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Michael Fletcher covers domestic economy issues.

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Ariana Eunjung Cha writes about the economy for the Post and is the Web editor for its national economy and business section. She has served as the paper's bureau chief in Beijing, Shanghai and San Francisco and as a correspondent in Baghdad.

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Brady Dennis writes about economic policy and financial regulation. Before coming to The Post in September 2008, he was a staff writer at the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. At the Post, he was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and a Gerald Loeb Award for a three-part series he and a colleague wrote about the rise and fall of American International Group.

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Jia Lynn Yang is a staff writer at The Washington Post who covers policy that affects corporate America. She's interested in taxes, regulation and all the ways that business and Washington try to influence and make sense of one another. Before joining The Post, Jia Lynn was a Washington correspondent for Fortune magazine.

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Neil Irwin writes about the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve. He has been at the Post since 2000 and has an MBA from Columbia Business School, where he was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economics and Business Journalism. His interests include bond market data, cured pork products, and pinot noir.

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Howard Schneider covers international economics and trade for the Post. He has served in a variety of roles at the paper, three tours abroad in Israel, Egypt and Canada, and as economics editor. He is a native of Maryland's Eastern Shore, and proudly includes a chief oyster inspector among his ancestors.

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Mike Shepard is the Night Editor for Economy and Business News. A graduate of Georgetown University, Mike has worked at the Post for 22 years in a variety of editing assignments. He spent 1997 teaching journalism in Brazil on a Fulbright scholarship and is a fluent speaker of Portuguese.

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About This Blog

Political Economy explores how political forces in Washington and elsewhere in the world shape the economy and how corporate agendas influence political institutions and politicians. The blog offers new perspectives on the day's top economic and business stories with exclusive interviews with government officials and lawmakers, commentary from influential economists and analysis from Post reporters. Ariana Eunjung Cha is the blog's lead writer and Mike Shepard is the author of the daily economic agenda.

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Ezra Klein's Take

"The Obama campaign publicly supported the bank bailout and then repelled the populist measures to really hammer banker pay when they got into office. The financial reform bill didn't break up the banks, set leverage requirements in statute or do any of a number of other things that would've really hurt the financial industry. The auto bailout was designed to preserve the existence of America's auto industry, and even the Economist has admitted that the Obama administration did everything in its power to "restore both firms to health and then get out as quickly as possible." The various stimulus measures have been designed to directly support businesses or indirectly support the people who those businesses rely on."

Steve Pearlstein's Take

"Given the fragile state of the economy, this is no time to be raising taxes on the middle class, as nearly every dollar taxed is nearly a dollar not spent buying goods and services... At the same time, even conservative economists acknowledge that while the rich account for a disproportionate share of consumer spending, raising their taxes by a modest amount won't alter that spending or have much of a short-term impact on the economy. The reason: Wealthy people make considerably more than they spend, and they save the rest."

Data Digest: Mortgage rates remain at record lows

Mortgage rates

The numbers: Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed loans averaged 4.37 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Sept. 16, up slightly from 4.35 percent last week. The average for 15-year-fixed loans fell to another record low of 3.82 percent from 3.83 percent last week.

Quick take: The changes were so small that they essentially represent no change at all.

What it means for you: Interest rates are still well below the low levels they were last year and in previous years, meaning it may be advantageous for some homeowners to refinance. In fact, 30-year fixed mortgages have been below 5 percent for the past 19 weeks.

Data source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey

By Washington Post editors | September 16, 2010; 11:25 AM ET
Categories: Housing
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Comments

the FANNIE MAE Primary Mortgage Market Survey???????

Doesn't the Post have any copy editors left at all?

Posted by: mort_fin | September 16, 2010 1:12 PM | Report abuse

If you search on "fannie mae primary mortgage market survey" you get hits for that and also for "freddie mac primary mortgage market survey." So maybe they're interchangeable? Or else lots of people don't know Fannie Mae from Freddie Mac. (I sure don't.)

Posted by: Anonymous | September 16, 2010 2:31 PM | Report abuse

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