Here we go again another government attempt to stop foreclosure. With government initiated loan modification programs failing to put a stop to the foreclosure crisis.

Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, told congressional leaders in a letter yesterday that the Fed will seek to renegotiate mortgages it owns that might otherwise enter foreclosure.

It is unclear how many homeowners stand to benefit. Under the program, the Fed can reduce what a homeowner owes on a mortgage, lower the interest rate, lengthen the term of a loan or take other steps to keep a loan from defaulting, if doing so would offer taxpayers a better long-term payoff than foreclosure.

The interesting thing is that this has been going on now for almost a year through reputable loan modification companies.

Scott Jenkins, a homeowner in Irvine CA, worked with Mortgage Modification Legal Network located in California and says. I felt like my mortgage company was giving me the run around and I needed help now. I contacted the Mortgage Modification Legal Network and my mortgage modification was done in 10 days. I truly believe that waiting on the government or federal programs would of landed me in a shelter or even worse.

This latest attempt to help homeowners should be taken with caution. The new policy applies only to mortgages the Fed controls through three companies formed to hold mortgage-related assets it acquired last year from the collapse of investment house Bear Stearns and insurer AIG. Those three companies hold roughly $74 billion in assets. That is only a fraction of the total troubled mortgages and mortgage-backed securities

As in the past government announcements seem to be the lifeline homeowners need to rescue them from foreclosure. Then you look at the fine print. Individual borrowers are unlikely to know whether their mortgages are owned by the Fed, but if they qualify for Loan Modification, they would deal only with their mortgage servicing company.

Trying to figure out if you mortgage is owned by the Fed is more than likely going to be a timely task, something homeowners facing foreclosure can not afford. A loan modification can stop foreclosure and is usually the best option for homeowners. It is recommended that you contact a loan modification attorney for assistance.

The Federal Reserve also announced it will use new tools to stimulate the economy and curb foreclosures. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its benchmark lending rate near zero and said it’s likely to stay that way for some time, while also signaling new efforts to lower home mortgage rates.

The Fed left its target for the fed funds rate unchanged at a range of zero to a quarter-point. This ensures that most consumer lending rates will remain unchanged, too. The Fed promised new steps to boost lending to consumers. It also suggested that it would soon purchase Treasury bonds to decrease other lending rates notably, home mortgage rates and long-term corporate loans.

The Fed has also accepted collateral spurned by private lenders, expanded the kinds of institutions that can borrow from the Fed and extended repayment periods.

All this being said the probability of this having a big impact on the economy and foreclosures is low. A report on Friday is expected to show the economy contracted at a 5.4 percent annual rate in the final three months of last year, which would be the steepest falloff in activity for any quarter since 1982.

Shrugging off investors fears of a double-dip recession and punishing deflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted that a moderate U.S. economic expansion is likely to continue despite numerous threats to growth.

Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke acknowledged that European debt problems are slowing U.S. growth, as is the protracted slump in the U.S. housing sector. He said mounting federal budget deficits must be addressed, but added that government spending is warranted given the lack of private-sector demand for goods and services.

Bernanke shot down suggestions that his Fed is out of bullets should the economy slide back toward contraction.

“If the recovery seems to be faltering, then we at least need to review our options. We need to think about possibilities. But, broadly speaking, there are a number of things we could consider” he said.

The Fed’s benchmark interest rates, a main lever of the central bank to spur economic activity, have been near zero for the past two years. That’s led some economists to worry that the Fed is running out of options to spark a slumping economy.

Bernanke countered that there are a number of unconventional steps the Fed still could take to stimulate the economy, ranging from resuming purchases of mortgages to reinvesting in securities to issuing a statement that interest rates will remain at zero for a fixed period to provide certainty to investors.

“We have not come to the point where we can tell you precisely what the leading options are” he said, adding that “policy is already quite stimulative. I think we still do have options, but they are not going to be the conventional options.”

Bernanke was blunt about the challenges, and he acknowledged that some government stimulus that powered the expansion in the first half of 2010 is likely to fade.

“Although fiscal policy and inventory restocking will likely be providing less impetus to the recovery than they have in recent quarters, rising demand from households and businesses should help sustain growth” Bernanke said in opening remarks.

He later discounted, when asked directly, the chances of sliding back into recession.

“Our expectation is still for a moderate recovery which will over time bring down the unemployment rate. That’s still our main scenario, that the economy will continue to grow and that private demand will take over as the driver of growth” he said.

Financial markets slumped shortly after Bernanke’s testimony was made public, in part because of his acknowledgement that “the economic outlook remains unusually uncertain” but the thrust of what he said was positive.

Real consumer spending appears to have expanded at about a 2.5% annual rate in the first half of 2010, Bernanke said, with purchases of durable goods “such as large appliances” increasing especially rapidly.

The economic forecast of the Fed’s Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets the benchmark lending rate that influences borrowing costs across the economy, remains mostly unchanged, he said. Most FOMC members expect the economy to grow at a rate of 3-3.5% this year and 3.5-4.5% in 2011 and 2012, and they anticipate a jobless rate of 7-7.5% by late 2012.

