In The News...

CEO's from the Big Three, GM, Ford and Chrysler were on Capitol Hill yesterday pleading their case for a government sponsored bailout. Repercussions from the auto industry carnage are reverberating around the world today. BASF SE, the world's largest chemical company, cut full-year profit targets for a second time and will temporarily shutter about 80 factories after customers in the automotive industry canceled orders. The German maker of styrene and catalytic converters will cut production at a further 100 plants, affecting about 20,000 workers.

Mortgage Applications fell 6.2% last week from the prior week. Application volume for the week ended Nov. 14 was down 41.3% on an unadjusted basis compared with the same week in 2007, the Washington-based Mortgage Bankers Association reported in its weekly survey. The survey covers about half of all US retail residential mortgage applications.

Consumer prices plunged in October and was the lowest on record as the weakening economy led energy costs lower, said the Labor Department on Wednesday. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 1%, exceeding forecasts by Wall Street analysts for a 0.8% decline and the biggest drop since the department began keeping monthly data in 1947. Gasoline prices plunged 14.2% in October, also a record drop.

Brought to you, courtesy of The Mortgage Market Guide