By Richard Yamarone, Director of Economic Research, Argus Research Corp.

The U.S. economy expanded by a much-slower-than-expected 1.3% during the first quarter of 2007. This was the slowest quarterly increase since the first quarter of 2003 (1.2%), and resulted in a year-over-year growth rate of 2.1%. Two of the largest drags on macroeconomic activity during the first quarter were the net exports of goods and services, subtracting a tad more than 0.5% from the overall pace of growth and, unsurprisingly, residential investment, which dragged about 1.0% from the headline figure. After another two revisions, we expect the first-quarter 2007 growth rate to pop back upwards of 2.0%. Had it not been for these two disappointing components, the report would have been impressive for an economy that is this late into an expansion cycle. More >

Understanding Today's Mortgage Markets By Ren S. Essene, MPA, Senior Research Analyst, Join Center for Housing Studies Today’s mortgage market bears little resemblance to the market of just a decade ago. The widespread utilization of credit scoring and risk-based pricing, the development of a mortgage delivery system dominated by mortgage brokers, and the growing importance of secondary market activities has keyed a virtual revolution in U.S. financial markets. With new low downpayment products and a highly automated mortgage delivery system, the mortgage industry has dramatically expanded access to credit. More >

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