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In San Diego, Mortgage Capital Management (MCM) announced it is now offering an automated report system designed to track and report loan processing times to help banks identify their highest performing entities.

Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC), a Florida-based mortgage industry service provider, joined other firms in Las Colinas, Texas, late March at the Five Star Institute's second annual MPact conference.

Fiserv, Inc., announced it has partnered with ChannelNet to create LoanLink, an online channel that enables LoanServ users to quickly roll out self-service websites for borrowers.

First time claims for unemployment insurance increased for the fourth time in the last five weeks, edging up 4,000 for the week ending April 13 to 352,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 347,000 initial claims. Initial jobless claims for the week ending April 6 were revised up to 348,000 from the originally reported 346,000.

Despite threats from the federal budget sequester, the nation's economy expanded "at a moderate pace" from late February to early April, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday in its periodic Beige Book. Reports on mortgage lending, the Beige Book said, "were mostly favorable" with stronger refinancing activity in New York and Atlanta. The Cleveland and Kansas City districts, according to the report, "noted a shift from mortgage refinancing to new purchases," and New York, Richmond, Dallas, and San Francisco "reported an uptick in residential mortgage loans."

Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance (USMI), a unit of Richmond-based Genworth Financial, announced a redesigned Commitment/Certificate of Insurance intended to make it easier for customers to understand information about their mortgage insurance.

Blueberry Systems, LLC announced that its RELAY loan origination system (LOS) is now the platform of choice at Cole Taylor Mortgage.

Carrington Mortgage Services' Wholesale Lending Division announced it has added 14 professionals to its sales staff to better provide in-market services to brokers and borrowers.

Capsilon announced it has merged its Katalyst and DocVelocity imaging systems into a combined offering.

Deloitte's Consumer Spending Index, which tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future spending, remained largely on a steady course in March as the economy stabilized. The company reported an index reading of 4.12 for March, down a bit from 4.37 the previous month. While March's reading was a bit of a dip, Deloitte notes the index has remained fairly steady over the past five months, remaining above the 4.0 mark while wages, home prices, and unemployment claims find steadier ground.