To Go,Rome below-You're thinking that the housing market in the US is the only economic sector going for it? In fact the housing sector only makes up around 9% or less of the US economy. In other words, the US economy is very diverse and with strong economic data that has come out today and yesterday, the US economy is still going strong. Reasons for a growing US economy which offsets this media frenzy housing crisis:
Wage gains and record household worth
Unemployment rate still relatively low
Growing exports
Record number of Business Investments and Research
Steady consumer spending
Very bad move to sell all your dollar holdings! You'll be sorry!

Celia, San Diego, CA, USA

Bush hasn't frozen squat. He is jawboning the holders of ARMs with teaser rates to freeze them. Those mortgages are now mostly ownedby trusts that have issued bonds backed by the payment stream from the mortgages. The trustee of each trust has a fidicuary duty to the bondholders to enforce the mortgages according to their terms and to collect what is due from the debtors as far as possible. Each trustee may face liability if it freezes rates without the consent of the numerous bondholders. We are are at the beginning of a long and messy process here.

Jack Cerf, Newark, NJ USA

Jeez. Bush in great idea shocker. Well done Dubya. Good move - humane, sensible, timely.

Howard Hughes, London,

It is a reasonable step given the circumstances.
The question is : Will this unfreeze the interbank credit flows?
If yes, will the Fed skip next Tuesday's expected rate cut so that US inflation is tempered?
In such a case, what will BoE rate cut today amount to? - A mistimed political move?

Lalit Shah, Chennai, India

America is (was) supposedly a market economy where the animal forces of capitalism are (were) let free to roam and create wealth for all. No longer.
America is a centrally planned economy where the Government blatantly intervenes to protect people from their own greed and mistakes, hoping that the only direction for the economy is up, and thus to forestall the consequences of the bubble it itself created with 1% interest rates. The dollar is going to lose its status as reserve currency very very soon, and the US will be running the printing presses to pay for the various wars they are engaged in. I have sold all my dollar holdings.

GO, Rome,