General World News

Biden won’t get all his tax increases through Congress. Here’s what Morgan Stanley thinks is possible.

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Summary List Placement President Joe Biden wants to increase taxes on some of the country’s highest earners to pay for affordable childcare,  paid family leave, and free community college.  But how much will taxes actually go up? Morgan Stanley thinks Biden will only get some of what he’s asking for. The investment bank cited comments […]

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Confessions of burned-out MBA students: 3 people share what it was like to attend business school during the pandemic

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Summary List Placement Jonathan Alpert, a Manhattan-based psychotherapist who’s been a performance coach for more than 15 years, works with many MBA students and graduates on burnout. He told Insider that anxiety seems to be at an all-time high.  “Basically, Wall Street folks and MBA students are a hot mess — and getting hotter these […]

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Mortgage rates rise, but remain under 3%

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For the second consecutive week, mortgage rates managed to hold steady below 3%, rising one basis point last week to 2.98%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. In light of the rising COVID-19 caseloads globally, U.S. Treasury yields stopped moving up a month ago and have remained within a narrow range as the market responds to […]

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US weekly jobless claims dip to new pandemic-era low of 553,000 as recovery pushes forward

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Summary List Placement The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell for a third consecutive week as the labor market’s recovery charged forward. New jobless claims totaled an unadjusted 553,000 last week, according to the Labor Department. The median estimate from economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for 540,000 claims. The previous week’s reading was revised […]

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Veritex buys 49% stake in Thrive Mortgage

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The parent company of Veritex Community Bank will acquire a 49% stake in Texas-based mortgage lender Thrive Mortgage, the firms announced late Tuesday afternoon. Veritex Holdings, which has a long history of making acquisitions, will pay $53.9 million for its piece of Thrive, valuing the Georgetown, Texas-headquartered company at roughly $110 million. The investment is […]

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The Fed isn’t going to stop buying MBS just yet

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The Federal Open Market Committee left future economic policies virtually unchanged at its Wednesday meeting, indicating it has not made any near-term plans to taper its asset purchases of Treasury– and mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The FOMC did alter April’s verbiage of the nation’s larger economic status given positive progress on vaccine distribution, employment and inflation. The committee […]

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The Fed is watching housing ‘carefully’ and hopes builders catch up to the red-hot market, Chair Powell says

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Summary List Placement The housing market boom has caught the Federal Reserve’s attention. By several measures, the US housing market is running at its hottest level since the mid-2000s bubble that nearly crashed the global financial system. Prices have surged at decade-high rates, and homebuying, while slowed from recent highs, remains elevated. What began as […]

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Statement by Secretary Cardona on President Biden’s Nomination of Roberto J. Rodríguez

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Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued the following statement today on President Biden’s intent to nominate Roberto J. Rodríguez for Assistant Secretary of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education: details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education

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What Biden’s new plan does for direct payments to Americans via tax credits — and what it doesn’t

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Summary List Placement Cornerstones of President Joe Biden’s American Families Plan are helping middle-class families and reshaping the economy. One way he aims to do that is through the expansion of health care and child tax credits.  Ahead of Biden’s $1.8 trillion infrastructure plan unveiling on Wednesday, the White House released a fact sheet detailing […]

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Strengthening tax enforcement on the wealthy could raise $700 billion in 10 years, Treasury says

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Summary List Placement Pouring more money into IRS enforcement could bring in an extra $700 billion in tax revenue over the next decade, according to the Department of the Treasury. The agency was commenting on measures from President Joe Biden’s newly announced American Families Plan, specifically, its investment in the Internal Revenue Service of about […]

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The housing market is the hottest it’s been since right before the 2008 crash — but there’s far less bubble risk this time around

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Summary List Placement Housing data is hitting levels unseen since 2006 in at least three different ways, begging the question of whether this is another bubble. Experts say this isn’t that — it’s economics. Another housing bubble 15 years after the last one would be very bad news, as the epic pop of that market […]

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Future Is Made of Virtual Diplomacy Now

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Diplomacy can be fraught at the best of times. Serious, high-level events are regularly punctuated with physical gaffes, miscues, awkward handshakes, strained laughter and cultural misunderstandings of varying scope and severity.    Like the time President Donald Trump appeared to shove the prime minister of Montenegro at a NATO summit. Or when President Barack Obama got […]

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Future Is Now Made of Virtual Diplomacy

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America’s re-engagement with the world coincides with a weird new era: that of virtual diplomacy. Since the pandemic made travel unsafe, world leaders have taken their diplomacy digital, opening up new possibilities for engagement — but also, new concerns about fairness and transparency, and the occasional awkward moment. VOA’s Anita Powell follows this story — […]

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What Biden’s new $1.8 trillion plan could mean for your education, from universal pre-K to free community college

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Summary List Placement President Joe Biden will unveil a $1.8 trillion plan on Wednesday, the second of his two-part infrastructure package worth about $4 trillion overall. While the first part of the plan included funding for physical infrastructure, the second entirely focuses on care-economy measures, including a national paid leave and four more years of […]

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FHFA releases new refi option for low-income borrowers

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Following an incredible year for refinances that mostly benefited wealthier borrowers, the Federal House Finance Agency announced it is implementing a new refi product that targets low-income borrowers with single-family mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to the regulatory agency, this new product will assist borrowers who were less likely to take […]

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Applications drop, despite falling mortgage rates

