Pope Francis Thursday said his thoughts are with musicians and those who work in the music industry whose livelihood has been all but eliminated by restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a video message he delivered to an international conference on music, Pope Francis said he knows musicians have seen their […]
Summary List Placement A group of Democratic lawmakers reintroduced a resolution on Thursday that called for the cancelation of up to $50,000 of federal student loan debt to address the student debt crisis in the country. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rep. Alma Adams of […]
Guaranteed Rate announced Wednesday it will air a 60-second commercial featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Dustin Poirier and NASCAR driver Ryan Newman during Super Bowl LV on Sunday, Feb. 8. The commercial will introduce Guaranteed Rate’s new brand campaign, “Believe You Will,” of which Poirier and Newman are ambassadors. The commercial spots will also feature […]
Summary List Placement Having a side hustle can be a great way to boost your income while you’re in quarantine. Below are 11 free or affordable online courses to help you come up with ideas, improve your marketing, and understand the financial side of starting a small business. Read more: 14 free or affordable […]
The average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan remained unchanged last week from the week prior at 2.73%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. With mortgage rates hovering below 3% for over six months now, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said this may be a sign of an economy still struggling. “This […]
Summary List Placement A problem with bull markets is that amateur investors can become convinced they’re good at something. Let’s suppose you got into “investing” — but really speculating — last spring. Maybe you were working from home, bored and not going out to restaurants or on vacation, but still earning your salary, and you […]
An outcry by Hindu nationalists and criminal complaints for allegedly hurting Hindus’ religious sentiment has prompted the director of a new Amazon television political drama to delete scenes that allegedly mocked Hindi deities and a dialogue with derisive references to lower castes. The show, Tandav, released last month here, was widely expected to win many […]
Summary List Placement The number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance dropped last week as COVID-19 cases fell and Democrats pushed for a near-term stimulus deal. New US jobless claims reached an unadjusted 779,000 for the week that ended Saturday, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That came in below the consensus estimate of 830,000 from […]
After three years of negotiations with the late controversial art collector Douglas Latchford and his family, more than 100 Cambodian artifacts will be returned to Cambodia, according to the government. How Latchford, a British art collector and co-author of three books on Cambodian art and antiques, built his collection was a topic of art world […]
Summary List Placement House Democrats on Wednesday approved a measure to enact President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion emergency spending package on a party-line vote without Republican support. The vote to approve the budget resolution passed 218-212. Two Democratic lawmakers opposed it along with every GOP lawmaker. The passage of the budget bill in the House […]
Summary List Placement LinkedIn identified the LinkedIn Learning courses commonly taken by thousands of users in 2020 before they were promoted at work. You can find them below. Through February 28, the platform is offering free classes to learn those skills — no LinkedIn Learning account required. The list includes soft skills like how […]
United Wholesale Mortgage originated more than $54 billion in mortgages and generated more than $1.3 billion in net income during the fourth quarter, the company revealed on Wednesday. The wholesale lender’s parent company reported $54.7 billion in originations, a 71% increase from the $31.9 billion the Michigan-based lender originated in the fourth quarter in 2019. […]
Summary List Placement Babbel is a subscription-based platform that offers affordable language-learning classes in 13 different languages for English speakers. However, not all the language classes are designed the same, and some languages have better programs than others. You can currently save up to 60% on a subscription as part of Babbel’s 2021 sale. […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion stimulus plan would provide over $3,000 in benefits to households in the bottom 40% of incomes, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model. In a report released on Wednesday, the Penn Wharton Budget Model found that three provisions of Biden’s stimulus plan — extending the child tax […]
In a bid to aid borrowers, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on Wednesday a series of temporary waivers that will allow servicers to use alternative methods when servicing FHA-insured forward and reverse mortgages. Rather than conducting face-to-face interviews, HUD’s waiver will allow substitute methods for servicers to conduct borrower interviews for FHA-insured […]
