Daily News 01/26/2015

January 26, 2015

Monday – January 26

Black Knight Financial Services reported on Monday that home prices edged up 0.1% and are up 4.5% year-over-year. The average home price index hit $241,000 in November, which is 10% lower than the $268,000 peak hit back in June of 2006. The states of Texas and Colorado continued to outperform with each hitting new peaks again. The worst performing region was Baltimore, which saw a 0.8% decline.

A major winter storm is expected in the Northeast from Monday evening until Wednesday morning, that could dump up to 3 feet of snow in some areas. The storm has already impacted airline travel with 4,360 flights being canceled and the weather could ground all flights at the three of New York City’s major airport on Tuesday. The storm could also affect travel across the U.S. on Monday and Tuesday.

The first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of 2015 will take place on Tuesday and will culminate on Wednesday with its monetary policy statement being released at 2:00 p.m. EST. The Fed members are not expected to raise the short term Fed Funds Rate, but the statement could reveal plans as to when that rate will begin to rise in 2015. The Federal Reserve has left interest rates low for an extended period in an effort to promote job and economic growth. The economy and job markets have improved greatly since the Great Recession ended in June of 2009.