A U.S. flag decorates a for-sale sign at a home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, August 21, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI) indicates U.S. house prices rose 0.2% in July from the previous month. The initially reported 0.2% increase in June was revised upward to 0.3%.
The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
From July 2017 to July 2018, house prices were up 6.4%.
For the 9 U.S. census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from June 2018 to July 2018 ranged from -0.5% in the East South Central division to +1.1% in the South Atlantic division.
The 12-month changes were all positive, ranging from +4.7% in the New England division to +8.7% in the Mountain division.
Monthly index values and appreciation rate estimates for recent periods are provided in the tables and graphs on the following pages. Complete historical downloadable data and HPI release dates for 2018 and 2019 are available on the HPI page.
The next HPI report will be released October 24, 2018 and will include monthly data through August 2018.
Supporters of President Donald Trump hold up Make America Great American and Keep America Great signs A supporter of Donald Trump dons a T-shirt with a new twist on an old joke targeting Hillary Clinton during a rally in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. (Photo: Laura Baris/People’s Pundit Daily)
President Donald Trump will hold his first rally in Johnson City, Tennessee in support of Marsha Blackburn. The Republican nominee for U.S. Senate won the nomination in August 2018 and will face Democratic nominee Phil Bredesen in November to succeed Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a NeverTrumper who retired rather than face the voters.
“We are pleased to announce our next scheduled Make America Great Again rally on Monday, October 1 in Johnson City, Tennessee,” said Michael Glassner, Chief Operating Officer for Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. “With just 44 days from today until the midterm elections, President Trump looks forward to sharing the great news about the booming economy that’s delivered new jobs and bigger paychecks to Tennessee families.”
The president’s campaign said he will tout the economic gains as a result of Republican policy, and stress to voters how critically important protecting and expanding the party’s majorities in the U.S> House and Senate for his America First agenda.
The MAGA Rally on Monday, October 1 at 7:00 pm ET at the Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tennessee, is the next stop on his national midterm campaign tour.
“The President will also remind Tennesseans of the critical importance to get out and vote for Marsha Blackburn for the U.S. Senate,” Mr. Glassner concluded.
Public polls have shown a close race in the Red State, which backed President Trump over Hillary Clinton, 60.72% to 34.72%. However, private polling from across the spectrum seems to show a consensus giving Representative Blackburn a slight edge.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh looks on during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing September 4, 2018. (Photo: Reuters)
Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote a forceful letter defending his “good name,” calling recent sexual allegations “smears, pure and simple.” Over the weekend, a second accuser came forward to make a 35-year-old allegation.
The witnesses named by Ms. Ramirez all deny the events ever happened, and The New York Times passed on the story for lack of confirmation and corroboration.
“These are smears, pure and simple. And they debase our public discourse. But they are also a threat to any man or woman who wishes to serve our country,” he wrote in letters to both the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process. The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out.”
Judge Kavanaugh, 53, serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. President Donald Trump moved on the nomination to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced a few weeks before that he would retire, effective July 31.
The Senate Judiciary Committee began holding hearings for the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh on September 4. Despite Democrats attempting to obstruct, pay protestors and stage outbursts, they didn’t land a glove on him.
Christine Blasey Ford, a liberal activist and Palo Alto University psychology professor, alleges Judge Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at a high-school party in or about 1982, when he was 17 and she was 15.
The allegation, which has been disputed by all parties mentioned in her account, was made in a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She withheld it for 6 weeks until after the committee held confirmation hearings.
Senator Feinstein has refused to share the un-redacted, original version of the letter with the American public or Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., who invited Professor Ford to testify last Monday.
She refused, and demanded the accused be interviewed first. Now, both Judge Kavanaugh and Professor Ford are scheduled to testify on Thursday, though some Senate Democrats are already calling for that hearing to be postponed indefinitely.
President Trump, who also welcomed Professor Ford’s testimony last week, is standing by his nominee and his presumption of innocence. To be fair, there are large holes in Professor Ford’s story and her resistance to cross-examination is seen as inherently unfair to the nominee.
“Brett Kavanaugh is an outstanding person and I am with him all the way,” President Trump told reporters earlier Monday.
Sources tell People’s Pundit Daily (PPD) that Judge Kavanaugh has been chomping at the bit to defend himself against these allegations publicly.
In the letter to Chairman Grassley, he said “the smear” campaign and “threats of violence against my family” will serve as proof that he — as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court — will not be swayed by political pressure.
“The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out,” Judge Kavanaugh added in the letter. “The last-minute character assassination will not succeed.”
Rod Rosenstein, who served as both Deputy Attorney General and Acting-Deputy Attorney General. (Photo: Reuters)
The White House said President Donald Trump and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will meet at the White House on Thursday to discuss his future in the administration.
