Fed Expected to Keep Increasing Rates - 2005-02-01
Federal Reserve policy-makers are likely to keep increasing short-term interest rates this year, a defense against an inflation flare-up now that the economic expansion is on solid footing.

Even with the Fed's string of rate hikes, longer-term interest rates, such as mortgage rates, have been well behaved, in part reflecting investors' confidence that the Fed is on top of inflation. Rates on 30-year mortgages fell last week to 5.66 percent, marking the fourth week in a row that these rates declined.
Read the full story at The Sentinel

Construction spending climbs at fastest pace in eight years - 2005-02-01
Construction spending climbed 1.1 percent in December, capping a year in which building activity posted the best performance since 1996.

The strength last year came in housing activity as builders continued their rush to erect houses to meet soaring demand propelled by the lowest mortgage rates in more than four decades.
Read the full story at The Californian