The Federal Reserve on Tuesday declined to lower federal funds rate below 2 percent. That's what the government charges banks to borrow money.

The pressure was building on Bernanke & Co. to inject the economy with cheaper money to sooth Wall Street turmoil. But they held tight, realizing that the economy, thanks to volatile oil prices, has yet to slay the inflationary beast.

What's this mean for home loans? People with good credit can get a mortgage today for less than 6 percent. That's plenty good and historically extraordinary. We don't need an open monetary spigot at this point. You know where that got us in 2004-2005.

The Fed has been eager to buck up the dollar after its recent free fall, a plunge that's encouraged speculation in oil and gold. For all the talk of the dollar's demise as the world's currency, it's still needed as a stabilizing force.

Good for Bernanke.