The Lede

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 10, 2018--Paul Kiernan (subscription)Businesses in the U.S. are less optimistic about the outlook for the coming year than they were 12 months ago, though many still expect sales, hiring and investment to rise in 2019, according to an Institute for Supply Management survey.

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 10, 2018--Andrew Ackerman, Kate Davidson (subscription)The Trump administration is expected to soon announce that it plans to nominate Mark Calabria to become the director of the obscure but powerful Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator for the two companies. Calabria currently serves as chief economist to Vice President Mike Pence.

Reuters, Dec. 10, 2018--Dena AubinJPMorgan Chase Bank must face a lawsuit by California mortgage borrowers accusing it of violating state law by not paying interest on mortgage escrow accounts, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled on Friday.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 10, 2018--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Another adjustable-rate mortgage index is going away as the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco will no longer publish the monthly Eleventh District Cost of Funds Index after January 2020.

HousingWire, Dec. 10, 2018--Jessica GuerinAn annual report released by the HUD Office of Inspector General outlines the top six management challenges facing the agency in 2019, and the details aren't pretty.

Bloomberg, Dec. 10, 2018--James TarmyA new report by real estate agency Knight Frank finds that 153 properties in six cities' "ultra-prime" category sold for a combined total of $6.6 billion in the last year, or an average of $43 million per house.

CNBC, Dec. 10, 2018--Mark HendricksHouse shoppers hurrying to find dream homes before interest rates go higher often turn to online mortgage calculators offered by personal finance and real estate sites to get a feel for just how dreamy a home they can afford. When they do, they risk getting bad information, analysts say.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo 2019 returns to San Diego Feb. 10-13.

The Mortgage Bankers Association announces its new Home Equity Lending Study. The initial planning call takes place Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 2:00 p.m. ET.