The National Association of Home Builders will publish December housing start numbers this week, an important leading economic indicator. Despite low mortgage rates and the Federal Reserve's massive purchases of mortgage-backed securities to stabilize the housing market, housing starts have remained flat in 2009. The Fed has spent over $1 trillion purchasing mortgage-backed securities, but its efforts have not yet boosted housing construction according to the December numbers.

1. The Fed´s Trillion Dollar Lifting Job
 The National Association of Home Builders will publish the December Housing Start numbers
this week - they are one of the more helpful leading indicators for the economy
 For 2009 housing starts have been flat, ignoring low mortgage rates and the Fed´s massive
purchase program of mortgage-backed securities
The Fed´s Massive Effort to Stabilize
the US Housing Market
Fed Purchases of
Mortgage-Backed 1000
2400 US Housing Starts
Securities
Thousand Units 800
1800 Annual Rates Right Scale
in Billions of Dollars
Left Scale 600
1200
Source: St. Louis Fed, Dallas Fed 400
600 200
1782
2147
1570
1179
655
488
574
521
479
551
590
593
581
586
527
574
0
11/04 11/05 11/06 11/07 11/08 1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
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