The Outlook on the Housing Market - 2004-01-03
Today we will preview one part of the economy that will be 2004: the housing market and its implication for interest rates.

Last week Barron's polled the usual list of famous analysts, and asked them what they thought was in store for interest rates. The average suggested an almost 1% rise in ten year rates, which is the figure that influences mortgage rates the most. They would suggest that mortgage rates will rise to 7% or more by the end of the year.
Read the full story at GoldSeek.com

BOE's Bean Sees Challenges in Targeting Asset Price Gains - 2004-01-03
Bank of England Chief Economist Charles Bean said central bank policy makers would have difficulty setting interest rates inorder to hold back unwarranted inflation in the cost of assets.

The Bank of England is mandated to keep the inflation rate to 2 percent based on an index of consumer prices that is used across the 15-nation European Union. The cost of U.K. homes rose 15.6 percent last year and 25 percent in 2002, the most since 1989, according to Nationwide Building Society, the fifth-largest mortgage lender.
Read the full story at Bloomberg