Rates inched higher Thursday as a rally in stocks hurt mortgage-backed securities. This morning, weekly Jobless Claims slipped to 294,000, close to forecast. President Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech on the housing market at 12:25 PM. Yesterday the White House announced plans to reduce the cost of monthly mortgage insurance on FHA loans in an effort to encourage more first-time home buyers to enter the market. It is not yet clear that Congress will approve the measure, but we should know more in coming days. Tomorrow, the closely-watched Employment Report for December will be released at 8:30 AM.