The Fed to meet at the end of January

With the Fed meeting on Jan 30-31st, next week may prove to be an interesting time for investors and mortgage brokers. The last Fed meeting in December 2006 brought no rate adjustment, but the policy statement implied a possibility for further increase. Nevertheless, economists deem hikes unlikely, after four consecutive meetings since August 2006 without a rate change. Predictions are that the rate will remain unchanged after the meeting yet again, and a cut is possible later in 2007.

The mortgage and sales data to be received until the end of this week will be very important, as it will outline the current direction of the market, which shows some signs of decline in activity. This may or may not affect the overall picture but it may influence the outcome of the meeting.

In the meantime, on Tuesday, January 30, 2007, Patricia Cook, Freddie Mac’s executive vice president of investments and capital markets, will hold a speech at the Citigroup 2007 Financial Services Conference in New York City.

The speech will be broadcasted live through a link on Freddie Mac’s webpage http://www.freddiemac.com/investors. The archive will be up early on January 31st and available until March 1st, 2007.