(RECAP: Monetary policy in the U.S. and other developed countries “is reaching its limits,” but the Federal Reserve has not yet run out of responses to a potential slowdown, former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote Friday. In a blog post for the Brookings Institution, he argued a “balanced monetary-fiscal response” would better boost the economy than monetary tools alone. Bernanke assessed policy options for the Fed, saying negative interest rates hold “modest benefits” but are unlikely. Bernanke said the Fed could use forward guidance, or “talking down” longer-term rates while convincing markets that small-term rates will remain low. If economic weakness warranted a stronger response, the Fed may consider quantitative easing.)

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(RECAP: On March 18, NAR President Tom Salomone sent a letter to HUD concerning the FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook. NAR is asking FHA to reconsider language in the Handbook that requires appraisers to take on home inspection type duties, which are adding delay and confusion to the homebuying process. NAR is also asking FHA to re-enforce language stressing the difference between an appraisal and a home inspection in form HUD-92564-CN, For Your Protection: Get a Home Inspection.)

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(RECAP: While building credit and maintaining a excellent credit history remains a necessary tool for Americans in order to provide financial opportunities such as obtaining a loan for a mortgage or to make other large buys, recent studies revealed that many Americans do not have any credit and in many cases do not even know what a credit score is. In a recent survey of 668 Bay Area college students containing questions about consumer credit and how it effects financial decisions conducted by LendEDU, the results revealed that 59.3 percent of respondents could not produce a broad definition of a credit score. The survey showed that 42.5 percent of respondents did not believe that student debt was vital in determining a credit score—and this despite the fact that seven out of every 10 college graduates leave campus with an average of $30,000 in student loan debt. Also, 42.4 percent of respondents could not name even one way to improve a credit score.)

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