In Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s world, all he had to do was lower interest rates enough and housing prices would magically re-inflate.  Wrong!  Mortgage rates are at all time lows, home prices are at 2002 levels and owning a home is just as cheap as renting, yet the housing market remains mired in a depression. The folks at the Federal Reserve who created the [...]

Longer term CD rates have been gradually climbing since last December as the long end of the yield curve has moved up.   Abused savers, who have seen yields plunge to microscopic levels due to the Federal Reserve’s zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) are justifiably hoping to see an increase in interest income from savings. The Fed’s zero interest rate policy is a zero [...]

November 18, 2010 – Several years ago, the mortgage underwriting standards of banks were so liberal that nearly anyone could get an approval, regardless of income levels or credit scores.  The subsequent real estate crash and huge number of mortgage defaults since those easy lending days has resulted in much tougher underwriting standards. Many borrowers with adequate income [...]

June 23, 2010 – As expected, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at the end of a two day policy meeting.  Citing financial turmoil in Europe and restrained economic growth at home, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to maintain the Fed funds rate near zero.  The Fed funds rate has now been between zero and .25% for a year and a half. Forecasters [...]