Federal Reserve Governor Jeremy Stein gave a speech yesterday that everybody-or at least everybody in the rather small world of monetary policy obsessives-is talking about. He looked at ways monetary policy can encourage bubbles in financial markets, and argued that central banks should be ready to use their control over interest rates to address them. Read full article >>

Refinancing homeowners dropped their interest rate an average 1.8 points last quarter, according to numbers released this week by Freddie Mac, paying about $3,600 a year less for a mortgage of $200,000. While prudent borrowers will use that extra cash to pay down debt, many are either forgoing the savings to shorten the term of the loan, or are spending it.

by Cynthia Adcock, National Housing Conference and Center for Housing Policy A trio of seasoned housing sector veterans are adding their voices to a rising chorus of assertions that the housing industry is finally on the upswing. A new report, Housing's Lost Decade: Where We Go From Here , focuses primarily on where the market might be headed in the years ahead. The report's authors, NHC Board member Kent Colton, Gopal Ahwulahlia and Jay Shackford have between them more than a century of combined experience as housing market observers. Colton, who also serves as chairman of the board of the Center for Housing Policy and a member of the NHC Board of Directors, was CEO of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) for 15 years and director of President Reagan's Housing Commission; Jay Shackford headed up NAHB's media and public affairs operation for 35 years; and Gopal Ahluwalia, was NAHB's chief economic and market researcher for three decades until he stepped down in late 2009. Playing to Ahluwahlia's strength as a master data manager, the report's 40-slide PowerPoint presentation is chock full of backup charts and data. It covers a wide range of issues, including the excesses leading up to the subprime mortgage fiasco and the 2008 financial market collapse, what needs to be done to fix today's struggling housing finance system and the mountain of student debt (now over $1 trillion) and challenging job market weighing down 65 million echo baby boomers, many of whom are doubling up with friends or family and standing on the sidelines waiting to get into the housing market. Says Colton, "It's a comprehensive and candid look the housing market and an appropriate reminder of what went so fundamentally wrong during the housing boom years, a story that needs to be told and retold to avoid repeating those same mistakes again. " Ahluwahlia, an oft-quoted housing statistician during his time at NAHB, likens "echo baby boomers"...

Arch to Buy PMI Assets in $300 Million Mortgage Wager Bloomberg Arch Capital Group Ltd., the Bermuda- based insurer, said it's adding assets from bankrupt insurer PMI Group Inc. in a $300 million deal to enter the U.S. mortgage guaranty business as the housing market rebounds. Arch is acquiring CMG Mortgage ... and more »

From Pennsylvania and New Jersey north through New York State and into New England, blizzard and storm warnings are up. By the time the storm is over on Saturday, some places may have 3 feet of new snow.

Credit unions will get a look at seven recently finalized mortgage rules from the CFPB during a Feb. 13 webcast led by NAFCU Director of Regulatory Compliance Steve Van Beek.

U.S. stock index futures indicated a higher open on Friday, mirroring gains in early trade in Asia and Europe after China posted better-than-expected trade data. China said its exports grew 25 percent in January year-on-year, its strongest showing since April 2011.