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Interest rates are the costs for borrowing money. The calculation for an interest rate is a simple expression of interest payments as a percentage of principal. Benchmark interest rates are set by an entities like the Federal Reserve, government, or a bank and are used to peg other consumer and commercial interest rates. These interest rates determine what we owe on mortgages, credit cards, and loans, as well as what we earn on CDs, savings accounts, money market accounts, and checking accounts. MoneyRates.com tracks the latest interest rate news and changes.

The forecast for higher interest rates has been extended as the Federal Reserve remains committed to maintain a policy of ultra-low interest rates. The released minutes from the last meeting of the FOMC suggest that the majority of Fed policy-makers are weighing the risks of economic slowdown as greater than those of inflation. Until economic activity picks up again in the US, it appears the Fed is satisfied keeping the federal funds rate set at 0.25% and the discount rate set at 3.25%. Mortgage rates remain low for home buyers and home owners according to the most recent survey of American lenders from Freddie Mac. The weekly survey released last Thursday indicated that many mortgage rate averages once again are at record lows. The national average on the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was unchanged from the previous week’s level of 4.57%. The national average on the 15-year fixed mortgage decreased slightly, dropping one basis point from 4.07% to 4.06%. Adjustable-rate mortgages indexed to US Treasury yields were mixed this week according to the Freddie Mac survey. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) increased to 3.85 percent and the 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged fell to 3.74 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages tied to the LIBOR index, a common interest rate benchmark, were also slightly higher this week. The biggest catalyst for the record low mortgage rates in the US has been the continued support of the Federal Reserve of the housing market and the strong demand from investors for US Treasuries. Mortgage rates have been attractive enough to homeowners keep lenders busy with refinancings. Homeowners with fixed mortgages over 5.25% or variable-rate mortgages tied to interest-rate indexes have been advised to compare refinancing rates before interest rates increase again from today’s present levels. Check MoneyRates.com for the best mortgage rates and deals.

Short-term US Treasury yields have stayed in a very narrow range for the first half of July. The 90-day T-Bill is currently yielding 0.16% and the one-year T-Bill is yielding 0.27%, nearly unchanged from the yields that they ended with in June. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield can react strongly with economic news and releases. Today, the 10-year Treasury note is yielding 3.00%, but in the last 90 days it has ranged from 3.35% to 2.94%. Economists are forecasting that as the US economy picks up steam, that yields on Treasury notes and bonds could increase back over 4.5%. If the yields increase too quickly, investors who own government bond funds could see some loss in value.

Americans with home equity loans and credit cards that are indexed to Treasury yield averages should also be careful to follow the Treasury yield trend. This scenaraio is not likely before 2011, so savers may have a long wait before they see the +3% savings rates that they crave for their CDs, money market accounts, and savings accounts. Check MoneyRates.com daily for the latest interest rate news and forecasts.

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The euro rose against the yen and dollar in Asia Tuesday as rallying regional equities prompted short-term investors to scoop up the risk-sensitive common currency, though lingering concern over European debt woes will likely limit further rises, dealers said.

The respite in the euro’s recent falls came as Asian bourses strengthened, bucking expectations for weakness after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.2%. In early afternoon trade, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.34%.

The euro was also helped after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that consumer spending and investment are showing “good momentum.” The cautious assessment that the U.S. economy is likely to continue recovering reassured investors anxious that European debt woes could rock the global economy, dealers said.

“Bernanke’s remarks basically fueled a bit more risk appetite,” said Osao Iizuka, head of foreign exchange trading at Sumitomo Trust & Banking. “Together with the stronger stocks, that has put more investors back in ‘risk-on’ mode, and that has helped the euro.”

At 0450 GMT, the euro stood at Y109.58 up from Y109.04 late Monday in New York, and at $1.1959 from $1.1917. If European and U.S. share markets also bounce back, the euro could extend its gains slightly, dealers said.

But in the coming weeks, lingering concerns over further contagion of euro-zone debt problems is likely to keep strong downward pressure on the common currency. Moreover, investors would likely refrain from buying back the euro aggressively given how sharply it has moved recently, traders said.

“We’re in a very volatile market now where it’s possible for the euro to drop suddenly by 100 points or more” against the dollar or yen, said Sumitomo Trust & Banking’s Iizuka. “While stock rallies like today’s can help, the flip-side is that if stocks fall again the euro could be sold off quickly.”

Elsewhere, the dollar traded hands at Y91.64, little changed from Y91.60 late Monday in New York. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies including the yen and euro, was at 88.273 compared with 88.500.

The “flight to quality” continued yesterday (Wednesday) as investors pushed up the price of Treasuries on fears the U.S. Federal Reserve’s drastic rate cut means the economy’s woes are far from over.

But while Treasury prices hit record highs, concerns surfaced among analysts about how much farther the rally can go considering the implied message in the Fed’s statement that the economy is in worse shape than we thought and policy makers will do anything they can to keep it from completely tanking.

