Get your shit together -- interest rates may be going up

The Bernankester said so -- from Walter Russell Mead at The American Interest:

Fed Chief Warns Homebuyers: Time To Lock In Those Low Rates
Central bankers make it their business to be Delphic most of the time, but Ben Bernanke�s recent remarks drive us toward two conclusions. �In light of the current low interest rate environment, we are watching particularly closely for instances of �reaching for yield� and other forms of excessive risk-taking, which may affect asset prices and their relationships with fundamentals,� he said, according to the FT.

Now, first, with many US stock indices at all time highs despite slow economic growth, this is something of a yellow flag. If the Fed gets out of the business of inflating the stock market, equity investing is not going to be quite as much fun.

Second, if you�ve been toying with the idea of refinancing your home or taking out a mortgage, it�s time to get in gear. US interest rates seem headed up after their long, sedated nap. Locking in a nice long term mortgage at some of the lowest rates since time began seems like a good idea, and if Bernanke is right, these rates won�t last.

So the low-interest bubble is about to crash and they are marketing it as yet another 'easing'. Only problem is that the interest we pay on our debt to China is pegged in part to our internal interest rates -- if this raises, we will be further in debt to our Asian enablers. Interesting times indeed...