Poole-Fed will stop rate hikes if U.S. economy slows - 2006-02-16
The Federal Reserve would have to see further evidence that the U.S. economy was "really slowing down" and inflation pressures coming off to end its tightening campaign, St Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole revealed on Thursday. He declared that soft fourth-quarter economic growth was due to a slew of special factors that should prove temporary.
Read the full story at Reuters

Washington real estate market remains hot - 2006-02-16
Despite steeper prices, higher mortgage rates, less affordability and worries that a "housing bubble" may be about to pop, the number of homes sold in Washington continued to increase in the final quarter of last year, the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University reported Wednesday.
Read the full story at Seattle Post Intelligencer