Devoted to interest rates, loans, and lending institutions

Despite the insistence by Fed Chair Ben Bernanke that stagflation is not coming, many see the writing on the wall. After all, this is the man that insisted the US would not see anything near a recession, and by all counts that's exactly where we are headed. But the pressing issue right now is stagflation.

What is stagflation?

Stagflation is the combination of inflation and stagnant growth. This means that prices for consumers are rising, but economic growth is not keep pacing.

For the mortgage market, this means more difficulties. The International Herald Tribune explains the problems afflicting the mortgage market -- no matter what the Fed does to hold off stagflation:

"What's disturbing and scary is that the Fed is doing all the right things - cutting rates, and saying they'll do more - but it's not doing anything," said Michael Menatian, president of Sanborn Mortgage, based in Connecticut. "We have hundreds of customers who want to refinance, but they're locked out."