Shane Oliver praises God for Ben Bernanke’s handling of US economy: Tweet of the day

Shane Oliver praises God for Ben Bernanke’s handling of US economy: Tweet of the day
Larry SchlesingerSep 13, 2012

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has received celestial praise from AMP Capital Investors chief economist Shane Oliver for his handling of the US economy and this week's announcement of new housing stimulus efforts.

Oliver, who is also head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, tweeted:

Oliver's praise follows the announcement this week that that US Federal Reserve would start buying US$40 billion of mortgage-backed bonds every month.

No end date has been set for the scheme.

The securitisation of mortgage loans (where loans are packaged together and then sold to investors) collapsed in the wake of the GFC and remains in a subdued state. 

“Buying those bonds should translate into lower mortgage interest rates, speeding up the tentative recovery of the housing market,” noted  Peter Coy, Bloomberg Businessweek's economics editor.

“The Fed is betting that a stronger housing market will help lift the overall economy, which remains stuck in low gear more than three years past the end of the 2007-09 recession.”

The Australian government also supported the securitisation of loans when it agreed to buy mortgage-backed securities from Australian lenders. To date the AOFM has invested $12.7 billion in 45 residential mortgage-backed securitisation (RMBS) issues.

For more insights from Shane Oliver, visit a dedicated section of AMP's website.

Larry Schlesinger

Larry Schlesinger was a property writer at Property Observer