Years ago, skateboarding was branded as a hobby for rebels or stoners in city streets, schoolyards and back alleys. Those days are long gone. Skateboarding, which has Native Hawaiian roots connected to surfing, no longer is on the fringes. It became an Olympic sport in 2020. There are numerous amateur and professional skateboarding competitions in […]
ChatGPT, the AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm over the past few months. It took Netflix 3.5 years to reach one million users, Facebook ten months and Spotify five months. ChatGPT got to the first million users in five days. In two months after that, ChatGPT reached 100 million active monthly users. But […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released on Thursday its Fourth Quarter 2022 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report, stating that government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 52,469 foreclosure prevention actions in Q4 2022. That figure increases the total number of GSE-assisted homeowners to 6,712,833 since the start of the conservatorship in September […]
A Hong Kong department store took down a digital artwork that contained hidden references to jailed dissidents, in an incident the artist says is evidence of erosion of free speech in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. It was unclear whether the government played a role in the decision to remove the artwork, it came just days […]
The ongoing tumult in the banking industry brought to light by the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank — the second and third largest bank failures in U.S. history, respectively — also threatens liquidity channels for the independent mortgage banks (IMBs). Two banks that rank among the nation’s top warehouse lenders were recently singled out by Moody’s […]
The collapses of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the rescue of First Republic Bank and the acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS, brought turbulence to the financial markets that led to a decline in mortgage rates – despite the Federal Reserve hiking federal funds rate by 25 basis point on Wednesday. The […]
In Namibia, the German-supported Basketball Artists School (BAS) has been helping develop the sport while giving hope to at-risk youth. Beyond basketball, the program teaches life skills to disadvantaged youth and offers after-school meals. Vitalio Angula reports from Windhoek, Namibia. Camera: Dantagob Geingob details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: […]
New home sales continued to rise in February, jumping 1.1% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 640,000 homes, according to data published on Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). On a year-over-year basis, however, new home sales are still down 19.0%. “New home sales increased in February for the third […]
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced today that it will hold virtual public hearings on April 11, 12, and 13 to receive stakeholder feedback on potential issues for future rulemaking sessions. The Department’s regulatory efforts reflect our commitment to supporting students and ensuring they can access opportunities that will help them succeed. details ⇒ […]
The Basketball Africa League has been around since 2019. It is part of the U.S. National Basketball Association or NBA and expanding basketball into Africa with its first season in 2021. A new initiative is opening the way for women players as well. Seydina Aba Gueye has this report from Dakar in this story narrated […]
Mortgage prepayment broke a four-month streak of record lows in February, with relief likely to extend as the spring home buying season takes hold, Black Knight’s mortgage performance data showed. “Prepayment activity ticking up slightly in February is an underlying indicator that both refinance and purchase origination volumes may have reached their cyclical lows,” Andy […]
The Federal Reserve‘s decision to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday signaled that officials are still focused on bringing down inflation to 2% while monitoring how much recent bank failures slow lending in the economy and cool demand. Mortgage rates, which climbed upward one day and went down the next […]
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Wednesday that it will lower the VA Native American Direct Loan (NADL) program interest rate from 6% to 2.5% in an effort to make housing loans more affordable for Native American military veterans. The program provides direct loans to Native American veterans and veterans who are […]
The Federal Reserve (Fed) has decided to forge ahead in its fight against inflation, despite several bank closures that have caused turbulence in the financial markets. On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced the decision to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%-5%. “The U.S. banking system is sound […]
The typical homebuyer’s down payment was down 10% year over year in January 2023, according to a report released Wednesday by Redfin. The report is based on data collected by Redfin from county record across 40 of the most populous metropolitan areas. Redfin found that the typical U.S. homebuyer made a $42,375 down payment in […]
