The Lede

Politico, Jan. 4, 2019--Victoria Guida"No," was Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's one-word answer to a question of whether he would step down at the president's request, during a panel discussion in Atlanta hosted by the American Economic Association.

World Property Journal, Jan. 4, 2019--Monsef RachidAccording to the Mortgage Bankers Association's third quarter of 2018 Commercial/Multifamily DataBook, as researched by Jamie Woodwell, MBA's Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research; the overall U.S. economic strength in the first three quarters of 2018 has further tightened the job market.

American Banker, Jan. 4, 2019--Hannah Lang (subscription)Although the partial government shutdown has not yet been long enough to significantly hamper the mortgage market, lenders and borrowers may already be feeling the strain.

MarketWatch, Jan. 4, 2019--Robert Schroeder "With the latest revisions, the average job growth over the last three months - at 254,000 - is remarkably strong," said Mortgage Bankers Association Chief Economists Mike Fratantoni.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 4, 2019--Paul Centopani (free story)As the government shutdown enters its third week, mortgage servicers are activating the response plans they normally use during hurricanes and wildfires to assist federal workers who may have trouble paying their mortgages.

Bloomberg, Jan. 7, 2019--Prashant GopalJames Stack, who predicted the 2008 real estate crash and nailed last year's housing slowdown with uncanny timing, is back with some bad news for 2019.

American Banker, Jan. 6, 2019--Kevin Wack (subscription)Before the financial crisis, federal and state regulators unabashedly pitched their charters to banks as the better choice. Now regulatory competition is back, despite warnings that such jousting might result in lax oversight.

UEXpress, Jan. 4, 2019--Lew SichelmanAccording to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the average house in last year's third quarter declined to 2,495 square feet. And the National Association of Home Builders says house sizes have been falling for the last three years as builders add more entry-level houses to their product mix.