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[ad_1] The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) proposed some key changes to requirements for single-family seller servicers that do business with the enterprises. The changes would see tangible net worth requirements set higher for Ginnie Mae servicers than for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicers. For all non-depositories, the minimum capital ratio would increase to 9% from 6%. The proposed changes would take effect for current and new servicers starting December 2022. The FHFA would also eliminate the non-performing loan charge, which industry stakeholders had complained was procyclical, the agency wrote. The charge currently assesses a 200 basis point charge after the share of a servicer’s non-performing loans goes over 6%. But the FHFA’s proposed requirements contain some tradeoffs. The agency would also tack on a 200 basis point charge on the hedging position for all servicers. The charge would counteract the risk of “significant price spikes” that could trigger margin calls, which the FHFA said it observed in March 2020. Servicers with loans backed by Ginnie Mae, which guarantees loans made by the Federal Housing Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs will have to add 35 basis points to their tangible net worth. For servicers with government-sponsored enterprise-backed loans, the tangible net worth requirement will stay at 25 basis points. The proposed differentiation between Ginnie Mae servicers and GSE servicers could be consequential for some servicers, especially non-depository servicers who are focused on the Ginnie Mae market. “If they weren’t reserving appropriately at those levels, this could be a shock,” said Dave Stevens, CEO of Mountain Lake Consulting. For both buckets of servicers, deferred tax assets will no longer count toward tangible net worth. The different requirements for Ginnie Mae versus Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicers follows from the different risk profiles of their portfolios, as well as the terms of the guarantee they provide to investors. Defaults are more expensive for Ginnie Mae servicers. If a Ginnie Mae borrower defaults, a servicer still has to make full principal and interest payments, until the loan re-performs or is taken out of the pool, whereas GSE servicers are typically obligated to remit only what the borrower paid. FHFA differentiates between these different types of remittance in the proposed liquidity requirements. The lowest minimum liquidity requirement — for those servicers who are only obligated to pay whatever interest and principal the borrower pays — would be set at 3.5 basis points. For servicers that must make either scheduled or actual principal and interest payments, their minimum liquidity requirement would be seven basis points. Ginnie Mae servicers would have an even higher minimum liquidity requirement of 10 basis points. “The proposed liquidity requirement is calibrated to protect against higher levels of delinquency, thus requiring more upfront base liquidity, and in exchange, removes the incremental NPL charge that has been criticized as being procyclical,” the FHFA wrote. The industry is still gauging what impact the requirements would have. But many stakeholders take the proposal as a sign that FHFA is receptive to industry feedback. Bob Broeksmit, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said that he was pleased that FHFA took industry comments into consideration when drafting the proposal. “This is a critically important framework to get right given the vital role independent mortgage banks (IMBs) play in serving the needs of LMI and minority borrowers,” Broeksmit added. The FHFA also appears to have responded to requests from some corners of the industry, including the small- and medium-sized lender trade group, Community Home Lenders Association, that policies governing small and large lenders be adjusted to fit. “CHLA does appreciate that the requirements would begin to create meaningful financial differences between large and small servicers — something CHLA has long advocated — such as different financial ratios for actual versus scheduled servicing and enhanced requirements for large servicers,” said Scott Olson, executive director of CHLA. Large non-depositories, which the FHFA defines as those with $50 billion or more in total single-family servicing unpaid principal balance, must now ​​establish a liquidity buffer to draw on during times of stress. The liquidity buffer would be two basis points for enterprise-backed loans, and five basis points for Ginnie Mae-guaranteed loans. The regulator and conservator pointed out that the eligibility requirements are not, technically, regulatory requirements. But they are the rules of the road if a seller or servicer wants to do business with either of the GSEs. “The eligibility requirements are not regulatory requirements, and a seller/servicer that does not wish to do business with the Enterprises is not required to meet them,” the FHFA wrote. The post FHFA proposal for seller servicer requirements is mixed bag appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] I had been under budget multiple weeks over the past few months and had been hoping for a week with great deals so I could use some of the extra money I had set aside from being under budget. I was so excited that I found some great deals this past week — perfect to be able to use up that extra money! I was excited about the