The Lede
Top National News
Life Cos.’ Mortgage Returns Rebound
GlobeSt.com, Jan. 15, 2016--Bubny, Paul
Returns on commercial mortgage loans held by life insurance companies made a strong recovery in the third quarter, LifeComps said Friday.
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PNC Profit Falls on Lower Mortgage, Corporate Fees
MarketWatch, Jan. 15, 2016--Beilfuss, Lisa
PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said profit declined in its latest quarter as the lender generated lower corporate service and mortgage banking fees. Still, results beat Wall Street estimates.
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Why Dodd-Frank Is Helping Large Lenders
National Mortgage News, Jan. 15, 2016--Gillen, Kevin
The author, general manager with TD Bank, said as the purchasing market heats up, the earnings advantage will go to MLOs who are backed by mortgage lenders that have a strong brand, deep pockets and an infrastructure that can support competitive rates, on-time closings and a suite of products that appeal to market needs.
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A Leaner Citigroup Weighs in With a Robust Profit
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 15, 2016--Rexrode, Christina; Rudegeair, Peter
Citigroup Inc. on Friday reported its biggest full-year earnings in nearly a decade, an affirmation of the firm's strategy to get smaller after decades of precrisis empire building.
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Fed Almost Certain to Keep Interest Rates Unchanged at Next Meeting
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 15, 2016--Hilsenrath, Jon
Federal Reserve officials, facing an economic jumble as 2016 begins, will almost certainly keep short-term interest rates steady at a policy meeting this month and turn their focus toward a potential cliffhanger decision about whether to lift them when they gather again in March.
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Wells Fargo 4Q15 Earnings Fall In Line with Expectations
HousingWire, Jan. 15, 2016--Swanson, Brena
Wells Fargo's fourth quarter net income came in at $5.7 billion, or $1.03 per share, compared with $5.7 billion, or $1.02 per share, for fourth quarter 2014. This is marginally down from $5.8 billion, or $1.05 per share, for the third quarter.
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Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Rose in January to Seven-Month High
Bloomberg, Jan. 15, 2016--Jamrisko, Michelle
Consumer confidence rose in January to the highest level in seven months as low inflation helped support households, whose outlook for wage gains remained subdued.
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Raft of Weak U.S. Data Points to Sharply Slower Growth
Reuters, Jan. 15, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia
U.S. retail sales fell in December as unseasonably warm weather undercut purchases of winter apparel. The growth picture was further darkened by other data on Friday showing industrial production fell in December, dragged down by cutbacks in utilities and mining output. Business inventories were also weak, posting their biggest drop in just over four years in November.
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Financing Made Easier For Some
UExpress.com, Jan. 15, 2016--Sichelman, Lew
Great minds in the mortgage business continue to make it simpler for everyday folks to deal with financing.
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Lending Grows as Commercial Mortgage Market Stabilizes
Crain's Detroit Business, Jan. 17, 2016--Pinho, Kirk
Some real estate finance experts predicted turbulent seas ahead two years ago, expecting a wave of defaults on commercial mortgages issued during the free-lending heyday in the mid-2000s. But it appears as though the choppier waters have subsided.
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Cybercriminals Will Increasingly Target Mortgage Industry, Security Expert Jeff Bernstein Says
Scotsman Guide, Jan. 18, 2016--Whitman, Victor
The rising tide of cyberattacks by hackers, online criminals and international terrorists was treated as an "existential threat" to mortgage companies by panelists at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention.
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5 Things to Watch on the Economic Calendar
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 15, 2015--Morath, Eric
The economic slate gets off to a slow start with government offices closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King's Birthday. But after that comes a bevy of data about the housing sector, the latest inflation reading and new details about manufacturing.
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Bank of America’s Results Improve
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 19, 2016--Rudegeair, Peter; Rexrode, Christina
Bank of America Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit rose, though the second-largest U.S. bank by assets labored through a tough trading market.
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Welcome to the Crisis Economy, Where Tumult Reigns
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 18, 2016--Fidler, Stephen
Myriad sources of anxiety are roiling global financial markets and political capitals: a weakening Chinese economy; collapsing oil prices; escalating tension in the Middle East that has spawned a refugee crisis in Europe; the possibility of financial dislocation as U.S. monetary policy tightens.
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