Consumer demand for home loans rose for the third consecutive week due to declining mortgage rates, following the turbulence in the financial markets caused by regional bank failures. But the same bank crisis is bringing volatility to the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market, preventing mortgage rates from going down even further, according to industry experts. The 10-year U.S. […]
U.S. President Joe Biden made an observation when conferring the National Medal of Arts on rocker Bruce Springsteen on Tuesday: “Bruce, some people are just born to run, man.” Springsteen and a host of actors, authors, singers and other artists joined Biden in the White House East Room where they received either a National Medal […]
Public screenings of a slasher film that features Winnie the Pooh were scrapped abruptly in Hong Kong on Tuesday, sparking discussions over increasing censorship in the city. Film distributor VII Pillars Entertainment announced on Facebook that the release of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” on Thursday had been canceled with “great regret” in Hong […]
Existing home sales had a huge beat of estimates on Tuesday. This wasn’t shocking for people who follow how I track housing data. To understand why we had such a beat in sales, you only need to go back to Nov. 9, when mortgage rates started to fall from 7.37% to 5.99%. During November, December […]
The U.S. Department of Education has announced the launch of the Your Place in Space Challenge. This is the first challenge in the CTE Momentum series, an annual challenge series to prepare high school students for rewarding careers and increase access to career and technical education (CTE). The Your Place in Space Challenge invites high […]
Ukraine is supporting artists painting murals in Europe and Africa to counter Russian disinformation about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Dubbed ”The Wall,” a nod to the album by British rock band Pink Floyd, the project was recently launched in Kenya’s capital and also employs local artists. Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi. Kenya footage by Jimmy […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday released a new guidebook that highlights support for the expansion of high-speed broadband internet service to public housing authorities, multifamily owners and operators, and Native American tribal communities in urban and rural areas. The guidebook outlines the funding program mechanics and how these areas […]
Mortgage CRM company Daily AI has rebranded to Aidium Mortgage CRM and launched a new CRM product, the company announced on Monday. The company’s research and analysis suggested that a rebranding, which includes updates to core products, the company’s website, marketing and communications, will represent its goals and solutions for the mortgage industry, according to […]
Lender and appraisal management companies and other property data collection companies can now use Black Knight‘s Scout mobile property inspection as part of the value acceptance plus property data process. With the cloud-based Scout app, users can easily collect detailed interior and exterior property data using a mobile device, Black Knight said Tuesday. “By using […]
Retail lender Guild Mortgage announced Monday that Mary Ann McGarry is retiring from the CEO position in late June, remaining on the California-based lender’s board of directors after retirement. Terry Schmidt, Guild’s current president, is the successor. McGarry joined Guild in 1984 as a supervisor in internal audit and held several leadership positions until promoted to president […]
Cloud-based loan origination system LendingPad has integrated with Aduvo, which provides mortgage marketing automation solutions. “In planning for the launch of Aduvo, our team knew that a partnership with LendingPad would be a strategic move for our company,” said Aduvo founder Josh Bopp in a prepared statement. Users can choose to sign up with Aduvo, […]
Black Knight, Inc. on Monday announced that Frontwave Credit Union will now implement Empower, Black Knight’s cloud-based loan origination system, and its integrated solutions, for the expansion of its mortgage lending operations. The integration with Black Knight’s digital ecosystem will give Frontwave access to technology, data and analytics solutions. These include its Optimal Blue PPE; […]
Flagstar Bank, a top-20 U.S. mortgage lender owned by New York Community Bancorp, announced on Sunday that it has assumed most deposits and acquired certain assets, business lines and liabilities of Signature Bridge Bank, N.A. from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Signature Bank, a New York-based large multifamily lender that disastrously bet big on […]
A host of comedic and entertainment royalty gathered at Washington’s Kennedy Center to present comedy icon Adam Sandler with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Among those scheduled to honor Sandler on Sunday night were Jennifer Aniston, Judd Apatow, Drew Barrymore, Steve Buscemi, Dana Carvey, Luis Guzmán, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David […]
The housing market was crazy again last week. Mortgage rates fell as the banking crisis got worse and purchase application data grew for the second week in a row, but the big question is: Did we hit the seasonal bottom in housing inventory? Here’s a quick rundown of the last week: The 10-year yield had […]
