Volatile week aheadLIVENEWS.com.au, Australia -Feb 17, 2008Short term interest rates are rising sharply, adding to pressures on indebted companies and their banks, and home loan rates and there's been a noticeable ... FHA is the Federal Housing Administration. As part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), one of the chief purposes of the FHA is to help people obtain financing for their homes.