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Wall Street Jumps to 14-Month Highs - CNNMoney.com -- Stocks gained Monday, with the three leading indexes closing at 14-month highs, after Citigroup said it will pay back government bailout funds and Dubai received $10 billion to cover its debt, easing worries the emirate might default on billions it owes.

The weak dollar also helped, lifting commodity shares and the stocks of companies that do a lot of business overseas.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30 points, or 0.3%, closing at the highest point since Oct. 1, 2008.

The S&P 500 index gained 8 points, or 0.7%, closing at the highest point since Oct. 2, 2008. The Nasdaq composite rose 22 points, or 1%, closing at the highest point since Sept. 19, 2008.

MBA Expects Higher Rates and Less Originations. Labor Market is Biggest Variable in Housing Forecast - Slowly rising interest rates coupled with relatively stagnant home sales will have repercussions in the mortgage industry over the next few quarters according to the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) Mortgage Finance Forecast for the Fourth Quarter of 2009.

This is how the MBA opened their December 2009 Mortgage Finance Outlook:

"The most important factor driving recent declines in real estate market activity and increases in delinquencies and foreclosures has been the ongoing job losses and rising unemployment rates stemming from the most severe recession the country has experienced in a generation. The central question in any forecast for the housing and mortgage markets is the outlook for the job market: when will companies begin hiring again?"

"Property values will not recover until the overhang of unsold inventory returns to normal levels, reducing the excess supply. This excess supply will remain unless and until homebuyers return to the market in force. Even though affordability remains near record levels, there has not been any strong indication that the demand for homes is recovering. However, it is important to remember that affordability is a three-legged stool. Mortgage rates, home prices, and household incomes all impact affordability. Today, mortgage rates remain near record lows, and with the continued decline in home prices, for those with resources, it is a buyers’ market like we haven’t seen in years. Obviously, the problem is that there are not enough potential homebuyers who have the income and downpayment, and who feel confident both that the housing market will recover, and that their job situation is secure, to boost demand despite the improvements in affordability."

MBA economists expect long term mortgage interest rates to raise slowly from the average of 4.9 percent expected for the fourth quarter to 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2010 and 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter. Rates will climb to 6.0 percent during the second quarter of 2011.