The politics of bailout: a waiting game

Mortgage rates have not been able to hold the early-week low at 5.875 percent, but are no worse than 6 percent for the lowest-fee deals.

The Fannie-Freddie takeover instantly knocked retail mortgage rates down 0.375 percent, but that's been it. The sky-high spread versus the 10-year Treasury note has compressed from 270 basis points to mere cloud-height 235 basis points -- but that's still 70 basis points too high.

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