OFFER TO SHARE WHICH CAN PROVIDE FIRST-TIME BUYERS A LEG UP ON PROPERTY LADDER - 2004-02-20
Watching from the bottom of the property ladder as your ideal first home appreciates out of your price range can be heart-breaking. But a new plan aims to open up the market to more first-time buyers, as Anna Temple reports.

First-time buyers will be offered a chance to buy a half share in the property of their choice. And they will only have to take out half the mortgage that would normally be needed.
Read the full story at at Lincolnshire Echo

U.S. mortgage bonds lower after January CPI rise - 2004-02-20
Prices of U.S. mortgage bonds traded a tad lower early Friday after a bigger-than-expected
January increase in U.S. consumer prices resurrected the specter of inflation, the nemesis of bonds.

"This will put a halt in the recent rally in bond prices," said Stuart Hoffman, PNC Financial Services' chief economist.

Thirty- and 15-year MBS were unchanged to down 2/32, faring better than U.S. Treasuries. Bond equivalent yields on 30-year.
Read the full story at Reuters via Forbes