Post cereal deal and the cheese deal this week! I also found lots and lots of markdowns — including all of these Probiotic drinks marked down to $0.99! Here’s what I ended up getting — for $79 total! These Ground Up snacks were marked down to $0.69 each and are yummy! I was excited to find some meat markdowns! Lunch! I used what I had on hand to make Spaghetti Pies. We hadn’t had this recipe in awhile and I forgot how delicious it was! I bought these marked down and we added chicken to them for dinner one night. And, of course, we had breakfast for dinner one night — waffles and bacon! I used what I had on hand to make a Chicken Tetrazinni of sorts. Instead of cream soup, I made a white sauce. And instead of spaghetti noodles, I used veggie rotini. I layered it all in a pan and baked it. It was so good! I’ve been using marked down spinach I got last week to make Green Smoothies (I’ve been subbing milk instead of yogurt and almond milk). Instead of a salad, I had fried eggs, avocado, cheese, blueberries, and toast today. Yum! [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Biden says Americans should not worry about nuclear war after Russian actions [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] The unhelpful base notwithstanding, headline growth numbers for the gross domestic product (GDP) at 5.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) and gross value-added (GVA) at 4.7% for the December 2021 quarter are a huge disappointment because the economy was expected to gather momentum. A growth at over 6%, which several economists had pencilled in, was always optimistic, but a sub-5.5% print was unexpected. At Rs 38.22 lakh crore—the output in the third quarter—the GDP is smaller than the Rs 38.96 lakh crore reported in Q4FY21. The biggest area of concern is manufacturing, which has remained stagnant in the quarter, despite Q3 being the festive and wedding season. To be sure, the Omicron wave did disrupt businesses and the shortage of key inputs, especially in the automobile sector, would have hit production. Moreover, capacity utilisation levels remain relatively low, at close to 70%. Nonetheless, it is disconcerting that manufacturing has been so subdued for two consecutive quarters. In Q2FY22, it was the smart 4.5% y-o-y growth of the farm sector that had pulled the GDP up. This time around, at 2.6% y-o-y, the performance of agriculture is worrying, even accounting for an adverse base. Although we have seen a bumper foodgrains harvest of 316 million tonnes, the terms of trade have been adverse due to inflation in inputs. The data on rural wages reveals small increases suggesting rural consumption could remain subdued. The big shocker has been construction which actually contracted during the quarter, while heavy rains in some parts of the country would indeed have hampered activity. A contraction during winter suggests not too many projects, including those in the real estate space, are taking off. Much like in the previous quarters of the current fiscal, private consumption which accounts for more than half the economy, has been sluggish. Although, in absolute terms, the private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) of Rs 23.21 lakh crore is higher than in previous quarters, at 7% y-o-y, the growth is very poor considering it comes off an anaemic base of just 0.6% y-o-y in Q3FY21. One had expected consumption would rebound in the festive season, but it appears the pent-up demand may have been satiated, resulting in little additional spending. The other big disappointment is the capital formation where the increase is an anaemic 2% y-o-y. On the back of a negative 0.6% growth y-o-y in Q3FY21, it clearly indicates companies are in no hurry to make investments. The services sector—trade, hotels and transport—has done well to grow at 6% y-o-y even if it has come off a contraction of 10.1% y-o-y. Should this sustain, it augurs well for employment. While the jump in public administration has been a big 16% y-o-y, it appears this was driven by personal services, a segment where the data is prone to revisions. With the data for Q1 and Q2 revised downwards, albeit marginally, it is now a sub-9% growth for FY22. Indeed, the implied growth rate of 4.8% y-o-y for Q4 looks a bit of a stretch since the Omicron wave did hit business activity and consumption, specially in contact-intensive services, in January. Add to that the rising risks from higher crude oil and commodities prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, inflation is bound to hurt consumption given companies have been passing on at least some part of the additional raw material costs to consumers. A realistic forecast for the year, therefore, would be 8.5% rather than 8.9%. Unfortunately, much of this would be driven by the organised sector; a proxy for GVA showed India Inc posted a growth of 13% y-o-y in Q3FY22 while the economy has reported a GVA growth of 4.7% y-o-y. India’s informal sector continues to languish. