session, rupee pared its initial losses to settle flat at 76.18 against the greenback, tracking a positive trend in domestic equities. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened sharply lower at 76.39 against the American currency. However, it recovered all its losses to closed at 76.18. Heena Naik- Research Analyst – Currency, Angel One “On 22 March, USDINR made a gap up opening at 76.42 levels from its previous closing of 76.11 after the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled a willingness to raise rates more aggressively to combat inflation. However, soon the local unit turned positive on account of suspected IPO-related inflows into the system. In the upcoming session, the Indian Rupee is likely to continue with its positive trend towards 75.80 levels on expectations of more inflows coming in along with possible dollar selling by IT companies on account of year-end closing.” Anindya Banerjee, VP, Currency Derivatives & Interest Rate Derivatives at Kotak Securities “USDINR spot closed 6 paise higher at 76.17, after a volatile session. A sharp run up in oil prices in the morning, coupled with spike in US yields caused USDINR to aim for the resistance level of 76.50. However, selling from exporters and PSUs pulled the pair back below 76.20 on spot. As oil prices reversed , equity markets rallied. This added further pressure on the USDINR. Over the near term, we expect USDINR to trade within a range of 75.80 and 76.50.” Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services “Rupee fell in the first half of the session but rose in the latter half as global crude oil prices retraced from higher levels. In the last couple of sessions, reaction for the rupee has been led by how crude and dollar have been moving. Weakness in the rupee was seen on expectation of higher inflation going ahead on back of high energy cost. Early in the week, comments from the Fed Chairman boosted the dollar as he opened doors for raising interest rates by more than 25 basis points at upcoming policy meetings in order to combat inflation. But yesterday most of the gains faded after and a rise in equities markets help boost risk-on sentiment. Today, market participants will be keeping an eye on the inflation number that will be released from the UK and also Fed and BoE governors comments and that is likely to trigger volatility for major crosses. We expect the USDINR(Spot) to trade with a positive bias and quote in the range of 75.80 and 76.50.” (The recommendations in this story are by the respective research analysts and brokerage firms. Financial Express Online does not bear any responsibility for their investment advice. Capital markets investments are subject to rules and regulations. Please consult your investment advisor before investing.) [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] A little less than Rs 1 out of every Rs 5 spent by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in 2022-23 goes towards debt servicing, a parliamentary standing committee report, presented to the Rajya Sabha earlier this month, revealed. NHAI had around Rs 3.4-trillion debt as on November 2021. According to the estimates of the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) presented to the committee, headed by TG Venkatesh, NHAI has to spend Rs 31,049 crore on servicing debt in 2022-23 and Rs 31,735 crore in 2023-24. The debt servicing cost would fall to Rs 30,601 crore in 2024-25 before rising again to Rs 37,732 crore in 2025-26. In 2021-22, NHAI is likely to spend Rs 40,337 crore on debt servicing. Both in FY21 and FY22, NHAI borrowed Rs 65,000 crore each. The decline in debt servicing obligation in 2022-23 over the current fiscal is also because the government has nullified the authority’s need to resort to borrowing in 2022-23 by providing all Rs 1.41-trillion allocation to it through budgetary outlay. The committee has asked MoRTH to apprise it of the “reason for increase in the (debt servicing) amount that is estimated by the ministry to be spent on servicing NHAI debts during FY25-26”. In its written reply to the committee, MoRTH has projected NHAI’s FY23 expenditure at Rs 1.72 trillion of which about Rs 1.41 trillion is expected to be met from the budgetary outlay and the balance Rs 30,000-crore fund requirement is to be met by raising funds through other sources like special purpose vehicle (SPV), infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), etc. NHAI will use the fund for meeting project expenses, including costs for pre-construction activities, debt servicing repayment obligations, etc, the committee was informed. NHAI’s cumulative debt kept on piling to stand at Rs 44,567 crore at the end of 2015-16 and rose to Rs 77,742 crore in 2016-17, Rs 1.22 trillion in 2017-18, Rs 1.79 trillion in 2018-19. At the end of FY21, NHAI had Rs 3.17-trillion debt. The rise in the debt level is mainly because of the continuous spike in highway construction. From 2,588 km in 2016-17, NHAI’s construction rose to 4,218 km highway in 2020-21. