Data

Restrained by drops in farm income and sequester-driven cuts in government programs, personal income slipped $5.6 billion in April, while personal consumption spending dropped $20.5 billion, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday.

360 Mortgage Group, an Austin-headquartered mortgage banker focusing on third-party origination, announced the hiring of three new wholesale account executives who possess a combined total of more than 65 years of mortgage experience.

While banks and lending institutions are nervous about the waves of compliance challenges coming in, NTC says the smartest companies are using regulatory changes as a springboard to grow.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a disappointing 0.3 percent gain in its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) in April.

Encouraging economic data helped lift fixed mortgage rates to their highest level in the past year this week, according to surveys from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

The nation's economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.4 percent in the first quarter, slightly slower than originally reported, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said Thursday. At the same time, BEA said corporate profits in the first quarter were $1.97 trillion, down almost $44 billion from the fourth quarter. The last time corporate profits showed a quarter-over-quarter decline was in the first quarter of 2012. Corporate profits are considered a key indicator of employment trends.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance rose for the third time in the last four weeks, increasing 10,000 to 354,000 for the week ending May 25, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Another spike in home prices drove Massachusetts sales down for the third straight month in April, according to the Warren Group.

In Florida, ISGN Corporation announced the addition of former Xerox executive Nancy Alley as the company's chief product officer.

Ellie Mae announced that Veterans United has selected Encompass360 as its mortgage management solution.