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] On Friday, the National Association of Realtors released its pending home sales data showing a third month of declines. Even though the recent existing-home sales data has been outperforming my expectations, the pending home sales data to me looks more in line with my expectations for 2022. From NAR: “Pending home sales slumped in January, continuing what is now a three-month drop in transactions, the National Association of Realtors reported. Of the four major U.S. regions, only the West registered an increase in month-over-month contract activity. All four regions posted a decline in year-over-year activity.” Last year, I had a similar theme with pending home sales. My premise was that the pending home sales data should moderate from the surge in make-up demand we saw in 2020 and then spill over into the first two months of 2021. “The rule of thumb I am using for 2021 is that existing home sales if they’re doing good, should be trending between 5.84 million – 6.2 million…This also means that we should have some prints above 6.2 million — like we have had already — and below 5.84 million, which hasn’t happened yet. We ended 2020 with 5.64 million existing home sales, which was only roughly 130,000 more than 2017 levels.” As you can see in the chart below, sales did moderate last year. My 2022 forecast sales range is slightly lower than what I was looking for last year; it’s between 5.74 million and 6.16 million. The recent existing-home sales data at 6.5 million surprised me so much that I believe some of the December closings fell into January, and if you take the two-month average, it looks a bit more like the trend sales data we saw toward the end of 2021. Make no mistake, existing home sales have been outperforming my estimates, with a few sales prints over 6.2 million as mortgage buyers became more active toward the end of the year, which breaks from the seasonal patterns. As you can see above, existing home sales had a nice fall and winter, which shouldn’t be surprising. Our best sales data have come in the fall and winter the last two years and even in the previous expansion.  2022 Pending home sales Now looking ahead, the recent pending home sales data look about right to me after an outperforming second half of 2021. Unlike the surge in make-up demand we saw at the end of 2020, this recent outperforming data should moderate just due to traditional demand limits with the housing market at record low inventory levels. The question is, where do we find the sales base in 2022 to work from? Last year we had a few sales print above 6.2 million, so I anticipated a few prints under 5.84 million. We only got one print. That was a big clue that housing was doing much better than I thought. This year, we should see a print or two below 5.74 million. However, if the sales trend is between 5.74 million and 6.16 million, demand is stable. So far this year, this is what I see in the purchase application data as well. Even if I make COVID-19 adjustments, demand is only stable and not growing. Remember, with the MBA purchase application data, it’s very seasonal — volumes typically fall after May. Last year and the year before, we saw growth in this data line in the second half of the year, which isn’t normally the trend. We might need to keep an eye on this later in the year. However, I genuinely believe that all the COVID-19 adjustments I have made with this data line don’t need to happen anymore. We can be more mindful that the year-over-year data aren’t working from the surge in make-up demand we saw in 2020 and spilling into the first two months of 2021. Of course, the main issue we have in the U.S. housing market is the inventory crisis, as we have started 2022 with fresh new all-time lows in inventory. Inventory is always very seasonal, and we should see the total inventory increase in the upcoming months. If this doesn’t happen in a meaningful way, we might have to think of creative ways to create more inventory. I hope higher mortgage rates do their thing and make more days on the market than in the past. I hope that the seasonal inventory push will happen again in 2022 and that higher mortgage rates will create more days on the market so that we don’t start 2023 at fresh new all-time lows. This is critical. The U.S. has lagged a lot of countries over the year in home price growth, and my fear for 2020-2024 has always been that we would see five years of unhealthy home price growth. So far, this fear is playing out. Active inventory listings are at crisis levels, pushing home prices well beyond my five-year cumulative home-price growth level in just two years. It has been tricky trying to find proper trends in housing data after COVID-19 made some of the year-over-year data too extreme to take seriously. However, starting in March, I believe that the purchase application data will be back to normal, and the April reporting of March housing data will be more in line with traditional housing data. The rule of thumb for the rest of the year is that if existing home sales get above 6.16 million, you should view that as a beat, while if they’re trending below 5.74 million with several prints under that level, then we have housing softness. The upside of that housing softness, if it occurs, is that it should create more days on the market and give this housing sector a much-needed breather. As I have stressed time and time again, this is a very unhealthy housing market due to a lack of inventory in a time when the most prominent housing demographic patch ever recorded in history needs to find shelter. The post

