Remember back during the initial debate on the $700 billion bailout? Remember how we were led to believe the economy would collapse if they didn’t pump taxpayer money into mortgage securities? It sure took them long enough didn’t it?

The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that it will begin purchasing up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities early next month in an effort to bolster the long-suffering housing market.

The Fed first announced that it would purchase the securities, which consist of pools of mortgages that are bundled together and sold to investors, in late November but did not say when they would begin. The central bank will buy securities guaranteed by the government-controlled home loan giants Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, a federal agency.

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