News

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.

Overall, the commercial banks and savings institutions covered by the FDIC reported an aggregate net income yielding of $40.3 billion this quarter, an impressive $5.5 billion (or 15.8 percent) rise from last year's $34.8 billion. This statistic marks the 15th consecutive quarter that has reported an overall earnings increase. The average return on assets (ROA) also increased to a positive 1.12 percent, up from last year's 1.00 percent and likewise represents the highest quarterly ROA since 2007.

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.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced Thursday that Treasury is extending the Making Home Affordable Program for another two years. The new expiration date is now set for December 31, 2015.

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.