Snap your fingers and rates could be changed….

Today marks Ben Bernanke’s final FOMC meeting and monetary policy announcement at 2pm ET.  Stocks have edged up slightly, and bonds are slightly down at the moment, as investors brace themselves for volatility.  Housing starts popped by 22% from November versus October’s pace, which is the biggest increase in almost 6 years.  mortgage bonds are still within a tight trading range they have been in for roughly 2 weeks.  The FOMC’s approach to tapering is anyone’s guess, but markets are on pins and needles, ready for a kneejerk reaction to any related comments from Mr. Bernanke. We would like to float into today’s announcement, but the price movement can happen in the blink of an eye.  Therefore, we will suggest locking short term transactions before the volatility hits.