Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
The QE Monster
The Fed announced QE3 yesterday with a $40 billion a month plan to buy mortgage-backed securities and reinvest the interest. The announcement came with the caveat that economic conditions call for low rates through 2015.
The big difference this time around, the Fed did not include an end date. In the past, the Fed has always provided a timeline for its QE purchases.
This is good news for potential home buyers. It will keep mortgage rates low and drop long-term mortgage rates lower over the next several months. Of course, this mostly pertains to new home buyers. Current homeowners won’t move if their current home is still underwater. So either home prices need to quickly rise to some break even point or a few million renters need to start buying soon. Continue Reading…