Reuters, May 12, 2016–Mutikani, Lucia
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose last week to a more than one-year high, but economists blamed striking telecommunications workers for the surge and said the data did not signal a deterioration in the overall labor market.
Reuters, May 12, 2016–Saphir, Ann
U.S. lawmakers including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Thursday sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen urging more diversity at the U.S. central bank. Ten of the Fed’s 12 regional bank presidents are men; 11 of them are white, the letter noted.
MarketWatch, May 12, 2016–Bartash, Jeffrey
The cost the U.S. paid for imported goods rose 0.3% in April, largely because of higher oil prices.
Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2016–Josephs, Leslie
Real-estate stocks are getting their own home in the S&P 500 later this year, a move that could spell trouble in their old neighborhood.
Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2016–Light, Joe
Hedge funds that have bet hundreds of millions of dollars on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s stock aren’t just leaving the fate of their investment to Wall Street. A group of hedge funds, including Paulson & Co. and Perry Capital LLC, is helping to finance a lobbying campaign to lift government controls on what happens with the mortgage giants’ profits.
CNBC, May 13, 2016
Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David Stevens previewed spring’s home-buying season and weighed in on the health of the mortgage market.
Ditech Financial LLC took issue with a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article (Mortgage Lender Ditech Laying Off 103 in Earth City) that was abstracted in the Top National News section of the May 11 edition of MBA NewsLink. A Ditech spokesperson called the story “inaccurate” and said Ditech is converting its operations in Earth City from a servicing site to an originations site. “All current employees at the location were offered continued employment in the originations business and we anticipate a significant number of those employees will accept their offers,” she said, with training and licensing paid for by Ditech. She added Ditech also plans to expand staffing at the Earth City location with external hires from the St. Louis market.
Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2016–Grind, Kirsten
Many traditional mortgage lenders have retreated from the business since new rules and higher standards were imposed after the financial crisis. Private lenders are filling the vacuum.
Business Insider, May 11, 2016–Moshinsky, Ben
Moody’s Managing Director Colin Ellis said interest rates might not return to levels seen before the 2008 financial crisis.
The Real Deal New York, May 11, 2016–Brenzel, Kathryn
Panelists at Weiser Mazars’ Commercial Real Estate Summit panel focused on the volatility of the market and the slowdown in certain construction financing. Banks are pulling back, leaving non-traditional lenders to fill the gap.
