First off, it would be a lot more fun tracking the carefully crafted statements of a comedian, a vacation planner, or even my dog Louie (pictured here) than it is to hang on every word coming out of the mouth of the Chair of the Federal Reserve.  Nevertheless, as uninteresting as it is, this is my job.  Today, Ms. Yellen spoke to the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill about new plans for bank regulation and supervision.  She said nothing that will change the way I bank and nothing of monetary policy matters, but she did voice that diminishing downside risks in the global environment are allowing the domestic economy to perform well, and concluded that there has not been any decision made still about hiking rates in the December FOMC meeting.

Wall Street now wagers a 60% probability that the Fed raises rates in December, up from 57% yesterday and 35% seven days ago.  Mortgage pricing continues to deteriorate pushing long term rates upward.  Louie says lock in your loan today.