In a sign investors' loss of confidence in credit markets is deepening, rates on three-month Treasury bills fell to the lowest level since 1954. The Fed will auction $75 billion in Treasuries next week in exchange for an expanded array of collateral to ease the logjam in lending. Treasury prices are at unsustainable levels and we've completely backed away from the market.
Fed policy makers on March 18 cut their target lending rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to 2.25 percent, saying ``measures of inflation expectations have risen.'' The cut was smaller than the 1 percentage point traders had expected with 90 percent certainty before the meeting.
This week, a solid majority of panelists believe mortgage rates will rise over the next 35 to 45 days. About one-quarter think rates will fall, and the rest believe rates will remain relatively unchanged (plus or minus 2 basis points).
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