The Lede

The Street, Jan. 17, 2017--O'Connell, Brian Economists had expected rates to rise after the Fed's decision to boost benchmark interest rates back in December. That may well happen--but it just hasn't happened yet.

MarketWatch, Jan. 17, 2017--Goldstein, Steve    The Justice Department on Tuesday finalized its settlement with Deutsche Bank over allegations the German institution misled residential mortgage-backed securities investors in 2006 and 2007.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 17, 2017--Passy, Jacob Social Finance, the online lender that made its name refinancing student loans for high-earning millennials, is doubling down on mortgages as rising interest rates are expected to make originations scarcer.

HousingWire, Jan. 17, 2017--Swanson, Brena Senate Democrats dubbed President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, the "foreclosure king," but while this makes a nice soundbite, it simply isn't true, according to Movement Mortgage CEO Casey Crawford.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 17, 2017--Hoffman, Liz Morgan Stanley posted its best fourth-quarter results since the financial crisis, keeping a lid on expenses and growing revenue in both its core Wall Street businesses and its newer wealth franchise.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 17, 2017--Patnaude, ArtInvestors are piling money into real-estate funds-but fund managers are finding it a challenge to spend it.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 17, 2017--Fung, Esther; Smith, Jennifer Vacant space in malls is being filled by stores used for pickup and returns of goods bought online, and by online merchants looking to reach new customers.

HousingWire, Jan. 17, 2017--Lane, Ben While the fourth-quarter results for Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase were decidedly mixed, with JPMorgan significantly exceeding and Wells Fargo missing market expectations, there was one common denominator among the big banks' earnings--lower earnings from mortgage banking.

Reuters, Jan. 17, 2017--Oatis, Jonathan Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that Trump will break his campaign promise of "standing up for workers and consumers against the rigged system" if he fires the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's director, Richard Cordray, after taking office on Friday.

National Real Estate Investor, Jan. 17, 2017--Anderson, Bendix  U.S. apartment properties still look good to foreign investors.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 17, 2017--Collins, Brian HUD's proposed guidance has stirred up a debate on elevation standards as flooding occurs more frequently and in more unexpected places. The higher elevation requirements could impact affordability and "may limit the number of newly constructed homes available to many first-time and low-to-moderate income borrowers," wrote Thomas Kim and Steve O'Connor of the Mortgage Bankers Association in a Dec. 21 comment letter.

GoRion, Jan. 17, 2017--Bourgi, Sam  The value of the U.S. housing market reached a new record in 2016, fully recouping the value lost during the subprime mortgage crisis.