Because the Fed voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. For the eighth consecutive meeting, the vote was nearly unanimous (9-1 vote).
The Fed Funds Rate has been near zero percent since December 2008. Continue reading
Home buyers in Sacramento and would-be refinancing households were greeted with wildly varying mortgage rates, depending on which day they loan-shopped.
According to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey, 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates averaged 3.55% nationwide last week, with an accompanying 0.7 discount points. Continue reading
In its press release, the Federal Reserve noted that the U.S. economy has “decelerated somewhat” since January. Beyond the next few quarters, though, the Fed expects growth to “remain moderate” and then gradually pick up. Remember, when there is bad news for the economy, rates improve. And when there is good to moderate news, rates get worse (see video explanation). Continue reading
For the fifth consecutive month, the Fed Funds Rate vote was nearly unanimous. Just one FOMC member, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker, dissented in the 9-1 vote.
The Fed Funds Rate has been near zero percent since December 2008. It is expected to stay near-zero through 2014, at least. Continue reading
The Federal Open Market Committee begins a 2-day meeting today in the nation’s capitol. It’s the group’s third of 8 scheduled meetings this year. Mortgage rates are expected to change upon the Fed’s adjournment.
Led by Chairman Ben Bernanke, the FOMC is a 12-person, Federal Reserve sub-committee. The FOMC is the group within the Fed which votes on U.S. monetary policy. “Making monetary policy” can mean a lot of things, and the action for which the FOMC is most well-known is its setting of the Fed Funds Funds. Continue reading
