Fannie & Freddie to the rescue...?

“The GSEs are really looked to as the last great hope for the housing market,”

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN2744291220080227?sp=true

Regulators and lawmakers have leaned harder on Fannie Mae Fannie Mae, which was created in 1938 to boost homeownership, in recent months to bolster the housing market, most recently by increasing the size of loans eligible for their purchase. However, losses at the companies have squeezed their profits and reduced their ability to expand.

Oh, and BTW: http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSN2745603920080227?sp=true

“Fed Chairman Bernanke stressed the downside risk to growth in his discussion on the economic outlook,” said Drew Matus, senior financial economist with Lehman Brothers in New York.

“The focus on the medium-term outlook and the continued focus on the weak growth outlook support our view that the Fed will cut rates by 50 basis points at the 18 March FOMC meeting and will continue to cut rates beyond that in order to limit the downside growth risks,” Matus said in a note.