The Federal Open Market Committee held an unscheduled meeting on Tuesday. Thank goodness for the timing of MLK day this year, as a federal holiday. The Fed was able to see the Asian markets imploding on Monday and were able to pre-emptive take action, rather than being behind the curve.

The WSJ’s neat interpretation is called Parsing The Fed.

Investors are betting that the Fed will drop rates another 50 basis points at their next meeting next week.

We may see a mini-refi boom in the coming months, but I am skeptical we will see a surge in sales activity across the country as a result of lower rates. The problem still remains with the credit markets and its unlikely for housing to recover anytime soon unless the relationships or price/risk is fixed.