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Risk management and loss mitigation company zIngenuity, Inc., has hired a new vice president of business development, with the recent addition of Bob Voll. Charged with handling all sales and marketing activities, Voll will also work with zIngenuity├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós leadership team as the company prepares new product initiatives.

Shareholders in Municipal Mortgage & Equity, LLC, can now take a look at all proxy paperwork in preparation for the company's annual meeting. Better known as MuniMae, the entity has filed its proxy materials with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission in advance of the 2011 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which will take place on November 9. Listed among the OTC's collection of companies, better known as the riskier "Pink Sheets," MuniMae is part of the entity's OTCQB tier.

Making the mortgage fraud blotter Friday, a real estate agent received a 20-month sentence and $5.6 million in fines, while a former attorney convicted on charges related to adoption fraud now also has mortgage fraud to his name. Meanwhile, a convict allegedly tried to orchestrate a hit on a co-defendant from a mortgage fraud scheme that sent him to the slammer in the first place. As with other blotters, MReport culled stories from a number of local, regional, and national news outlets.

Homeownership rates remain at depths not seen since the Great Depression, according to new Census Bureau numbers. Market watchers chalk up the lows to tight lending conditions, concerns about the regulatory environment, and fears about a double-dip recession. Releasing Housing Characteristics: 2010 Thursday, the bureau found homeownership rates deflating by some 1.1 percent to 65.1 percent over the last decade ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the biggest decline since between the years 1930 and 1940.

DocMagic, Inc., made waves recently by dropping fees for the eSign Solution, which users can deploy to safeguard their electronic documents. Users will now be able to access the product without incurring any cost.

Following a better-than-expected jobs report Friday, emerging news reports suggested that the Obama administration could submit in full a controversial refinance proposal that sources say would allow eligible homeowners to refinance their mortgages at current rates. Government officials remain mum about exactly when officials and policymakers will see the proposal, but continue to offer snippets about their intentions for it. The one stumbling block for the proposal: the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The U.S. economy bucked low expectations Friday with news that it added over 100,000 jobs over September, masking other figures that continued to confirm the rising appeal of rental properties alongside a decline in homeownership. Nonfarm payroll employment tacked on 137,000 new faces in the private sector, alongside 103,000 for the nonfarm jobs payroll overall ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô a solid forward step in lieu of pale figures from August, which saw the number of lost jobs eclipsing new ones.

Industry trade groups and lobbyists upped the ante in the war of policy, words, and influence following testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke before a joint congressional committee this week. News reports and statements contributed to the exchange Thursday, with outlets referencing punches pulled by the Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Home Builders, and National Association of Realtors, among others. The Qualified Residential Mortgage remains under attack, while others upheld the role of the GSEs in markets.

Shocking the nation and world, Apple, Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs succumbed to a rare case of pancreatic cancer Wednesday. Speaking with MReport, mortgage brokers, company executives, and other professionals praise the late visionary for his transformative role in creating mortgage apps, iPhones, and other technology that made their professional lives easier and business more convenient. One such broker recalls seeing and hearing about Jobs as he worked on his Apple computer prototype three doors down from her.

In a widely expected turn of events, lawmakers seated on the Senate Banking Committee approved would-be Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray for a full nomination vote along strictly partisan lines. The nominee will now face a full Senate vote, where his bid will likely meet stiff Republican opposition. Twelve Democrats on the committee signed off on his nomination, even while their 10 Republican colleagues lined up against it. The Senate will now schedule the first hearing.