[ad_1] The post What’s the Difference Between Financial Freedom and Financial Independence? appeared first on Millennial Money. While they’re often used as synonyms in the personal finance community, there’s actually a distinct difference between financial freedom and financial independence. Financial freedom is the mindset that allows you to live the life you want.  It’s the ability to live your life for yourself and not for a boss. You might still need to work, but you have enough in savings that you can live life on your terms. If your job is stressing you out, you can find another job without fear of where your next meal will come from. You’re free to do things like travel and buy cool stuff that you want. You don’t feel the confines of money because you’ve set up your finances to work for you. Financial independence is the number in your bank account that allows you to leave work forever.  It provides you financial security. Essentially, you’re financially independent and can step out of your job without fear of repercussions. All of your living expenses will be covered, regardless of earned income. It’s a much more defined term because it looks at the money aspect of your lifestyle. Why Are the Terms “Financial Freedom” and “Financial Independence” Often Confused? Unfortunately, these terms are often confused for one another. I think that’s because their goals are similar. They both focus on your financial journey. But one—financial freedom—is a lifestyle choice; the other—financial independence—is a financial milestone. What Are the Elements of Financial Freedom? Financial freedom is a lifestyle choice. It’s when you’re financially stable enough to not need to rely on the specific job you’re currently working because you have enough to float you. You’ve paid off all your debt and you have enough in savings to cover any large emergencies. You stop making decisions based on money and start making them based on what you want to do. You’re able to shift your thinking and live life the way that you want to. You might decide to quit working and pursue a side hustle, or to drop down to part-time work. Regardless, you’ve set your finances up to have those choices. You’re able to do the things that you love, regardless of money. What Are the Elements of Financial Independence? Financial independence is a milestone in your finances.  It’s the moment you reach enough money that you could stop working and be financially okay for the rest of your life. You might still want to work, but you don’t need to. You’re completely independent of a job or family. You can support yourself on your own without any help from anyone else. There are several ways to achieve early financial independence. You can build up passive income, with real estate investing or dividends from the stock market. Or, you can save enough to live off of your investments. Either way, you have a positive cash flow and will live well in retirement, regardless of what age you are. The financial goal of this level of independence is to be able to retire early and have enough retirement savings and passive income to last until you die. You’ve eliminated all credit card debt, have passive income streams, and are able to cover your annual expenses without working. What Happens When You Combine Financial Independence and Financial Freedom? The magic happens when you combine financial independence with the mindset of financial freedom. Since financial freedom is a mindset that allows you to live your best life, you can leverage that during your journey to financial independence. You can use this mindset to think beyond just being financially independent. You can use it to imagine going on wild trips, and then taking them. Or about fancy cars, and then buying them. That’s not to say you should go into debt for these things, but true financial freedom allows you to pursue your biggest dreams, and financial independence is the vehicle that allows you to do so. Benefits of Financial Freedom Vs. Financial Independence While both financial freedom and financial independence are important markers of financial success, I argue that financial freedom is more important than financial independence. Even if you achieve financial independence, you might feel trapped and limited without financial freedom. Cultivating an attitude of financial freedom will help you feel completely free to live the life of your dreams. What Does an Attitude of Financial Freedom Look Like? Cultivating an attitude of financial freedom starts with mindset work.  You need to believe in the abundance that the world has to offer and focus on choosing to see the good. This helps when you’re threatened by a scarcity mindset to realize that money (and the ability to make money) is essentially limitless, and there is enough to go around.  From there, you want to start asking what your money can do for you. Money is an amazing tool that allows you to achieve anything that you could want (though not everything you could want). Focus on where your priorities lay, and then start creating a plan to get there. Ask yourself “What do I want from my money?” And then tell yourself how to get there.  When you allow yourself to see money as a tool towards a better future, you’re able to grasp the core tenants of financial freedom. Financial Independence is Important for Financial Freedom This is not to say that financial independence isn’t important. It is. But you can achieve financial freedom without it. Financial independence is important to financial freedom because it’s the culmination of your beliefs about money coming into fruition.  You’ve been able to imagine a luxurious life for yourself, and you’ve done the hard work of saving for it. Financial independence is financial freedom paying off in the long run. The two can work hand and hand to create beautiful energy and give you the ability to start off on amazing adventures, regardless of your need for money.

