This week set several new records: price highs on 30-year FNMA 3.0% through 4.0% coupons as well as lows on the 10-year note yield and 30-and 15-year fixed mortgage rates.

Barclays Capital says there appears to be a “floor” on 'AAA' CLO spreads, at least until there is some better news out of Europe.

Consumer ABS are probably going to be a higher-velocity market going forward given their shorter average-life profile, according to a presentation released this morning from Wells Fargo analysts.

Wells Fargo & Co. is in the market with a $200 million package of nonperforming residential loans, according to investors that have been briefed about the deal.

MGIC Investment Corp. has filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Milwaukee against Freddie Mac and its conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, over the pool insurance dispute between the two companies.

Amherst Securities Group (ASG) analysts reviewed three categories of 5/1 hybrids with different interest-only terms, including non-IO, five-year IO term and 10-year IO term in a report released this afternoon.

While bond insurer Ambac Assurance Corp. (AAC) has been paying policyholder claims for the last several years, its related segregated account branch has not been doing so. On Wednesday the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance applied to a Wisconsin court for the segregated account to make cash payments to policyholders for 25% of claims.

This thought came up while looking at Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) CEO David Stevens’ proposal, unveiled at the MBA’s National Secondary Market Conference in New York, to combine Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s mortgage bonds into a single security.

Freddie Mac reported new lows in 30- and 15-year fixed mortgage rates in the week ending May 17.

PPL Corp. has hired Mark Wilten as treasurer and vice president in finance. Wilten is currently treasurer for Nissan North America and Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. in Franklin, Tenn.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has postponed the sale scheduled for today from its Maiden Lane III portfolio.