Mortgage, Interest Rate | featured news

Record-low interest rates are out of reach for many homeowners, and a big reason is that millions are underwater. Obama and others are trying to assist them. U.S. interest rates are at rock-bottom levels, but that's not helping most Americans with mortgages.

It is an open secret in the banking world: the interest rates for many mortgages and loans are based on a benchmark that is largely guesswork. The flaws in the rate-setting process, which is used to determine the pricing for trillions of dollars of financial products, have been exposed by the latest banking scandal. Regulators around the world are investigating whether big banks gamed the rates for their own benefit before and after the financial crisis.

Applications for home mortgages surged last week, racking up the biggest increase in four months on a flood of refinancing demand as interest rates remained low, an industry group said on Wednesday.

U.S. mortgage applications fell last week despite the lowest loan rates in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Rates can fall to 2%--if you know how to play the game.