“Everyone originally was very enthused yesterday because the Fed made it known they were going to stand and do anything that is necessary, no matter what, to get this economy back on track” said Sal Arnuk, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey. “This morning we awaken with a hangover and the realization of how many bullets do they have left”

Long term Treasuries with 10- and 30-year maturities were favored by investors after the Fed said it would keep long-term interest rates suppressed for “some time.” In its statement the central bank vowed to buy agency and mortgage-backed securities and said it will consider purchasing government debt.

Yields on the 10- and 30-year notes tumbled in New York trading, touching their all time lows, according to BGCantor Market Data, as investors continued to bid up prices.

And for the second straight day, investors in the shortest government securities were willing to accept a negative return for the safety of U.S. government debt, as yields on one-month T-bills reached minus 0.02%.

But the Fed’s latest statement has raised doubts about its real intentions with some analysts. Even though the central bank promised to purchase treasuries to keep interest rates from rising, policy makers will likely avoid purchasing government debt, according to RDQ Economics LLC.

“This step is still an unlikely one for the Fed to take, since it is trying to narrow the spread between mortgage-backed securities and Treasuries,” John Ryding and Conrad DeQuadros, founders of New York-based RDQ, wrote in a note yesterday.

30-year mortgage bonds issued by Fannie Mae (FNM) currently yield 1.49 percentage points more than the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, down from 1.62 percentage points Tuesday. The Fed wants to drive those yields down to encourage borrowers and lenders.

More skepticism comes from the rates themselves. After all, how many investors can tolerate a negative return on their money, when the very nature of investing says they will eventually demand a respectable return?

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Most banks kept lending standards unchanged while loan demand weakened more gradually in the first quarter than previously, a Federal Reserve survey said on Monday, suggesting some glimmer of hope for borrowing and lending.

The Fed’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey found that while banks were tightening their lending standards, the number doing so declined in a number of categories. At the same time, some banks eased lending standards in certain areas.

Banks easing lending policies were big institutions with assets above $20 billion.

“Demand for, and supply of, credit remains soft, but this survey suggests that conditions are gradually improving” said Peter Newland of Barclays Capital.

The Fed surveys 56 domestic banks and the U.S. branches of 23 foreign-based banks for the report.

Large banks eased standards for home mortgage and home equity lines of credit, while smaller banks tightened standards for those two categories of lending.

The report, which Fed policymakers reviewed before they left unchanged their pledge to keep benchmark interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period last week, found slight improvements in commercial lending, with some banks easing standards and some terms on loans to large and medium firms.

Standards nevertheless remain quite stringent after the severe restriction of credit during the financial crisis, the Fed said.

Also, standards on commercial loans to small firms were roughly unchanged, and terms on such loans were tightened further over the past three months, the Fed said.

Banks said their standards for approving business credit cards are tighter than before the crisis. Many banks had tightened terms on business credit card loans to small firms in the past six months.

While a large number of banks continued to have tightened standards for commercial real estate loans in the quarter, the number is smaller than in the previous survey, the Fed said.

The Federal Reserve’s single largest intervention to prop up the American economy, its $1.25 trillion program to buy mortgage-backed securities, came to a long-anticipated end on Wednesday.

The program has been credited with holding mortgage interest rates at near-record lows and slowing the nationwide decline in home prices that threatened to send the economy into an extended slump.

When the central bank announced the program two days before Thanksgiving 2008, the spread, or difference, between the rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and a 10-year Treasury note exceeded 2.5 percentage points, or 250 basis points, nearly twice the typical spread.

Demand for mortgage bonds had been frozen since the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant mortgage-finance companies, in September 2008. “We were in a deflationary spiral, causing mortgages to go underwater, more foreclosures and a further decline in housing prices,” said Susan M. Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “The potential maelstrom of destruction was out there, bringing down not only the housing market but the overall economy. That’s what was stopped.”

She called the Fed’s mortgage purchases “the single most important move to stabilize the economy and to prevent a debacle.”

The program was initially for $500 billion. The purchases began in January 2009, and in March, the Fed raised the goal to $1.25 trillion. The purchases were to end by Dec. 31, but in September, the Fed said the purchases would taper off more slowly, ending on March 31.

The purchases caused rates for 30-year mortgages, which exceeded 6 percent in late 2008, to fall to below 5 percent by March 2009. They are hovering slightly above 5 percent today.

Economists had feared that mortgage interest rates would climb sharply after the 15-month program, but those fears have abated in recent weeks. Fed policy makers have suggested that they would consider resuming the purchases if conditions warranted it, but only as a last resort.

“Financial markets have improved considerably over the last year, and I am hopeful that mortgages will remain highly affordable even after our purchases cease,” Janet L. Yellen, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said in a speech on March 23. “Any significant run-up in mortgage rates would create risks for a housing recovery.”

Ms. Yellen is President Obama’s choice to be the next vice chairwoman of the Fed, after Donald L. Kohn retires in June, but she has not been formally nominated.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said the private market for mortgage-backed securities had sufficiently recovered for the Fed program to end without a hiccup.

“Just as the Fed is stepping out, private investors appear to be stepping in,” Mr. Yun said. “As long as there are buyers on Wall Street for mortgages, it should have no impact on consumers. Having said that, it’s possible that the mortgage rate could be higher later in the year, but that would be due to macroeconomic forces unrelated to the Fed purchase program.”

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