Mortgage bankers see US unemployment rising to 6.5% by year-end

The Mortgage Bankers Association expects negative growth in the second half of 2008 through the first half of 2009. The trade group also expects US unemployment to rise to 6.5% by the end of this year and recovering slowly during the second half of 2009.

Stocks are greeting this news badly, along with the renewed dollar surge seen late this afternoon. The last thing recession-struck US firms need is a strong dollar, but they are going to get one.