Mortgage rates were little changed Friday in volatile trading. Financial markets experienced wide swings as investors attempted to assess the impact of today’s severe earthquake in Japan. In economic news, February Retail Sales rose by 1.0%, matching forecast. Consumer Sentiment fell to 68.2 from the previous reading of 77.5. Rising gas prices in recent weeks are being blamed for the sharp decline. Next week will be busy in terms of new data. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Fed meets on Tuesday, the Producer Price Index will be released on Wednesday, and the Consumer Price Index and Industrial Production will come out on Thursday. The Daily Market Update will be unavailable until Wednesday. I will be in Washington, DC on Monday and Tuesday meeting with our Congressional delegation regarding the Fed’s loan originator compensation rule scheduled to take effect April 1. If you believe that increased competition drives down costs, improves service levels, and increases choices for consumers, join the fight. Please visit www.namb.org or www.naihp.org to learn more about what you can do to prevent the nation’s largest financial institutions (those too big to fail) from taking over the mortgage industry.