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[ad_1] Who doesn’t love a good, tasty drink at sundown ? It becomes even more interesting if that drink happens to be a traditional Japanese wine! Known as Umeshu, this Japanese wine is a sweet-sour flavoured booze made from the best and raw ‘ume’ plums from Japan.  Umeshu is now available in India in three distinct and delicious flavours viz., Kishu’s Yuzu plum wine, Nakano Umeshu, and Kishu Umeshu Beninanko. Umeshu, a fruit liqueur comprising 35% white liquor and around 20% alcohol, is among Japan’s most well-known and loved beverages and is slowly building a loyal community of fans across the world. Umeshu is not just a perfect drink to round-off your evening meals or even a leisurely afternoon, it also offers a host of health-benefits. It is rich in citric acid and antioxidants. Over 300 types of Umeshu flavours exist in Japan. Umeshu has a fruity aroma and sweet taste, targeting millennial generation women as the main target. Umeshu has sweeter and very unique aromas, which might be preferred by many in India. One of the brands is called Beninanko Umeshu, which won the first Grand Prix at Japan’s largest Umeshu contest, where they compete to be the best Umeshu in Japan. Umeshu might be replacement of dessert wine or Champagne for aperitif. In India, EIJ Consulting Pvt. Ltd. will market Japanese Wine Umeshu in partnership with Sonarys Brands. Together they plan to spread the Umeshu culture in the country and familiarise consumers in India about the refreshingly rich and fruity flavour of these plum Umeshu wines and their several health benefits. 2000 bottles have been imported in the first stage. They aim to establish Umeshu as one of India’s premium and go to alcoholic beverages. As not many people in India know about the Umeshu, the focus will be on increasing the places to taste, especially fine dining restaurants. You can taste Umeshu first in select restaurants in Maharashtra. Afterwards winelovers in Delhi, Haryana and Karnataka will get to saviour Umeshu soon.  Yosuke Shibata, CEO, EIJ Consulting Pvt.Ltd., said, “Consumers across the world are increasingly being drawn to natural, traditionally-made, authentic products which is why Umeshu, a simple traditional plum drink made in Japanese households, has become so popular globally. We are excited to introduce our Indian wine connoisseurs to its very distinctly light and fruity flavour. Since not many people are aware about Umeshu in India, we will first proceed with acquainting them with its taste. This will also stimulate a cultural exchange between the two wonderful countries. We launch in Maharashtra, starting with Mumbai’s popular fine-dining restaurants and then to take Umeshu to Pune and Gurgaon by August 2022.”     This initiative by the makers will also focus on creating and managing ‘Umeshu Lovers’. It will be a community dedicated to savouring one of Japan’s most widely known alcoholic beverages. It will operate via an online portal and familiarise people with how to make, drink, enjoy, and learn about Umeshu. Umeshu Lovers will relish and celebrate the love for one of the most popular alcoholic beverages from Japan – Umeshu in India. The community will indulge in hosting tasting events where the target audience can taste Umeshu.   Umeshu’s three flavours available in India are: Nakano Umeshu: This wine is made using 100% local Nanko-ume fruits grown in Wakayama, a region known for its high-quality ume. The rich, fruity and fragrant plum wine is loved in Japan and across the world for its sweet-sour flavour. Kishu’s Yuzu plum wine: This is made using yuzu juice, a citrus fruit that is a cross between a mandarin and lime. It’s popular among wine connoisseurs for its distinct Japanese fruity flavour. Kishu Umeshu Beninanko: This delectable plum wine which has a peach-like fragrance is made from the very rare and precious ‘Beni Nanko’ plums that grow only in the sun. This particular blend uses 1.5 times the number of red Nanko plums compared to other regular plum wines. Beninanko has also won the first Grand Prix at Japan’s largest Umeshu competition. [ad_2] Source link

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