The Lede

National Mortgage News, Mar. 4, 2016--Peters, Andy Commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquency rates dropped in the fourth quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Visalia Times-Delta (Calif.), Mar. 4, 2016--Engle, Jeremy Nearly half, 46 percent, of all U.S. Homeowners with a mortgage, expect their equity will increase in 2016, even though three out of five (60 percent) report equity in their homes has already increased during the last three years of the housing recovery, according to new research conducted for LoanDepot.

Reuters, Mar. 4, 2016--Raymond, Nate U.S. authorities have decided not to pursue criminal charges against any Citigroup Inc executives or employees involved in packaging and selling mortgage-backed securities at the heart of the 2008 financial crisis, a government report shows.

Bloomberg, Mar. 4, 2016--Moran, Nancy; Miller, Stephen Richard Jennings, who founded and led the mortgage-finance group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and went on to start his own real estate investment-banking firm, has died. He was 72.

Bloomberg, Mar. 4, 2016--Scully, Matt Social Finance Inc. is sketching out plans to start a real estate investment trust that would buy the mortgages the startup lender makes.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 4, 2016--Harrison, David Friday's jobs report is the latest piece of good economic news for the Federal Reserve and reinforces the notion that the U.S. economy is getting stronger despite turbulence abroad. While that probably isn't enough to prompt the central bank to raise interest rates this month, it could bolster the case for moving at its meetings in April or June.

National Mortgage News, Mar. 4, 2016--Sinnock, Bonnie Lenders and servicers that haven't complied with the Federal Housing Administration's lower cap on late fees better do it soon.

HousingWire, Mar. 4, 2016--Swanson, Brena Millennials are slow to enter the housing market, and there's an extreme shortage of inventory in the housing market, anyway. So which problem gets solved first?

Reuters, Mar. 4, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia The U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in January as a strong dollar and weak global demand helped to push exports to a more than five-and-a-half-year low, suggesting trade will continue to weigh on economic growth in the first quarter.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Mar. 5, 2016--Spicuzza, Mary; Spivak, Cary A bill that would strip the City of Milwaukee of its ability to force financial institutions to quickly sell abandoned, foreclosed properties known as zombie homes is headed toward the Senate floor.

Miami Herald, Mar. 4, 2016--Harney, Kenneth R. Under new federal real estate settlement procedures that took effect late last year, an unexpected problem is taking shape: Many lenders and title companies are refusing to provide copies of the final closing documents to real estate agents representing home buyers.

Creators Syndicate, Mar. 7, 2016--Woodard, James The mortgage foreclosure rate has dropped to a more normal rate. This was the major point in a report recently issued by the Mortgage Bankers Association.