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Strategies & Market Trends : Heinz Blasnik- Views You Can Use -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ild who wrote (1702)	5/22/2003 7:07:05 PM
From: UnBelievable	Respond to of 4912

"the whole 'unconventional measures' shebang is a harebrained plan that only a bunch of bureaucrats could have dreamt up." To be precise I believe the word is comrade rather than bureaucrat. I think we knew fairly early on that the powers that be would do what ever they thought might stem the inevitable tide. Never the less, yes, I am surprised that they actually are doing whatever they think might stem (hey -stem doesn't mean stop) the tide. After all wouldn't you exchange the necessity of dying today for the possibility that you will have to die twice tomorrow.

To: ild who wrote (1702)	5/22/2003 11:39:53 PM
From: John Madarasz	Respond to of 4912

some charts to go with that post... ntrs.com Just to show you how important low mortgage interest rates are to keeping housing activity and home prices levitated, take a look at Chart 7. In it you will see that the value of residential real estate is at a postwar record high in relation to disposable personal income - over 170%. That would seem to make the purchase of a house out of reach for a typical household. Yet, also as shown in Chart 7, the index of housing affordability remains at quite high levels. How can this be? The lowest mortgage rates in 40 years, that's how. If Greenspan fails to keep mortgage rates at extremely low levels, housing could take a tumble. And if housing takes a tumble, so do banks and household net worth. I have no doubt Greenspan will do all in his power to keep interest rates in general, and mortgage rates in particular, low. I just wonder what will happen to U.S. interest rates and/or inflation if the rest of the world decides to cut back on its lending to the U.S. on the same favorable terms it is now. After all, 3-1/2% on 10-year Treasury paper is not a lot, especially when the keeper of the currency printing press has openly said that he thinks U.S. inflation is in danger of getting too low.