low interest rates

Low interest rates and low inflation will help play into policy decisions, such as the future of the Federal Reserve.

President Obama will announce changes in the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) on Monday, making it easier for homeowners to capitalize on current low-interest rates by refinancing their old, high-interest mortgages.

Spurred by low interest rates and a desire to cut debt, homeowners are shortening the terms of their mortgages to pay them off early.

Alan Greenspan acknowledged Thursday that U.S. regulators had failed to grasp the magnitude of the financial crisis, but the former Federal Reserve chairman argued that low interest rates were not to blame.

On Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Chairman said low interest rates are here to stay for awhile. The economy may need the zero percent interest rates, but they're a challenge for people looking for a little return on their savings.

John Dimsdale reports.

Ben Bernanke and the rest of the Federal Reserve may think that low interest rates can continue to be just what the economy needs to get back on track.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Sunday that low interest rates in the first half of the last decade were "appropriate" at the time and were not the main cause of the ensuing housing bubble.

Trends pushing down the dollar -- a weak economy, low interest rates, huge government debt -- will be with us awhile. Gold is a safer haven than the greenback.

Investors are kicking themselves for failing to spot the twin bubbles in the stock and housing markets when the laws of economic gravity for both became spectacularly unhinged.

Now, America should be on red alert for another bubble that's destined to pop -- outrageously overpriced government bonds, the flipside being outrageously low interest rates.