The Vatican Museums officially reopened its African and American ethnographic collections Thursday by showcasing intricately restored Rwandan raffia screens that were sent by Catholic missionaries to the Vatican for a 1925 exhibit. The display at the Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum featured a scientific presentation of the restoration process as well as the research that preceded […]
Candor Technology Inc., a mortgage artificial intelligence firm focused on automated mortgage underwriting decisions, has conducted layoffs as lenders rush to cut costs. “Candor is executing a change in strategy to address the ever-changing mortgage market and to pivot along with client operations,” Tom Showalter, CEO of Candor, said in an e-mailed response. With various […]
Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks spilled red ink in the fourth quarter of 2022 amid a jump in mortgage rates. These companies reported a net loss of $2,812 on each loan originated from October to December, an increase of more than four times the average per-loan loss of $624 in […]
As tough as action film star Michelle Yeoh is, it still might have been hard for her to clinch the best actress Oscar and become the first Asian woman to win the coveted award in its 95-year history—if everything hadn’t fallen into place. Besides her hard work and talent, Yeoh’s history-making win Sunday is a […]
California mortgage tech firm Blend Labs is focused on cutting costs and courting more users to its Blend Builder platform. The goal is to bring the firm to profitability after posting a net loss of $768.6 million in 2022. Blend’s net loss last year is more than four times the $171.3 million loss it incurred […]
A group of 11 U.S. banks has agreed to make $30 billion in deposits at First Republic Bank to avoid another regional bank failure. The rescue comes after Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed amid a liquidity crisis caused by a deposit run. “Today, 11 banks announced $30 billion in deposits […]
The Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education seeks innovative ideas to expand work-based learning opportunities. That is why they launched the Career Z Challenge, a $2.5 million multi-phase federal prize competition. The Career Z Challenge supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s Raise the Bar: Unlocking Career Success initiative championed by the U.S. Departments […]
After increasing steadily for over a month, mortgage rates fell last week following a deposit run that provoked a liquidity crisis in regional U.S. financial institutions — and resulted in the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. But what is there to expect ahead for the housing market? Industry observers said that, at […]
How is today’s housing starts data, which beat expectations, good for mortgage rates? Typically good economic data is bad for rates, especially in this environment, when a Fed member will come out and say building or buying homes is bad for fighting inflation. The answer is simple: The best way to fight inflation long-term is […]
First Republic Bank, the fourth-largest non-agency jumbo lender in America, is exploring strategic options, including a sale and a capital infusion, and is expected to attract interest from larger rivals, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter. No decision has been made, and the bank can remain independent, people who requested anonymity […]
Closing software provider Qualia has announced a major update to its software offerings. On Thursday, the firm announced the launch of Qualia Atlas. According to Qualia, Atlas combines title and escrow production, as well as vendor management, along with client and homebuyer connectivity. “We originally launched Qualia almost 10 years ago with the belief that […]
Returning to the United States seven years ago, I was puzzled how the Bureau of Land Management had seemingly become involved with race politics. Then I deciphered that the hashtag #BLM had taken on a new meaning during my quarter century abroad: Black Lives Matter. I was likewise confused when newscasters recently began speaking about […]
Following a chorus of complaints from the mortgage industry, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Wednesday announced that it would delay the implementation of a new and controversial upfront fee on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers with higher debt-to-income ratios. The upfront pricing fee on DTI ratios of 40% or more – part of […]
Despite the volatile mortgage rate environment and overall economic uncertainty, homebuilder confidence slowly continues to rise, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) report, released Wednesday. In March, homebuilder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes rose two points from February’s reading, to an index value of 44. This is […]
The Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures that occurred over the last week have caused even more uncertainty within the mortgage industry. Still, homebuyers took advantage of declining rates provoked by the turbulence and applied for home loans. Meanwhile, mortgage lenders are still trying to calm down their investors and business partners. The recent […]