tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111870912011-04-21T15:36:37.786-07:00carlhaackenoreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187091.post-1109782460683398232005-03-02T08:53:00.000-08:002005-03-02T08:54:20.686-08:00<p>By Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post, Wednesday, March 2, 2005; Page A17 </p><p>Something strange happened on the way to higher interest rates: They declined. We're talking about rates on long-term mortgages and bonds. These rates truly affect the economy, because they influence housing and business investment. Most economists expected them to rise. But no. Last June rates on 30-year fixed mortgages averaged 6.29 percent; now they're about 5.7 percent. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan recently called the declines a "conundrum.'' Equally puzzling is whether the declines guarantee a healthy economy -- or suggest a speculative "credit bubble.''</p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64396-2005Mar1.html">[more]</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11187091-110978246068339823?l=debtbubble.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>carlhaackenoreply@blogger.com4