Technology

Standard & Poor's recent Lookout Report showed a solid reduction in the amount of recession-related concerns those in the U.S. financial markets are feeling and acting upon. The biweekly survey, created by S&P Capital IQ's Global Market Intelligence division, demonstrated that the drop in anxiety over the state of the nation's overall economic conditions was somewhat mitigated by rising fears over the European debt crisis. S&P's outlook also showed that U.S. home pricing has returned to levels seen in 2002.

Opening up new industry jobs in Tempe, Arizona, BBVA Compass recently announced that it would launch a mortgage operations center in the Southwestern city. The branch will be BBVA Compass' fourth mortgage-focused complex, and the company noted its growth in the sector as the chief catalyst behind the development of a new location in Tempe.

Mortgage Information Services, Inc., has completed its testing by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the company has been approved, taking its connection with the UCDP live.

M&T Bank was recently given an "outstanding" rating by the New York Fed for its performance under the Community Reinvestment Act, representing the highest possible ranking.

A new president has been announced at ServiceLink, with the appointment of Chris Azur to the prestigious position. Formerly the company's executive vice president and chief operating officer, Azur has been with ServiceLink for more than four years. In his previous role for ServiceLink, Azur was responsible for multiple aspects of valuations, title, and closing operations for the entity.

In Massachusetts, the sales pace for single-family homes was on the rise during October, for the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases in the region. However, the state's housing market continues to struggle overall, with a 9 percent drop in total sales volume recorded for 2012. Single-family home sales in Massachusetts are down in terms of the year-to-date pace; by October of last year, around 34,823 homes had sold in the state, according to a recent sales study by the Warren Group.

The Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC) has revealed its membership line up for 2012. The consulting arm of the Federal Reserve Board also announced its president and vice president appointees, along with four new faces joining the roster.

A new report from Zacks Equity Research provides an in depth examination of the imminent layoffs for Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, Bank of New York Mellon, and State Street. Via the company's Analyst Blog, Zacks.com evaluated the planned personnel reductions and the potential long-term effects of staff cuts from the major financial institutions. According to Zacks, Wells Fargo is moving forward with Project Compass, the entity's cost-efficiency initiative which began in 2010.

United Community Mortgage Corporation has a new partnership. The company recently announced that it has been approved to join the line up of preferred mortgage lenders under the Costco Mortgage Services platform, which is operated and managed by First Choice Bank.

In international news, the sale of securitized bonds is causing concern for the secondary market. Analysts from Morgan Stanley released a recent report indicating that securities earmarked for sale by the European banks holding the bonds could reach as high as $470 billion. For struggling companies, rising costs for funding and capital have weakened their positions, leading to the sale of assets; the institutions seeking to liquidate securities holdings encompass lenders focused on deleveraging and distressed banks.