While the federal reserve has signaled that it likely will stop tightening soon, new Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke does not want to be seen as soft on the war against inflation. So there's no solid assurance the Fed will be done if it raises the short-term rate another quarter-point, to 5%, at its May 10 meeting. Besides, long-term rates today don't depend on Fed policy. When foreign holders of U.S. debt dump even a small portion of their Trea-surys, bond and mortgage rates rise. Low rates in Europe used to help keep our rates down. Now Britain and the European Union are moving rates up, making their debt more attractive.
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机译：尽管美联储已暗示可能很快将收紧货币政策，但新任美联储主席本·伯南克（Ben S. Bernanke）不想被视为在对抗通货膨胀的战争中表现软弱。因此，如果在5月10日的会议上将短期利率再提高25个百分点至5％，则美联储将无法做出可靠的保证。此外，今天的长期利率不取决于美联储的政策。当外国持有美国国债的人抛售其美国国债的一小部分时，债券和抵押贷款利率就会上升。欧洲的低利率曾经帮助我们降低了利率。现在，英国和欧盟正在提高利率，使其债务更具吸引力。
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