Daily Market Update 3/19/13

Mortgage rates were little changed Tuesday as the Fed began its two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting to discuss monetary policy.  An announcement by the Fed will be made tomorrow afternoon.  In economic news, February Housing Starts rose by 1.0% to an annual rate of 917,000 units, beating expectations.  Building Permits jumped 5% to the highest level since June 2008.  A vote on the proposal to tax bank deposits in Cypress as a condition for a bank bailout by the EU is scheduled for later today, although it may be postponed due to public outcry.  No other key economic data will be released today.