11.   Faster refinancings yank mortgage bonds away from investors sooner than expected, clipping their returns, so mortgage investors often buy Treasuries when they anticipate rates dropping.

12.   Faster mortgage prepayments mean mortgage investors may get their principal back faster than expected, crimping their returns and forcing them to reinvest at lower interest rates.

13.   Lower rates pose problems for mortgage bond investors because homeowners take advantage of the cost savings of refinancing.

14.   Mortgage bond investors got evidence that consumers are moving to lock in low rates when the Mortgage Bankers Association of America released its weekly survey of applications.

15.   Mortgage investors often buy Treasury notes as a hedge against falling interest rates.

16.   Mortgage bond investors, meantime, are already anticipating a pick-up in activity in the housing market and selling bonds now.

17.   Refinancings give mortgage investors their money back sooner than expected, cutting their interest payments short and clipping their returns.

18.   Rate swings make it harder for residential mortgage investors to predict when the loans backing their securities will get repaid.

19.   Some residential mortgage bond investors are buying passthroughs priced below face value, since their underlying low-interest rate loans are less vulnerable to refinancing.