News

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell to another five-year low for the week ending January 19, dropping 5,000 to 330,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 360,000 from the prior week. The previous week's report was unchanged at 365,000, which had been the lowest level since January 2008.

On behalf of the FDIC, First Financial Network, Inc. (FFN) is selling $85 million in loans from the failed NOVA Bank based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

Essent Guaranty Inc., a nationwide mortgage insurance (MI) provider headquartered in Pennsylvania, announced Wednesday the availability of its MI eligibility and rate quotes through LoanSifter's MI Best Execution Pricing Platform.

A strengthening private sector should give the economy a boost in the second half of 2013 after a slow start, according to Bloomberg BNA's annual Economic Outlook. The forecast--a consensus projection from economists at 21 leading financial, consulting, and academic organizations across the country--calls for a temporary slowdown in economic growth in the first half of the year as the country feels the impacts of the payroll tax hike and other major shifts in federal fiscal policy.

Consistent with most industry indices, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported continued gains in its most recent House Price Index. On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased 0.6 percent from October to November. This rate matches the previous month's revised index, which was revised from a 0.5 percent increase to a 0.6 percent increase. National home prices have increased 5.6 percent over the 12-month period ending in November, according to FHFA. The current index is 15.2 percent lower than the national peak.

In Maryland, technology development firm IndiSoft has been recognized by SmartCEO magazine for its quick growth and contributions to the Baltimore community in the last three years. IndiSoft was listed among 49 other companies in the January "Future 50" issue of Baltimore SmartCEO.

DocMagic, Inc., a provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation and delivery solutions, announced that its new multi-million dollar technology center is operational.

Applications for purchase loans reached their highest level since 2010 last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. The group's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 18 showed overall application volume was up a seasonally adjusted 7 percent from the prior week. On an unadjusted basis, application volume was up about 8 percent. The rise in applications comes despite a slight rise in interest rates.

In sunny California, ICON Residential Lenders made two hiring announcements. Dennis Kuncas and Matt Modugno joined the company as SVP and area sales manager, respectively.

San Diego-based DataQuick, a technology provider for the lending industry, announced it has adapted its products to meet new industry standards. The company's MindBox decisioning program has assisted lenders in obtaining qualification information for more than 20 years. With the release of the new industry standards from the CFPB, DataQuick is adjusting the product to ensure compliance.