The meeting comes amid a behind-the-scenes war against government spying abuses and reports Mr. Rosenstein suggested wearing a wire to in a scheme to remove the president.
“At the request of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, he and President Trump had an extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories,” Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “Because the President is at the United Nations General Assembly and has a full schedule with leaders from around the world, they will meet on Thursday when the President returns to Washington, D.C.”
The latests story involving Mr. Rosenstein broke last week as President Trump ordered the agency to declassify the full FISA warrant used to spy on his campaign, a move that will more than embarrass the deputy attorney general, who serves as acting attorney general for all things Russia.
The Justice Department (DOJ) previously released documents used to justify the FISA warrant application to spy against Carter Page, a former and peripheral campaign adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump.
The heavily-redacted documents on their own confirmed crucial and disturbing details of the memo prepared by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and other Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).
That includes the allegation that the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) relied upon the infamous and discredited dossier put together by former MI6 British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, identified as Source #1.
The dossier was funded by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the campaign for Hillary Clinton, who hired the shadowy smear firm Fusion GPS, who in turn hired Mr. Steele. The former spy of the Russia desk at MI6 almost exclusively used Kremlin sources to gather the information he then fed to DOJ officials, including Bruce Ohr via his wife Nellie Ohr, an employee of Fusion GPS.
Mr. Ohr, the former associate attorney general who was twice demoted for trying to hide his contacts with Mr. Steele, was in turn feeding the dossier to Andrew Weissmann, the number two on Democrat-dominated team put together by Special Counsel Robert Mueller III.
But Obama Administration officials never told the FISA court that it was political opposition research. Multiple sources claim the full un-redacted version of the FISA warrant will implicate Mr. Rosenstein, signed the fourth and final FISA renewal.
Meanwhile, former FBI official Lisa Page, who along with lover Peter Strzok and others was at the center of Clinton and Russia probes, told members of Congress there was never evidence of collusion or the like between Russia and the president’s campaign. The purpose was to trigger a special counsel, which they got.
Mr. Mueller was appointed by none other than Rod Rosenstein, who did so ignoring all guidelines and federal laws governing special counsels.
American industry and economy imposed on a U.S. dollar.
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose a solid 0.18 points in August, matching the forecast and upwardly revised reading for July. Of the index’s four main components, production fueled the gain the most with a contribution of 0.16 points.
The CFNAI Diffusion Index, which is also a three-month moving average, increased to +0.20 in August from +0.09 in July. Forty-eight (48) of the 85 individual indicators made positive contributions to the CFNAI over the month, while 37 made negative contributions.
Fifty-four (54) indicators improved from July to August, while 30 indicators deteriorated and 1 was unchanged. Of the indicators that improved, 18 made negative contributions.
What happened to taking things seriously, and in a manner of what is legal or not? The GOP needs to grow a spine and start acting responsibly when it comes to our government.
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Senate Majority Leader to Conservatives: “Don’t Get Rattled By All This”
President Donald Trump speaks to the press alongside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R), Republican of Kentucky, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, October 16, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kty., told the Values Voter Summit Brett Kavanaugh “in the very near future” “will be on the United States Supreme Court.”
“You’ve watched the fight. You’ve watched the tactics,” Leader McConnell said at the largest gathering of social conservatives in the nation. “But here is what I want to tell you: in the very near future Judge Kavanaugh will be on the United States Supreme Court.”
He told conservatives “don’t get rattled by all this” and that his decision not to take up the Merrick Garland nomination in Barack Obama’s final year was the “most consequential decision” he’s made.
Judge Kavanaugh, 53, serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. President Donald Trump moved on the nomination to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced a few weeks before that he would retire, effective July 31.
The Senate Judiciary Committee began holding hearings for the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh on September 4. Despite Democrats attempting to obstruct, pay protestors and stage outbursts, they didn’t land a glove on him.
Following those confirmation hearings, the percentage of voters both who wanted and expected him to be confirmed swelled. Then, came the allegation that has held the upper chamber hostage.
Christine Blasey Ford, a liberal activist and Palo Alto University psychology professor, alleges Judge Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at a high-school party in or about 1982, when he was 17 and she was 15.
The allegation was made in a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which she withheld for 6 weeks until after the committee held confirmation hearings.
Senator Feinstein has refused to share the un-redacted, original version of the letter with the American public or Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., who invited Professor Ford to testify on Monday.
She refused, and demanded the accused be interviewed first. Of course, it’s not only legally unconventional, but highly unusual even for a legislative hearing.
While a large percentage of voters are not sure who is telling the truth, slightly more believe Judge Kavanaugh over his accuser. When asked, 38% of voters said they believe Judge Kavanaugh is telling the truth, while 33% believe the accuser.
Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy in a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House in Washington June 1, 2006. (Photo: Reuters)
While a large percentage of voters are not sure who is telling the truth, slightly more believe Judge Brett Kavanaugh over his accuser. When asked, 38% of voters said they believe Judge Kavanaugh is telling the truth, while 33% believe the accuser.
Twenty-nine percent (29%) are unsure, according to the new poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports.
Christine Blasey Ford, a liberal activist and Palo Alto University psychology professor, alleges Judge Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at a high-school party in or about 1982, when he was 17 and she was 15.
The allegation was made in a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which she withheld for 6 weeks until after the committee held confirmation hearings.
Senator Feinstein has refused to share the un-redacted, original version of the letter with the American public or Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., who invited Professor Ford to testify on Monday.
She refused, and demanded the accused be interviewed first.
Worth noting, voters who are more closely paying attention to the story are least likely to believe the sexual assault allegations. Only those who said they’re “not at all” following the story (22%/24%) or “not sure” (0%/21%) how closely they’ve been following it, believe Professor Ford over Judge Kavanaugh.
Voters paying attention “very closely” believe Judge Kavanaugh by a margin of 43% to 38%. Among those who “somewhat closely” follow the story, the nominee has the edge, 32% to 29%.
By gender, 43% of men and 33% of women believe Judge Kavanaugh, who vehemently denied the allegations. Only 31% of men and 35% of women believe Professor Ford.
Meanwhile, 78%, regardless of whom it is they think is telling the truth, believe it is at least “somewhat likely” Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. That includes 41% who think it’s “very likely” and another 37% who think it’s “somewhat likely.”
The national survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted September 19-20, 2018 by Rasmussen Reports.
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Building in the Lower Manhattan Financial District, New York City. (Photo: Tomasz Zajda/AdobeStock/PPD)
Market averages are putting an exclamation point on their Q3 performance, extending their already strong gains quarter-to-date (QTD), in the face of an almost certain interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next Wednesday.
Never mind that the yield on the 10-year U.S. treasury note is above the 3% level for the third straight day. For at least a couple years, 3% has been not only a solid support level for the 10-year yield but also a level above, which many market strategists have feared would trigger a wave of selling in stocks.
This week investors remain unfazed by it.
Trade Tremors have dissipated to a trickle, rather than escalated to a tsunami. I mean Team Trump hasn’t announced heightened tariffs on anyone for nearly a full week (!!!) and even the latest round of tariffs on an additional $200 billion with the Chinese was at a paltry 10%, down from the 20% in the initial $100 billion.
The Chinese responded with a whimper, that included plans to tariff an additional $60 billion of U.S. goods. This brings the total of U.S. goods the Chinese will tariff to $110 billion of the total $130 billion they import. This puts them within $20 billion of the total available to tariff. It clearly can’t escalate much from here and the market rallied on!
There is no September Swoon.
Immediately following Labor Day weekend, we say at least 1 media mention a day, highlighting the historical performance of September being one of the more difficult months for stock market performance. Clearly the prospect of numerous October apocalypsi over the last few decades has produced angst for investors in September.
This year, the anxiety has been largely limited to the Technology/FANG Family, where much of the volatility has been a byproduct multiple self-inflicted wounds.
Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) logged a new all-time high at 26,657, surpassing 26,616 from January 26 of this year. A few days shy of 8 months following it’s prior high, the DJIA has joined the other Major Market Averages with fresh ATHs.
The S&P 500 (INDEXCBOE: .INX) also closed at a new ATH at 2930.75, a solid 15 points better than the prior record three weeks ago.
Even the Russell 2000 (INDEXRUSSELL: RUT), at 1720, +1% participated, contrary to Wednesday when it closed -0.5%. The Russell 2000 has lagged the higher capitalization indices the last two weeks, although it has continued to hold the mid-June breakout above the threshold of 1700, which is also exactly where the 50-day moving average is.
With the DJIA closing in new high territory, get ready for the excitement from the DOW Theory followers who are sure to highlight the DOW Theory confirmation by the Dow Jones Industrials of the New Highs posted by the DJ Transportation Average less than two weeks ago.
A board shows the Dow Jones Industrial Average as it rises above 25,000 on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., January 4, 2018. (Photo: Reuters)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) closed at a new all-time high on Thursday, notching the 100th record since the election of President Donald Trump.
At the closing bell, the Dow closed up 251.22 points, or 0.95% to 26,656.98. That tops the previous record close at 26,616 set on January 26 of this year.
Major stock market averages have gains ranging from +4% to +8% QTD.
The S&P 500 (INDEXCBOE: .INX) closed at 2,930.75, up 0.78% or 22.80 points. The NASDAQ Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) closed up 78.19 points, or 0.98% to 8,028.23.
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