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Mortgage rates, rates New York-based Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. (MIAC) is in the market with two whole-loan offerings of nonperforming Ginnie Mae-insured mortgages that combined are valued at more than $1.2 billion. The two deals involve nonperforming loans that are eligible for early buyouts (EBOs) from Ginnie Mae loan pools. The largest of the two EBO whole-loan offerings is valued at $1.1 billion. The second is a much smaller deal valued at $126.8 million.  The seller is not identified for either deal. For all of 2021, MIAC oversaw five EBO whole loan sales valued in total at $690.4 million, according to its website deal listings. “The mindset is that … there’s not much else out there to buy right now,” said Brendan Teeley, senior vice president of whole loan sales and trading for MIAC’s Capital Markets Group. “And given it’s Ginnie Mae, there’s a great deal of confidence that you will get paid [because the underlying loans are insured], so on a risk-weighted basis, it’s a great asset.” Ginnie Mae makes it possible for lenders to originate qualifying mortgages that they can then securitize through the government-sponsored agency. Ginnie, however, guarantees only the principal and interest payments to purchasers of its bonds, which are sold worldwide.  The underlying loans carry guarantees, or a mortgage insurance certification, from the housing agencies approving the loans — which include single-family mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Teeley added that the two loan-sale deals in the pipeline in March at MIAC may be among the last to benefit from what has been a relatively good pricing market for EBO-eligible whole loan sales.  “Historically, these [EBO nonperforming whole loan deals] have priced around mid-80s price, and there’s certainly been an uptick to the 90s [as a percentage of par] in the last year,” Teeley explained. ”In the last six or eight months, [however,] pricing has centered around par — meaning 100% of the estimated principal balance plus MSR advances.” But that’s changing now, as the effect of sharp interest-rate jumps takes some air out of the EBO balloon.  “… We think we’re at the end of the trade at these [pricing] levels,” Teeley added. “Pricing [on EBO loans] has already crept down to the high 90s [as a percent of par]. “… It’s really opportunistic for sellers [now] to be able to get out with a minimal haircut and get away from the [servicing] advances, and get away from the liability and servicing.” Under Ginnie’s EBO program, a nonperforming mortgage can be acquired at par by a lender once it’s 90 days past due. If the lender can get it to reperform, typically via a modification to the terms, and it stays current for six consecutive months, the loan is eligible to be re-securitized as part of a new Ginnie Mae loan pool.  “The benefit of this [EBO early buyout program] is that a [lender after purchasing the loan] immediately stops advancing the principal and interest each month,” explained Tom Piercy, managing director of Denver-based Incenter Mortgage Advisors.  Piercy added that an EBO-eligible nonperforming loan that is eventually reissued into a new Ginnie security can potentially return a comfortable profit. In the current fast rising-rate environment, however, where mortgage rates are up by at least a point since November of last year, the pricing dynamics in the EBO market have changed, according to Teeley.  He stressed that each deal is unique, however, and pricing can vary depending on the circumstances and the parties involved. Still, the larger interest-rate dynamics now in play are creating price pressures in the market.  “If you’re a buyer, your thought train is I can resolve this asset [a nonperforming EBO-eligible loan] better than they can [the seller], and I can do it more efficiently,” Teeley said. “But with the rising rates, there’s not much you can do in the way of a modification [on the lower-rate loans now in the pipeline] that you can deliver at a premium that also benefits the borrower. “The economics just aren’t there [in some cases]. If something’s worth 95 cents [on the dollar] … then you [as a buyer] can’t pay par and have it work out.” From the loan seller’s point of view, however, according to Teeley, “They may decide it’s worth selling [the loan] for a 5-point discount [95% of par] versus keeping the asset on the books languishing for a couple years.”  