Summary List Placement Babbel, a language learning app designed for conversational proficiency, is up to 60% off right now through February 8. The cheapest subscription is $27.16 for three months (originally $41.85) and the best deal is $133.25 for one year (originally $334.80). Since the website is subscription-based, you can learn multiple languages without […]
American pop star Rihanna tweeted about ongoing farmers’ protests in India this week, sparking attention from other big names on social media and anger from the Indian government. “Why aren’t we talking about this?!” Rihanna tweeted on Tuesday, with a link to a CNN article about ongoing protests. The tweet, which has been […]
India’s Top Court Puts Controversial Farm Laws on Hold Protest leaders adamant that they will not negotiate with court-appointed panel saying all its members are ‘pro-government’ and reiterating that laws must be repealed Indian newspapers have reported that journalists reporting along the Singhu border near Delhi have been arrested or prevented from entering secured areas […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced more political appointees that will lead various parts of the agency. These diverse and accomplished individuals will bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the agency, and work to quickly advance key education priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this […]
Summary List Placement The Dept. of Labor proposed on Wednesday to delay the effective start date of a rule issued by the previous administration to permit tipped workers to be paid sub-minimum wage while performing non-tipped work. In December, the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division published its final rules on tipping, which included allowing […]
Pacific Western Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of PacWest Bancorp, announced Tuesday it had acquired Civic Financial Services, a private money lender that caters to real estate investors. Wedgewood, a real estate investment firm that focuses on distressed properties, was the seller of Civic. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Pacific Western Bank hailed […]
Summary List Placement Even as vaccines are distributed nationwide and COVID-19 cases fall, the US government may need to take on swaths of new debt to get through the pandemic. Borrowing related to the costs of COVID-19 is likely to stay elevated well into 2021, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. The government expects to continue […]
Summary List Placement Sec. of Agriculture nominee Tom Vilsack said during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that he plans to prioritize efforts to address climate change and food insecurity, which are main issues in President Joe Biden’s stimulus plan. Vilsack, who served as the head of the Dept. of Agriculture under former President Barack Obama, […]
Hollywood period drama “Mank” got a leading six nominations on Wednesday for the 2021 Golden Globe awards in film, while television shows “The Crown” and “The Mandalorian” will be among those competing for best series. Streaming service Netflix Inc dominated the nominations in both film, with 22 nods, and television (20) after a year in […]
Summary List Placement Employment at US businesses expanded last month as COVID-19 cases began to fall and the US remained mired in a strict economic lockdown. The country’s private sector added 174,000 payrolls in January, according to the ADP monthly employment report published Wednesday morning. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected payrolls to climb by 70,000. […]
Mortgage applications jumped 8.15% from the week ending Jan. 29, breaking a two-week streak of decreases, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The refinance index also increased 11% from the previous week – up to its highest level since March 2020 – and was 59% higher year-over-year. The seasonally adjusted purchase […]
Whether anyone will be attending the Golden Globes in person remains uncertain and improbable. But nominations to the 78th Globes will be announced Wednesday, nevertheless. Hollywood’s strange and largely virtual awards season lacks the usual kind of buzz and red-carpet glamour that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association annually feasts on. More than perhaps any other […]
Summary List Placement CreativeLive is the go-to site for creatives with more than 1,500 classes taught by 650+ industry-leading experts covering topics such as photo, video, art, design, audio, crafts, money, and life. Classes start as low as $15, and you can buy and own them forever — just in case you need a […]
Ginnie Mae announced its first guarantee of a mortgage-backed security backed by digital pools, or pools of loans that consist entirely of eNotes. The MBS were loans closed by Rocket Mortgage in December, are issued as of Jan. 1, 2021 and have coupon rates ranging from 2.5% to 3.5%. The total principal value of the […]
Summary List Placement Senate Democrats took the first step to pass President Joe Biden’s rescue package on Tuesday, advancing a budget resolution in a 50-49 party-line vote. Every Democratic senator supported it and no Republicans voted in favor. GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania was absent. “We’re not going to dilute, dither, or delay because […]
