What about mid to long term?

The caveat on this: Consider this speculative opinion.  In other words, don't make lock/float decisions based on this commentary.  I'm just sharing my take on Bernanke's recent speech.

I'm liking our prospects for mid to long term rates because from an investment standpoint, Bernanke's comments just now on over-regulating the mortgage industry "should" serve to increase the quality perception of MBS.  In other words, if brokers are hyper-regulated, theoretically there will be less bad loans being written, which ultimately makes MBS more stable than they are now.

This lack of stability/quality in the eyes of investors is a key ingredient keeping the spread between MBS and the 10 year Treasury as high as it's ever been.  I think that spread will tighten in the coming weeks unless we get more headline bombshells like Bear Stearns.  But even considering the Bear news, the market did not sell off as much as some would have guessed.  

In short, MBS are finally showing some resiliency.  I like our prospects for next week, and of course, I could be completely proven wrong with unexpected market data. Maybe this opinion comes more from what "I'm hoping to see" instead of being a firm opinion about what "we will see."

Either we, see we shall!