There also is another benefit to weeding nonperforming EBO-eligible loans from the books, Teeley said, even if it means selling those mortgages at a slight discount. “A lot of these EBO [whole loan] sales are done in preparation for an MSR [mortgage servicing rights] sale, to clear up the books,” Teeley said. “If you can get rid of your most delinquent and less-desirable loans, then your MSR pool is better quality. …I know we have had past Ginnie Mae loan sales that were predicated by a need to clean up the MSR books for MSR sales.” A rising-rate environment also tends to increase the value of MSRs, which represent a small slice of the interest rate on a mortgage. As rates rise, mortgage-prepayment speeds via refinancing decrease, which expands the timeframe for MSR cash flows. So, the MSR market is hot right now. For example, Piercy said his firm completed a dozen transactions in January involving agency MSR loan pools with a combined value of $113.2 billion, which is close to what Incenter historically has sold in an entire year. As of late February, Incenter had put out to bid at least two additional MSR deals with a combined value of $24 billion, Piercy added, and had another $40 billion worth of MSR deals in the pipeline.  “We have not seen rates this high since May 2019,” Piercy said. “As such, we begin to see prepayment curves adjust…. This impacts origination volume negatively but provides for substantial pickup in value of the MSR asset across all vintages.” MIAC, for its part, so far in March is marketing

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[ad_1] Azores on watch for large quake, eruption as island keeps shaking [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Unemployment rate in urban India, in current weekly status (CWS), for all ages stood at 9.8% in the second quarter of current fiscal, lower than 12.7% prevailing in the first quarter, but 40 basis points higher than 9.4% prevailed in the January-March quarter of the last fiscal. Urban unemployment rate was 20.9% in the April-June 2020 period when the first wave of the pandemic hit the country hard. The latest available results of the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), conducted by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI), also showed that 22.5% of urban youth in the 15-29 years age group remained unemployed during the July-September period of current fiscal, lower than 27.7% in the year-ago quarter. As per the PLFS yardsticks, the activity status of a person is determined on the basis of reference period of last seven days preceding the date of survey, as his/her CWS. Unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of the unemployed persons in the labour force. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which provides more frequent insights into the employment-unemployment scenario, the urban joblessness rate was 8.32% in July, 9.78% in August and 8.64% in September 2021. The rate stood at 7.37% in October, 8.2% in November, 9.3% in December, 8.16% in January and 7.55% in February this year. PLFS data comes with a lag. During the July-September 2021 period, unemployment for urban males for all ages was 9.3%. It was 11.6% for their female counterparts. At 18.2%, urban Kerala had the highest unemployment rate among all states. Labour force participation rate, which is defined as the percentage of population in the labour force for all age group during the July-September 2021 period, was 37%, same as that of the corresponding period last year. It was 37.1% during the April-June period of the current fiscal. As per the latest quarterly PLFS report, the unemployment rate was the highest at 27% for urban females in the 15-29 age group. The quarterly PLFS, which is limited to urban areas, is different from annual PLFS report. Annual PLFS covers both urban and rural areas and gives estimates of labour force indicators both in CWS and usual status (US) method. The US method records only those persons as unemployed who had no gainful work for a major time during 365 days preceding the date of survey and were seeking or available for work. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] On the heels of completing its first credit insurance risk transfer (CIRT) deal of the year in early March, Fannie Mae has announced that it has executed two additional CIRT deals.  The newest deals, CIRT 2022-2 and CIRT 2022-3, together transferred $1.8 billion of mortgage credit risk to private insurers and reinsurers.  “We appreciate our continued partnership with the 25 insurers and reinsurers that have committed to write coverage for these two deals,” said Rob Schaefer, Fannie Mae’s vice president for capital markets.  The initial deal of 2022, CIRT 2022-1, also transferred millions of dollars of credit risk to a group of private insurers and reinsurers. That credit risk is tied to a $26.1 billion reference pool of single-family mortgages.  As part of that initial deal, Fannie Mae will retain risk for the first 25 basis points of any loss on the $26.1 billion reference loan pool. If that $65.3 million retention layer is tapped, then the 22 insurers and reinsurers will cover the next 295 basis point of loss on the pool, up to $770.7 million.  CIRT offerings 2 and 3 work similarly. The covered loan pool for CIRT 2022-2 consists of some 87,400 single-family mortgage loans with an outstanding unpaid principal balance of $26.5 billion. The covered loan pool for CIRT 2022-3 involves 76,600 single-family mortgage loans with an outstanding unpaid principal balance of $23.3 billion.  With CIRT 2022-2, Fannie Mae will retain risk for the first 25 basis points of loss on the $26.5 billion covered loan pool, representing a $66.3 million retention layer. If that layer is exhausted, then the 22 insurers and reinsurers that are part of the CIRT deal will cover the next 335 basis points of loss on the pool — up to a maximum coverage of about $889 million.  With CIRT 2022-3, Fannie Mae will retain risk for the first 65 basis points of loss on the $23.3 billion covered loan pool. If that $151.6 million retention layer is used up, then the 23 insurers and reinsurers that are part of the deal will cover the next 385 basis points of loss — up to a maximum coverage of some $898 million. The coverage terms for the latest CIRT deals, like the initial deal of 2022, are based on actual losses for a term of 12.5 years. Fannie Mae can cancel the coverage on each deal after five years by paying a cancellation fee. “Since inception to date, Fannie Mae has acquired approximately $17.6 billion of insurance coverage on $612 billion of single-family loans through the CIRT program,” Fannie Mae said in a statement announcing the new CIRT transactions. In addition, Fannie Mae also is transferring mortgage credit risk to the private market through its separate Connecticut Avenue Securities (CAS) real estate mortgage investment conduit, or REMIC, program. It’s most recent credit-risk transfer (CRT) transaction via the CAS program — and third of the year — was a $1.24 billion note offering backed by a reference loan pool of 150,395 primarily single-family mortgages valued at $44.4 billion. With the completion of that third CRT transaction unveiled in March, called CAS Series 2022-R03, Fannie Mae will have brought a total of 47 CAS deals to market and issued over $53 billion in notes since its initial offering in 2013. Through the CAS program, the agency has transferred a portion of the credit risk to private investors on some $1.7 trillion in single-family mortgage loans, as measured at the time of the transaction.  The post Fannie Mae finalizes two additional credit insurance risk transfers appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] The post Sites Like MTurk to Explore appeared first on Millennial Money. Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a popular crowdsourcing website that businesses use to outsource tasks. MTurk — which operates as part of Amazon Web Services (AWS) — will pay you for completing a wide variety of small jobs. Some examples include tagging objects in images to improve search and advertising targeting, helping companies select the best pictures for online advertisements, and classifying objects in satellite imagery, among other things.  On MTurk, requesters can choose how much they want to pay. The average pay for MTurk is $11 per hour. However, some jobs pay far less — so make sure to figure out how much a gig pays before signing up. While MTurk is a popular destination for side hustlers, there are many other sites to explore if you’re looking to make money online. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best MTurk alternatives to explore. Table of contents Best MTurk Alternatives for 2022  Clickworker  Microworkers RapidWorkers  Swagbucks  InboxDollars Crowdtap TaskRabbit Craigslist  OneSpace Upwork  Fiverr Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel i-Say Surveytime ShortTask Designhill Appen JobBoy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What are micro jobs? Can you make good money working micro jobs? What is Skrill? The Bottom Line Best MTurk Alternatives for 2022  Clickworker  Clickworker is an app that lets you earn extra money for doing random small tasks.  