Economic woes continue to plague the Eurozone with the latest casualty being Italy, falling into a recession, as the government announced today that its Gross Domestic Product has fallen two consecutive quarters. Just recently the government of Portugal bailed out is largest bank, Banco Espirito Santo, while Germany reported today that factory orders fell to three year lows. Throw in economic problems in France and Spain and you have a recipe for renewed fears of widespread contagion.
Americans looking to refinance their home mortgages drove mortgage application volumes higher in the latest week as rates continue to hover near 12-month lows. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Market Composite Index, a measure of total loan application volume, rose by 1.6% in the latest week. The refinance index, which makes up 55% of total applications, increased by 4%, while the purchase index fell by 1%.
In corporate news, two big merger deals have been called off this week. Just yesterday, 21st Century Fox withdrew its offer for Time Warner, which would have combined the two of the world’s largest media companies. The hurdles included heavy antitrust regulations and cultural clashes. In addition, Sprint and corporate parent SoftBank have decided to end the pursuit of a merger with T-Mobile after acknowledging the fact that antitrust regulators would block the marriage of a sector that is dominated by a few large companies.
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