The Lede

Washington Post, Sept. 7, 2017--Kathy Orton (MBA Mention)Fixed mortgage rates sank to new lows for the year this week, Freddie Mac reported.

Bloomberg, Sept. 7, 2017--Laura J KellerThe underlying mortgages are all guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo said Thursday in a statement that didn't include terms. The serving rights will be reflected in third-quarter results.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 7, 2017--Laura Kusisto, Douglas Belkin (subscription)A severe shortage of construction workers is expected to cause widespread delays and push labor costs sharply higher as Texas begins to rebuild from Hurricane Harvey. The labor squeeze could get worse still if Hurricane Irma slams the Southeastern U.S. this weekend as expected.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 7, 2017--Kevin Wack (subscription)Lenders in Houston and other flood-ravaged parts of Texas are bracing for a wave of missed payments--particularly on auto loans and residential mortgages--as distressed borrowers use any available cash to get back on their feet.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 7, 2017--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Former Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer, securitization pioneer Lewis Ranieri and other private and public sector leaders are forming a new housing finance policy team at The Milken Institute.

HousingWire, Sept. 7, 2017--Ben LaneOcwen Financial will pay a fine of $1 million for running afoul of the terms of the National Mortgage Settlement by not properly refunding force-placed insurance premiums to certain borrowers during the first quarter.

Mortgage Orb, Sept. 7, 2017--Michael BatesOne of the mortgage industry's most prominent technology and analytics providers, Black Knight Financial Services Inc., is rebranding itself a bit following planned shareholder activity on Wall Street.

Mortgage Daily, Sept. 7, 2017Berkshire-affiliate HomeServices of America Inc. announced Thursday that it has acquired The Long & Foster Companies Inc. and its family of companies.

Mortgage Daily, Sept. 7, 2017Ownership of mortgage servicing rights on a large portfolio of government-sponsored enterprise single-family loans is trading hands.

HousingWire, Sept. 7, 2017--Brena SwansonThe Mortgage Bankers Association announced MISMO, the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, is looking into online notarizations to establish an industry standard.

HousingWire, Sept. 7, 2017--Ben LaneThe new bill is called the "TRID Improvement Act of 2017," and has yet to be officially introduced into the House, but the bill was discussed on Capitol Hill on Thursday during a meeting of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee.

Washington Post, Sept. 7, 2017--Craig Timberg, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Brian FungCredit reporting agency Equifax said Thursday that hackers gained access to sensitive personal data--Social Security numbers, birth dates and home addresses--for up to 143 million Americans, a major cybersecurity breach at a firm that serves as one of the three major clearinghouses for Americans' credit histories.