For example, you can use Clickworker to make money writing product descriptions, categorizing website data, editing and proofreading, researching, taking surveys, and testing apps, to name just a few examples.  To get started, create an account at Clickworker.com and complete the short assessments. If you pass, you’ll receive access to immediate paying opportunities. The company pays out on a weekly and monthly basis.  The app also provides 24/7 support from the Clickworker community if you run into any trouble. Microworkers Microworkers is another crowdsourcing site where you can make money completing small tasks like data tagging, data mining, transcription, comparing content, and taking surveys.  The site makes it very easy to understand what a job entails before you start. Each task displays a set of instructions, the time necessary to complete it, and the amount you get for finishing the job. By completing small tasks, you can boost your satisfaction rating and get more jobs. Once you reach the company’s minimum withdrawal amount of $9, you can request payment with a Skrill, Dwolla, or PayPal account.  RapidWorkers  RapidWorkers is a micro jobs platform that connects businesses with remote workers.  To start, register for RapidWorkers and browse the list of open jobs. When you see one that looks good, simply sign up and complete the simple task. For example, the site might ask you to upload photos to a site, fill out a form, or follow someone on social media.  After you complete a task, submit proof of the work and the company will issue payment. Once you collect $8 worth of earnings, you can cash out and receive money via PayPal. Swagbucks  Swagbucks is the granddaddy of survey sites. It offers the opportunity to make money by completing simple tasks like watching videos, taking surveys, playing games, searching the internet, and participating in focus groups. The company also offers cashback rewards for online shopping. When working with Swagbucks, you can collect either gift cards or PayPal rewards. The site lets you withdraw your earnings once you rack up at least $25. Swagbucks Swagbucks is a legit money-making app where you can make money taking surveys, watching videos, playing games, and more. Sign Up ($20 Bonus) InboxDollars InboxDollars is very similar to Swagbucks. In fact, it’s owned by the same market research company (Prodege).  The platform offers access to paid tasks like watching videos and taking online surveys. You can also earn cash back by shopping at partner retailers.  InboxDollars is a legit survey site that pays in actual cash instead of points or gift cards. However, the minimum payout of $30 is a bit higher than Swagbucks, which is something to keep in mind as it will most likely take a few weeks to build up to that amount. InboxDollars With InboxDollars, you take surveys, earn cash, it’s that simple, you can even earn to watch tv! Sign Up ($20 Bonus) Crowdtap Crowdtap is a market research portal that rewards members for answering surveys, testing products, and participating in online discussions. The site issues points for completing tasks, which can be redeemed for gift cards to leading online retailers.  Most tasks on Crowdtap don’t take long to complete, and they are very simple to perform. The site is also very easy to navigate. Crowdtap lets you cash out once you collect at least 1,000 points. TaskRabbit TaskRabbit is perfect for people who like doing physical jobs. By signing up for TaskRabbit, you can make money as a Tasker by taking on local assignments — like painting, repairing fences, raking leaves, and shoveling snow. Unlike most other online job sites, TaskRabbit brings you out into the real world. So if you like getting out and interacting with people face-to-face, this site is worth looking into. The amount you make on TaskRabbit varies depending on the job. Once you complete a task, the client has to approve the work. When that happens, the payment goes through TaskRabbit. To cash out, you can use PayPal or request a check from TaskRabbit.  When you do a good job, you’ll earn positive ratings, making it easier to land future gigs.  Best of all, TaskRabbit doesn’t charge any fees to Taskers.  TaskRabbit $25 to register in some cities Find local jobs that fit your skills and schedule. With TaskRabbit, you have the freedom and support to be your own boss. Get Started Craigslist  Craigslist is another excellent option for finding micro tasks. People post all kinds of jobs on this online marketplace, ranging from freelance graphic design to helping with yard work.  As a public message board, you’ll have