The Lede

CNBC, Apr. 13, 2016--Olick, Diana It took a few weeks, but near record low mortgage rates may be pushing more people into the housing market. Mortgage application volume jumped 10 percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Washington Post, Apr. 13, 2016--Harney, Kenneth For years it was widely considered a massive government-sanctioned rip-off of home-mortgage borrowers. Then it was banned by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And now it's the subject of class-action suits that accuse four large banks of illegally collecting millions of dollars in excess mortgage-interest payments from their customers.

Reuters, Apr. 13, 2016 Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has declared that the U.S. central bank's interest-rate decisions will depend on how the economy performs. But Fed officials and their staff are already dismissing large swaths of the most recent economic data because they view it as unreliable, a twist that could make it harder for investors, businesses and households to plan for the central bank's next interest-rate move.

Associated Press, Apr. 13, 2016--Rugaber, Christopher S. U.S. retail sales fell last month as Americans cut back on their car purchases, the latest sign that consumers are reluctant to spend freely.

CNBC, Apr. 13, 2016--Olick, Diana A Dallas firm is offering a down payment protection plan--insurance for home equity.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 13, 2016--Mitchell, Josh; Sparshott, Jeffrey The producer-price index fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in March after dropping 0.2% in February, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 13, 2016--Light, Joe Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could forgive mortgage principal for thousands of borrowers under a new plan to be rolled out by their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as soon as Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 13, 2016--Borak, Donna The watchdogs of two U.S. bank regulators are investigating whether the regulators' assessments of big banks' plans to wind down in a potential bankruptcy were leaked to The Wall Street Journal.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 13, 2015--Ip, Greg Before breaking up big banks, regulators should consider the costs to customers and the economy.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 13, 2016--Passy, Jacob Mutual of Omaha Bank and an affiliate of PlainsCapital Bank in Dallas have partnered to sell residential mortgages.

HousingWire, Apr. 13, 2016--Lane, Ben Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., introduced the bill, called H.R. 489 or the Risk Management and Homeowner Stability Act of 2016, earlier this week, along with Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., and Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas. The bill would amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to prohibit the use of guarantee fees as budgetary offsets.

MBA Education presents its popular Advanced Servicing Workshop on Wednesday, Apr. 20 and Thursday, Apr. 21 at CoreLogic in Westlake (Dallas), Texas.