Category: Top National News

Retuers, Oct. 28, 2015–Mutikani, Lucia
U.S. third-quarter economic growth could surprise on the upside after government data on Wednesday showed the goods trade deficit narrowed sharply to a seven-month low in September.

CNN, Oct. 28, 2015–Walsh, Deirdre
The era of Paul Ryan has begun on Capitol Hill after House Republicans nominated the 45-year-old Wisconsin congressman to serve as speaker of the House, setting him up to be the youngest to ascend to the post since before the Civil War.

HousingWire, Oct. 28, 2015–Lane, Ben
Citing the strength of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, the Federal Housing Administration in January cut its annual mortgage insurance premiums by 50 basis points, from 1.35% to 0.85%, but one group is now calling on the FHA to reduce its insurance premiums even further, to pre-crisis levels.

New York Times, Oct. 29, 2015–Bray, Chad
Deutsche Bank said Thursday that it would slash as many as 35,000 jobs over the next two years through internal cuts and sale of businesses, as the new co-chief executive, John Cryan, unveiled plans to simplify and overhaul the lender.

Charlotte Observer, Oct. 29, 2015–Rothacker, Rick
Bank of America is eliminating about 100 jobs in Charlotte, as the bank continues to reduce staff that handles problem mortgage loans and makes cuts in its technology and operations unit, a bank spokesman said Wednesday.

TribLive.com (Pittsburgh), Oct. 29, 2015–Fleisher, Chris
Home flippers can turn a bigger profit in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania than any other place in the nation, according to real estate data provider RealtyTrac, but the returns may not be as good as they appear.

Reuters, Oct. 27, 2015–Mutikani, Lucia
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, slipped 0.3 percent last month after a downwardly revised 1.6 percent decline in August.

Bloomberg, Oct. 27, 2015–Chiglinsky, Katherine
Genworth Financial Inc. agreed to sell a European mortgage insurance operation to AmTrust Financial Services Inc. as Chief Executive Officer Tom McInerney divests assets to bolster capital amid tighter regulation on companies that back home loans in the U.S. Genworth expects to record an after-tax loss of $140 million tied to the sale and will get net proceeds of about $55 million.

HousingWire, Oct. 27, 2015–Gaffney, Jacob
Radian Group announced its net income halved from the same period last year. However, the company remains positive about its growth opportunities in the mortgage insurance business.

National Mortgage News, Oct. 27, 2015–Karen, Ari
When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its long-awaited final Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rule last week the amount of data readily available to the agency was greatly expanded. This isn’t heralded by the mortgage industry, however. Combined with the disparate impact theory, recently recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court under the Fair Housing Act, the HMDA rule further compounds legal risks and business challenges to lenders.