Fed keeps interest rates flat

In their attempts to balance a housing market slump and a dropping US dollar, Bernanke and friends at the Fed have opted for status quo, keeping rates unchanged for the fourth straight time.

The 'rock and a hard place' they are stuck between is this: Do they lower interest rates to try to re-inflate the real estate market and slumping car sales, or do they raise interest rates to ward off inflation fears and prop up a dollar that has taken a tumble lately.

For now they are going with the 'wait and see' approach.