A | Major housing industry groups voiced "profound concern" in a letter this week urging the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates.The rare public admonishment from top business advocates -- including the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders -- underscores a dramatic slowdown in the housing market due in large part to rising interest rates.The letter arrives roughly three weeks before the Fed plans to make its latest rate-hike decision.Mortgage rates have reached their highest level in more than two decades and they have continued to rise. Data released on Thursday showed that mortgage rates increased for the fifth consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac."The speed and magnitude of these [mortgage] rate increases, and resulting dislocation in our industry, is painful and unprecedented," the letter from the housing groups said.Here's what to know about why real estate groups called on the Fed to stop raising rates:

What's happening in the housing market?

Sky-high mortgage rates have dramatically slowed the housing market, since homebuyers have balked at stiff borrowing costs and home sellers have opted to stay on mortgages that lock them into relatively low rates.Mortgage applications have fallen to their lowest level since 1996, the Mortgage Brokers Association said earlier this month.Sales of previously owned homes, meanwhile, have plummeted more than 15% compared to a year ago, the National Association of Realtors found in August.The slowdown has coincided with a sharp rise in costs for potential homebuyers.The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage has climbed to nearly 7.6%, Freddie Mac data shows.When the Fed initiated the rise of bond yields with its first rate hike of the current series in March 2022, the average 30-year fixed mortgage stood at just 4.45%.Each percentage point increase in a mortgage rate can add thousands or tens of thousands in additional costs each year, depending on the price of the house, according to Rocket Mortgage.

What role is the Federal Reserve playing in the housing market slowdown?

An aggressive series of interest rate hikes at the Federal Reserve since last year has pushed up the 10-year Treasury yield, which loosely tracks with long-term mortgage rates.The Fed has fought elevated inflation with borrowing cost increases as it tries to slash price hikes by slowing the economy and choking off demand.While inflation has fallen significantly from a peak of about 9% last summer, price increases remain more than a percentage point higher than the Fed's inflation target.Price increases held steady in September, fresh data on Thursday showed, suggesting that elevated inflation remains resistant to the interest rate hikes.The persistence of elevated inflation has prompted the Fed to espouse a policy of holding interest rates at high levels for a prolonged period, which in turn has increased the 10-year Treasury yield and put upward pressure on mortgage rates.Moreover, the Fed expects to raise rates one more time this year, according to projections released last month.Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the continued effect of interest rates on mortgages, noting that activity in the housing market "remains well below levels of a year ago, largely reflecting higher mortgage rates."

What do the housing industry groups want the Fed to do?

Housing industry advocates want the Fed to take swift actions that reassure investors and other market participants of an end to the policies cooling the industry.Most notably, the industry groups want the central bank to release a statement saying that it has abandoned consideration of additional rate hikes.In their letter to Fed officials, the housing groups cautioned that a further slowdown in real estate could help tip the U.S. economy into a recession, scuttling the central bank's effort to achieve a "soft landing.""We urge the Fed to take these simple steps to ensure that this sector does not precipitate the hard landing the Fed has tried so hard to avoid," the letter said.。

据悉，今年特朗普在竞选过程中，又一次指责拜登政府上台后所做出的阿富汗撤军行动，称美国政府“将中亚和中东白白送给中国”。共和党人的意思是：阿富汗作为战略位置如此重要的国家，当年发生了被塔利班攻击的风险，美国就应该投入部队增援，以维持在这里的存在感而不是撤军走人，所以拜登将会因此而被“追责”。但美媒关注点在于，即使特朗普能重新上台，继续在阿富汗部署军队已经不可能，他们也只能接受在中东地区势力消亡的现状了。

12日，有官方背景（土耳其祖国党旗下报纸）的《光明报》发表一篇文章，其中提到土耳其想在中东代替美国“对抗中俄”的决心。

B | 文章援引美国负责政治事务的代理副国务卿约翰∙巴斯早前在安卡拉发表讲话时，拉拢土耳其称“两国的关系进入新阶段”的背景，表示美方实际上别有用心。简单来说就是：美国在中东地区已经很吃力了，华盛顿的政治中心希望让土耳其发挥制衡俄罗斯和中国的作用，让他们充当一个代理人的角色，减少美国的压力。

C |

这篇文章认为，所谓的利益代理人从短了来看是“土耳其在伊拉克和叙利亚对抗伊朗和俄罗斯”，从长了来看当然也包括中国，因为很多美国政客们认为中国在中东地区的势力已经越来越大了。至于怎么对抗这篇文章中并没有写明，只是一再提到了“美国支持”。所以只要土耳其愿意在中东帮助美国的话，他们会获得好处——拜登政府会和埃尔多安冰释前嫌，可能还会给安卡拉更多有利的条件。美方现在急缺新的代理人，这是公开的事情。

文章的作者则开门见山劝告埃尔多安不要这样做，因为如果充当代理人会严重损害自身利益。分析人士表示，中国和土耳其当前并没有太大的外交和利益摩擦，双方还是良好的贸易伙伴，土政府希望强化在华贸易；一旦上了美国这条船，和中国方面必然会起冲突，那么中土两国可能会成为对抗国家。再者而言，俄罗斯和土耳其过去的关系也很好，现在土耳其还在通过“南溪”管道来获得能源；如果和俄罗斯也翻脸，目标只是为了美国“未知的利益承诺”的话，是绝对不值得的。

此外，文章不知道埃尔多安所采取的最终决定如何，他们去年从美国获得了F-16战机，这可能会让政府觉得靠近美国更有好处。