Fed Will Keep Key Rates Low

When the Federal Reserve ends its meeting on Wednesday afternoon, it is almost certain to leave the key rate at or near zero and pledge to hold it there.

That makes it likely mortgages will stay historically low and rates on home-equity and other consumer loans will hug 3 percent.

But it is unclear whether the Fed will continue some programs that have kept mortgages and other consumer debt even lower than the market might expect. One such program involves buying U.S. Treasurys. The Fed is set to buy $300 billion worth of Treasury bonds by the fall. It has bought $235 billion already this year.

"I think they'll let it expire. It seems the mood turned against Treasury purchases in the last couple of months, and there's been some skepticism whether it has worked in bringing rates down," says Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Economics.

Source: The Associated Press, Jeannine Aversa (08/11/2009)