September 24, 2007 (LPAC)--So far, as foretold by EIR, the widely heralded "Bernanke cut" in the Federal Reserve interest rate, was having absolutely zero effect on mortgage rates: As compiled Monday by bankrate.com, and featured in a Bloomberg financial wire, the average 30-year fixed mortgage has actually risen 0.10 of a percentage point to 6.08% (after peaking at 6.42% in June), and average rates for 30-year fixed "jumbo" mortgages (larger than $417,000) were up to 7% from 6.96% last week. Total mortgage originations nationwide fell 8.8% in the second quarter to $730 billion from a year earlier, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, and the number of subprime mortgages fell 66% to $56 billion. Mortgage Bankers Association is claiming that mortgage originations may drop to $460 billion in the fourth quarter, down 36% from a year earlier.