Fixed rate mortgage loans faced a stunning increase last week from 5.72% to 6.04% demonstrating the continuing credit crunch in mortgage markets.  Also underpinning this is the fear that housing values will continue to fall and the ever declining liquidity to fund these credit securities.  The rates are about at where they were at the beginning of 2008, demonstrating almost no trickle down benefit from the aggressive interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and its Chairman Ben Bernanke.