Ryan discusses the death of Osama Bin Laden; Ryan reviews the economic news of the week; Ryan notices the correlation between increased home sales and
interest rate drops; Louis notes we can't expect the housing market to be supported by further decreases in
rates as they are already near historic
lows; Ryan explains that
interest rates change once every four hours; Ryan notes the difference between
getting a quote and being locked in to an
interest rate; Ryan advises the importance of keeping in touch with your mortgage lender; Louis notes that
interest rates change a lot faster than home prices; Ryan notes that the consumer confidence was up, Ryan and Louis discuss the Fed's decision to keep
interest rates where they are and to continue the $ 600 billion QE2 program; Ryan and Louis discuss the Fed's view that inflation is nascent; Louis notes that not only does the Fed not see inflation that exists but disclaims any responsibility for it; Louis asserts that there is a correlation between oil prices and Fed policy; Louis discusses Ben Bernanke's assertion that the Fed can't control oil prices but that they somehow can control the impact of higher oil prices on the rest of the economy; Louis also remarks on Bernanke's view of the dollar - the claim that a strong dollar can be achieved through the Fed's current policy as it is their belief that they are creating a
sound economy and therefore a
sound dollar; Louis notes the irony of the Fed chastising Congress» spendthrift ways — if the Fed did not monetize the debt, Congress could» nt spend; Louis noted that as Bernanke spoke the prices of gold and silver rose as it seemed that the Fed has no
interest in cutting off the easy money; the current Fed policy will keep
interest rates low; Ryan notes that the Fed knows that they can't let
interest rates rise because of the housing mess; Louis notes that the Fed has a Hobson's Choice - either keep
rates low or let
interest rates rise and cut off the recovery.