The Lede
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Historic Mortgage Rates: From 1981 to 2019 and Their Impact
The Street, Feb. 5, 2019--Brian O'ConnellTalk about a toboggan ride. U.S. historical mortgage rates from the early 1970s to 2019 have been on a decidedly downward trend.
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Senate Panel to Consider Nomination of Fannie, Freddie Overseer Next Week
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5, 2019--Andrew Ackerman (subscription)Senate lawmakers are expected as early as next week to consider the nomination of Mark Calabria, a critic of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to the post responsible for overseeing the housing-finance companies.
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Tech Companies Seen as Banks’ Competitors for Mortgages: Fannie Mae
National Mortgage News, Feb. 5, 2019--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)A significant percentage of consumers are willing to turn to technology companies for their financial needs, including applying for a mortgage, although they have trust issues with them, a Fannie Mae report said.
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Redfin: West Coast Shifting to a Buyers Market
HousingWire, Feb. 5, 2019--Alcynna LloydAlthough several housing markets were impacted by January's slow growth in home sales, new data from Redfin indicates the West Coast is especially feeling the slowdown.
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Fed to Include High Unemployment in 2019 Stress Test Scenario
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5, 2019--Andrew Ackerman, Lalita Clozel (subscription)The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said that its stress test for big banks will imagine a rapid increase in unemployment, as it announced the details of the hypothetical scenario that banks must survive to pass the latest round of the exams.
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CMBS Delinquency Falls to a New Post-Crisis Low
National Mortgage Professional, Feb. 5, 2019--Phil HallThe delinquency rate for U.S. commercial real estate loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities began 2019 by continuing its 2018 downward spiral, according to data from Trepp LLC.
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Fed Exempts Most Regional Banks from Stress Testing in 2019
American Banker, Feb. 5, 2019--John Heltman (subscription)The Federal Reserve on Tuesday agreed to exempt banks with assets of $100 billion to $250 billion from the 2019 supervisory stress testing cycle, an announcement included as almost an afterthought in a suite of other changes unveiled to provide greater transparency to its stress testing regime.
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U.S. Services Sector Activity at Six-Month Low; Shutdown Blamed
Reuters, Feb. 5, 2019--Lucia MutikaniU.S. services sector activity slowed to a six-month low in January as businesses worried about the impact of a partial shutdown of the federal government on the economy.
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