The Fed lowered the Fed Funds Rate by 0.500% to 3.000% yesterday. The move was widely anticipated and so Wall Street’s reaction was muted.

Because it is tied to the Fed Funds Rate, Prime Rate also fell by 0.500% yesterday. Holders of home equity lines of credit and credit card debt benefited from the change [...]

When the Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from its two-day meeting today, it is widely expected to lower the Fed Funds Rate.

This does not mean that mortgage rates will fall.

In fact, using history as an indicator, we should expect mortgage rates to rise if the Fed Funds Rate falls.

Remember: [...]

If you only read headlines this past week, you may have missed two very important points.

The first story relates to Housing Starts. Housing Starts measure the number of new homes entering the construction phase. The headline blared “Housing starts plunge to 16-year low“.

If you are a homeowner, this is terrific news.

[...]

When the Federal Reserve lowers the Fed Funds Rate, Prime Rate falls by the same amount.

This is because (Prime Rate) = (Fed Funds Rate + 3.000%).

The Federal Reserve has lowered the Fed Funds Rate by 1.75% since last summer, dropping Prime Rate from 8.250% to 6.500%.

It figures to drop further this [...]

Carbon Monoxide is produced when fuel in not burned completely because of low oxygen flow. Wood-burning fireplaces and charcoal grills are main sources, as are damaged heating and water systems.

Now that it’s heating season, take a few steps to protect your health:

Have all fuel-burning appliances inspected by a trained professional Don’t use a [...]

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 631.86 points in the last three hours of trading yesterday as traders piled into equities.

Fueling the rally? The bond market.

For as much as stocks gained today, bonds lost. Including mortgage bonds.

The dramatic sell-off created a huge swing in mortgage rates and erased nearly all [...]

When the Federal Reserve lowered the Fed Funds Rate by 0.75% yesterday, it was in response to economic weakness that mounted since its last meeting December 11, 2007.

By contrast, the mortgage markets meet every day.

Because of this, mortgage rates had already “priced in” the weakness to which the Fed was [...]

The Federal Reserve made a surprise 0.750% rate cut this morning.

Mortgage rates are falling in response, but not because of what the Fed did as much as what the Fed implied by doing it.

The chart above dated from last week and illustrates what traders thought the Fed would do to [...]

Overall, mortgage rates are at their lowest levels since late-2005.

Despite rates falling, however, not everyone can take advantage.

This is because mortgage lenders started to tighten the guidelines of what they will lend and to whom, also beginning in late-2005.

In other words, the chart at right doesn’t apply to all homeowners equally.

If [...]

It’s a point that’s always worth repeating:

Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve do not control mortgage rates

This is particularly relevant today as newspapers, television programs, and market pundits posit that the U.S. is in the midst of a recession.

The latest evidence supporting that assertion is that Retail Sales grew [...]