Summary List Placement The US unemployment rate may not reach pre-pandemic levels for the rest of the decade without additional stimulus from the federal government, according to projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). As Insider’s Joseph Zeballos-Roig reported, that analysis sees the unemployment rate falling to 5.7% this year, and 5% in 2022. It’s […]
Summary List Placement Data scientists make sense of data and communicate their findings to help improve businesses. According to Glassdoor, they also earn an average US base salary of $113,309 and enjoy considerably high job satisfaction. If you’re looking to jumpstart a data science career, there are great affordable online courses — including free […]
Summary List Placement February is here, and with it comes Amazon’s top 12 reads for the month. This month’s selections include powerful biographies, calls to climate action, and suspenseful novels. Learn more about February 2021 picks below, with captions provided by Amazon’s book editors. February is a great month to be a reader, whether supporting […]
Today’s HousingWire Daily focuses on the newly released HousingWire February magazine issue. In this episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath discusses what readers will find in this issue, which focuses on the unique challenges servicers face in 2021. HW Magazine is a part of the HW+ premium membership community. If you’re not a member yet, […]
While many U.S. professional football games this season have been played in empty stadiums because of the coronavirus pandemic, the February 7 Super Bowl will be played in front of 25,000 fans. It will be the lowest attended National Football League championship game of all time. Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where the Kansas […]
Summary List Placement More than two-thirds of Americans support core elements of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief package, including stimulus checks and a minimum wage increase, despite support among lawmakers split down party lines. In a poll released by Yahoo News on Monday, responses indicated a majority of Americans favor Biden’s plans to provide pandemic […]
A coalition of 33 state attorneys general filed a motion against PHH Mortgage and its predecessor Ocwen Loan Servicing for allegedly charging unlawful servicing fees to nearly one million borrowers. The attorney generals, co-led by New York’s Letitia James and Minnesota’s Keith Ellison, are opposing a proposed class action settlement that would permit PHH to […]
Summary List Placement Trying to get your kid into a prestigious preschool in a major city like New York or LA can be as competitive as trying to get them into an Ivy League institution. Parents often have to fight against limited class sizes, legacy policies, and religious affiliations. The cutthroat landscape is a result […]
Summary List Placement Like many educators, I swapped my classroom for an unfamiliar and eerily stark virtual lecture hall during the pandemic. As a professor to over 200 business students, my ability to quickly acclimate and adapt was key; however, my greater concern was for my students and whether they would successfully transition to the […]
Digital mortgage servicer Valon (formerly known as Peach Street) announced on Tuesday it picked up $50 million in a Series A funding round spearheaded by venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz. Valon now boasts $53 million in total funding to date, and it is aiming its sights on industry giant Black Knight. Others participating in this […]
Rocker Marilyn Manson was dropped by his record label on Monday after actor Evan Rachel Wood accused her ex-fiancé of sexual and other physical abuse, alleging she was “manipulated into submission” during their relationship. Manson called the allegations “horrible distortions of reality.” Wood, who stars on HBO’s “Westworld,” had spoken frequently in recent years about […]
Last year brought with it one of the most surprising years housing has ever seen, but for mortgage servicers, their work has only just begun. As 2019 came to a close, economists vigorously debated the chances of a recession in 2020. While divided, many suggested that a recession would be a possibility near the end […]
United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia will be featured in the keynote session at HousingWire’s Spring Summit on March 4. In a one-on-one discussion with HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins, Ishbia will discuss the way UWM responded to the COVID crisis, the decision to take his company public and the future of the mortgage broker model. […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency appointed Clinton Jones as its new general counsel, saying this was the next step in turning the FHFA into a “world-class regulator.” Jones will step into the role immediately, taking the place of Alfred Pollard, who will retire from the FHFA at the end of March. “Alfred has served admirably […]
Summary List Placement West Virginia Governor Jim Justice strayed from his Republican colleagues in interviews on Monday and urged Congress to pass a big stimulus package, denouncing the ongoing partisan arguments on pandemic relief. Ever since President Joe Biden unveiled his $2 trillion stimulus plan, Republicans said that the plan was too costly and would […]