2/24/10

Today we have New Home Sales, a 5-yr auction, and Ben Bernanke’s testimony for the Federal Reserve’s semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress. Last week the Fed raised the discount rate by 0.25 point to 0.75 percent, said the term of these direct loans to banks will revert to overnight next month from 28 days currently, and left Fed Funds unchanged at 0-.25%. There has been nothing to suggest an extension or expansion of the MBS purchase program, which ends March 31st, so it will be interesting to see what he says. Currently mortgage prices are a shade better.