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FDIC's Bair warns of government "exposure" in mortgages (Reuters)
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:53:37 GMT
Reuters - A key U.S. banking regulator raised concern on Wednesday about the risk of "exposure" the government is taking on in the mortgage market and urged more stringent standards for underwriting mortgages.
SEC defends $75 million deal with Citigroup (AP)
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:22:50 GMT
AP - The government is defending as "fair and adequate" its $75 million settlement with Citigroup Inc. over charges it misled investors about billions in potential losses from subprime mortgages.
Wind-whipped fires add to Detroit's economic woes (AP)
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:21:30 GMT

Burned cars and property are seen on the west side of Detroit, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010. A wind-swept fire swept through at least three Detroit neighborhoods, destroying dozens of homes, including many that were vacant, officials said. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)AP - For a city already struggling with high unemployment, widespread foreclosures and deep budget cuts, here was another crisis: Wind-whipped fires tearing through row after row of homes, some of them abandoned.


Bankers urge government to pull plug on Fannie, Freddie (Reuters)
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:35:59 GMT
Reuters - The federal government should take mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac off life support sooner rather than later, the Mortgage Bankers Association urged on Wednesday.
Freddie Mac to issue new 5-year note due 2015 (AP)
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:41:01 GMT
AP - Government sponsored mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday it plans to issue new five-year notes due on Sept. 10, 2015.
Summary Box: Mortgage lending falls 1.5 pct (AP)
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:45:35 GMT
AP - MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS SLIP: Applications for home loans dipped last week as mortgage rates ticked up slightly from the lowest level in decades, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Economists further scale back U.S. growth outlook (Reuters)
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:41:37 GMT

London shares ended in positive territory Thursday on US jobs and home sales data after falling in early deals.(AFP/File/Carl de Souza)Reuters - Stubbornly high unemployment and signs of persistent weakness in the housing market have prompted economists to further cut their outlook for U.S. growth in the second half of the year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.


Mortgage lending down 1.5 pct as rates inch up (AP)
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:24:00 GMT
AP - Applications for home loans dipped last week as mortgage rates ticked up slightly from the lowest level in decades.
Home buying up in week, but down 40 percent in year (Reuters)
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:18:02 GMT

London shares ended in positive territory Thursday on US jobs and home sales data after falling in early deals.(AFP/File/Carl de Souza)Reuters - Americans applied to buy homes at the highest pace last week since May, but more than 8 of every 10 loan requests was for a refinancing, Mortgage Bankers Association data show on Wednesday.


 Gov't launches plan to help "underwater" borrowers (AP)
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:41:58 GMT

In this Aug. 8, 2010 photo shows a foreclosure sign in front of a home in Los Angeles, Calif. The Obama administration is trying to jump-start its sputtering plan to tackle the foreclosure crisis with an effort to assist up to 1.5 million homeowners who owe more on their properties than their homes are worth. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)AP - The Obama administration is trying to jump-start its sputtering attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis with an effort to assist homeowners who owe more on their properties than their homes are worth.


Summary Box: Plan to help "underwater" borrowers (AP)
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:51:15 GMT
AP - NEW FORECLOSURE PLAN: The Obama administration is trying to revive its attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis with a new effort to assist homeowners who owe more on their properties than their homes are worth.
MGIC added $1.2B in mortgage coverage in August (AP)
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:50:41 GMT
AP - Private mortgage insurer Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. said Friday it added $1.2 billion in new primary insurance coverage in August and the number of delinquent loans it insures declined.
Mo. drops appeal of real estate ballot measure (AP)
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:47:03 GMT
AP - An initiative barring taxes on home and land sales is clear to appear on Missouri's ballot after the state dropped an appeal Friday of a judge's decision ordering the election.
Con man could get life under Calif. 3-strikes law (AP)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:26:05 GMT
AP - A man accused of bilking elderly South Los Angeles residents out of their homes in a foreclosure scam is facing a potential life sentence in a rare use of California's three-strikes law for a white-collar crime.
Oil prices rise after mixed economic news (AP)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:51:59 GMT

Oil covered brown pelicans found off the Louisiana coast and affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico wait in a holding pen for cleaning in Buras, Louisiana, in June. BP sought to spread the blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, setting off a battle of oil industry giants with tens of billions of dollars in potential fines and legal liabilities at stake.(AFP/File/Saul Loeb)AP - Oil prices ended higher Thursday after an initial retreat as investors put a positive spin on reports about jobs, manufacturing and home sales.


Summary Box: Mortgage rates hit low of 4.32 pct. (AP)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:22:50 GMT
AP - RECORD LOWS: Mortgage rates fell to the lowest levels in decades for the tenth time in 11 weeks, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 4.32 percent. The 15-year fixed loan hit 3.83 percent.
How to Get a Government-Backed, Zero-Down-Payment Mortgage (U.S. News & World Report)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:13:50 GMT
U.S. News & World Report - More than four years after real estate values peaked, the historic plunge in home prices remains fresh in the minds of mortgage lenders. After taking painful losses on delinquent home loans, banks have imposed tougher standards--such as increased credit scores and higher down payment requirements--on applicants of all stripes. And as investors fled for the hills, the exotic mortgage products that helped fuel the real estate boom have largely disappeared from the private market. But that doesn't mean all buyers need a big pile of cash to snag a home loan. ...
Pending home sales rise 5.2 percent in July (AP)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:12:42 GMT

In this Aug. 31, 2010, photograph, a house with a sale pending sign is shown in San Francisco. The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes increased in July but remained well below last year's levels, a sign that demand for housing remains weak.(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)AP - The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes increased in July but remained well below last year's levels, a sign that demand for housing remains weak.


Summary Box: Pending home sales up 5.2 pct in July (AP)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:00:39 GMT
AP - PENDING HOME SALES RISE: The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes increased by 5.2 percent in July from June.
Mortgage rates hit record low: Freddie Mac (Reuters)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:25:44 GMT
Reuters - U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows as yields on government debt dropped, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.