...from the Slate website (an excellent news aggregator)

By Daniel PolitiPosted Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, at 6:32 AM ETThe Washington Post devotes its top nonlocal spot to, and the Wall Street Journal fronts, word that the Treasury Department is considering a new plan that would lower interest rates on newly issued mortgages in an effort to revitalize the housing market. The Treasury would offer to buy securities that back up these new mortgages as long as banks offer interest rates that are lower than the market average. Figures are still being worked out, but it looks like banks that want to participate in the program would have to issue 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at a 4.5 percent interest rate, which is more than a full point lower than the current market average.

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