Following a vote in the Senate, Jack Lew is officially the Secretary of the Treasury. The Senate voted Wednesday 71-26 to confirm Lew, who was previously President Obama's chief of staff. Lew replaces Tim Geithner, who stepped down at the end of January; deputy secretary Neal Wolin had been filling in in the meantime.
Read More »HUD, Hewlett Packard Create Fair Housing App for Consumers, Professionals
HUD unveiled on Thursday an app for iPhone and iPad devices designed to provide the public and the housing industry with a quick and easy way to learn about the Fair Housing Act and to file discrimination complaints.
Read More »Revised GDP Report Shows Growth, Reverses Advance Estimates
Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Thursday. Last month, in the advance GDP release, BEA had reported the nation's economy contracted by 0.1 percent, the first "negative growth" since the end of the Great Recession in mid-2009. Economists had expected the turnaround, but to a stronger 0.5 percent growth rate. BEA said the revision is based on more complete data than were available for the "advance" estimate issued last month.
Read More »Initial, Continuing Unemployment Claims Drop Sharply
First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 22,000 to 344,000 for the week ending February 23, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Meanwhile, the number of continuing claims fell to the lowest level in almost five years.
Read More »BankersLab Launches Gamified Training App for iOS
A month after launching the product on Google play, BankersLab announced the release of its Banc-it: Scoring Edition app for iOS.
Read More »Mortgage Fraud Risk Rises to 3-Year High in Q4 2012
According to Interthinx's latest Mortgage Fraud Risk Report, the company's mortgage fraud risk index climbed to 159 in last year's fourth quarter, representing a 16 percent increase from Q3 2012 and 9 percent increase from Q4 2011. Reflecting the national trend, the number of "very high risk" metros spiked from 70 in Q3 to an unprecedented 125 this quarter, the report revealed. In addition, 26 states have at least one newly added "very high risk" metro.
Read More »Bay State Sales, Median Prices Rise in January
Single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose more than 10 percent year-over-year in January, according to new data from The Warren Group. Single-family sales reached 2,680--the highest January sales level since 2007, when there were 2,953 transactions. January 2012 single-family home sales were 2,436.
Read More »NTC Earns ‘Hire Power’ Award for Contributions to Job Creation
Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC), a post-closing services provider based in Palm Harbor, Florida, has added another entry to its list of achievements: earning Inc. Magazine's Hire Power Award for its contribution to creating more American jobs.
Read More »FDIC Institutions Report Increased Earnings
Institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recorded their second-highest annual earnings ever in 2012, according to the FDIC's Quarterly Banking Profile for the fourth quarter of 2012. High noninterest income and declining loan loss provisions contributed to the increase, according to the FDIC. Net income for all FDIC-insured institutions over the year was $141.3 billion, a 19.3 percent increase from net income recorded in 2011.
Read More »Guaranteed Rate Introduces Technology to Streamline Loans
Guaranteed Rate announced sweeping changes to its website that will affect how borrowers apply for, track, and receive their home loans.
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