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Following an almost 9% jump in mortgage applications last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 2.5% decrease in applications in its latest report for the week ending April 23, 2021. Mortgage applications decreased despite mortgage rates falling for the third week in a row, indicating high prices and low inventory, said Joel Kan, MBA […]

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Zimbabwean Sculptor Encourages COVID Vaccination and Masking Up Through Art

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Zimbabwean sculptor David Ngwerume is gaining attention for works inspired by the pandemic. One of his collections urges people to get vaccinated and another reminds people to take health measures hammering home a message to curb the spread of the virus. Ngwerume’s latest piece is called “Michael Jackson,” named after the late U.S. pop icon who was well-known for wearing masks and a glove. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare. Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe       details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this […]

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Finance of America to acquire Parkside’s wholesale biz

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Finance of America intends to acquire Parkside Lending‘s third-party origination channel operation for $40 million, the publicly traded lender and servicer announced Tuesday. It’s the latest in a string of big M&A deals in the mortgage lending space – and the growing wholesale channel in particular – over the past six months. The deal, which is expected to close […]

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Essential Quality Is 2-1 Favorite for Kentucky Derby

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With the rail still open and Kentucky Derby post positions dwindling, Brad Cox grew anxious about the most notable of his two horses drawing the least desired spot.  The homegrown trainer soon breathed easier. Essential Quality got something more palatable, though the hardest part awaits with the target firmly on his back.  Essential Quality is […]

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Biden wants to entirely pay for trillions in new spending by raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy

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Summary List Placement The White House’s ambitious plans for more than $4 trillion in new spending on infrastructure, health care, and education will be completely paid for by new taxes on corporations and wealthy investors, President Joe Biden will announce Wednesday, Axios reported. The elements of the plan include nearly doubling the capital gains tax […]

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White House aware of issues over investment properties

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The federal government is well aware that mortgage lenders and industry stakeholders are frustrated by the 7% cap on second homes and investment properties that was implemented as part of a broader series of amendments to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac‘s Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements. In a conversation with Mortgage Bankers Association President Bob Broeksmit last week, […]

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Democrats are pushing Biden at the last minute to put a permanently expanded child tax credit in his latest economic plan

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Summary List Placement As President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion emergency stimulus law was about to clear the House in late February, some Democrats started setting the stage for their next battle: Making the beefed-up child tax credit permanent. Sen. Sherrod Brown told reporters that Democrats would press the Biden administration on the issue as soon […]

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3 mind-blowing facts about humans that I learned from reading “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”

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  Summary List Placement As an avid reader, my understanding of the world has greatly expanded through novels. I’m accustomed to looking at people through the emotional and psychological lens of relationships and community, always exploring how different social factors and personal histories make us so unique.  And while I’ve mostly preferred learning through fictional […]

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Indonesian Christians, Muslims Share Place of Worship in US

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Different races and religions sharing space is part of America’s melting pot ethos. Indonesian-American Christians and Muslims in Philadelphia are doing just that. VOA’s Alam Burhanan has more in this report narrated by Nova Poerwadi. Camera: Alam Burhanan, Irfan Ihsan, Ronan Zakaria   details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: […]

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Home prices grew at the fastest-ever rate in February as the market boom charged on, FHFA says

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Summary List Placement Homeowners, rejoice. Potential buyers, lament.  US home prices surged 12.2% year-over-year in February, up 0.9 points from the previous month’s reading, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said on Tuesday. That’s the fastest price appreciation on record and an increase of $35,000 to the median selling price for homes just a year ago. […]

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Broker lawsuit targets UWM’s ultimatum

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The controversial ultimatum United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) issued to brokers in March constituted a violation of the Sherman Act and a series of anti-competition laws in the state of Florida, a St. Augustine-based mortgage broker alleges in a new lawsuit that seeks class-action status. Dan O’Kavage, president and founder of the O’Kavage Group, is the […]

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Suzy Lindblom named COO of Kind Lending

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Wholesale lender Kind Lending has brought on mortgage veteran Suzy Lindblom as its chief operating officer, the company said Tuesday. Lindblom has 40 years of experience in the mortgage space, most recently serving as the COO of Planet Home Lending for three and half years. Prior to that, Lindblom served as the managing director of […]

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Solving for fraud, biometrics are the future of mortgage

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Better, faster, cheaper has long been the promise of technology in the mortgage industry. Some may argue whether today’s technology is that much better than the tools we used in the past, particularly in the servicing business where many still use platforms designed and first built decades ago. Likewise, others will argue over whether today’s […]

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Elizabeth Warren brings back her $700 billion universal childcare plan and wants the wealthy to pay for it

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Summary List Placement Ahead of President Joe Biden’s second infrastructure proposal unveiling on Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts released a plan on Tuesday to help families get quality, affordable child care in the US. CBS News first reported that Warren, alongside Rep. Mondaire Jones of New York, reintroduced a $700 billion Universal Child Care […]

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As exits slow, forbearance trickles down to 4.49%

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The total number of servicers’ loans in forbearance has dropped for two months, however, forbearance portfolio volume fell just one basis point last week to an average of 4.49%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Last week’s drop paled in comparison to the 40 basis point decline the previous two weeks had seen, and was likely […]

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The 39 highest-paying jobs you can get without a bachelor’s degree

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Summary List Placement DON’T MISS: The 50 best jobs in America right now 39. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers What they do, according to O*NET: They plan, direct, or coordinate the management or operation of farms, ranches, greenhouses, aquacultural operations, nurseries, timber tracts, or other agricultural establishments.  Median annual wage in 2020: $68,090 Number of people […]