Lending professionals are continuously trying to predict trends. This past summer, the belief was that rates were definitely headed to 6%+ territory. Now, we've actually reversed the trend and gone lower.

Word is that the Fed will keep rates low until the end of spring 10, which should, theoretically, bolster monetary supply and allow banks to continuet to transact in commercial and residential lending. Since there's an extension of the home buyer credits, rates probably won't stray too far from the 5-6% range for the near-term.

Quoted: In the year since a U.S. cancer researcher's warning drew wide attention, more evidence is emerging that long-term cell phone use is associated with cancer, but there's still not a definitive explanation or proof of cause and effect.

...but the increase may just put us in-line with historical levels.

Quoted: Overall, there have been 26,372 bankruptcies filed this year in Washington state, up 46 percent over the same period last year. Experts say the tightening of consumer credit and home equity lending over the past year left many families with no other option. The level of bankruptcy filings may be returning to normal historical levels, says Robert Lawless, a bankruptcy law professor at the University of Illinois. During the '90s, about 24,000 bankruptcies were filed each year in Washington state, according to data from the American Bankruptcy Institute. From 2000 to 2004, an average 37,000 bankruptcies were filed annually. Filings peaked at 46,930 in 2005.

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