General World News

Madison Simm joins Change Lending as CFO

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Anaheim, California-based nonbank Change Lending on Tuesday announced the hiring of Madison Simm as its new chief financial officer. Simm has more than 25 years of experience in financial services and has held multiple executive roles at banks and mortgage companies. He comes to Change Lending after a stint as president of real estate at […]

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Mortgage rates hold steady as market signals remain mixed

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Mortgage rates have leveled off in the past week, according to data on HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center. The average 30-year rate for conforming loans sat at 7.08% on Tuesday, unchanged from one week ago, while the 15-year rate rose 1 basis point to 6.63% during the week. There has been considerable downward movement in rates […]

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Growth mindset 101

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The year was 2019. I was working hard to make my mark as the Midwest Regional Director for Franchise Sales for Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC, the national franchisor. It wasn’t a job I was overly excited about, but I knew the training and field work would help round out my resume. It was the […]

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Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Missouri and Kansas District Court Rulings on Biden-Harris Administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan

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“We strongly disagree with the Kansas and Missouri District Court rulings, which block components of the SAVE Plan that help student loan borrowers have affordable monthly payments and stay out of default. The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously defend the SAVE Plan. The Biden-Harris Administration’s SAVE Plan is the most affordable repayment plan […]

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The Impact of HousingWire’s Insiders Award

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Nominations for the 2024 HousingWire Insiders award are open throughout the month of June. This prestigious award recognizes the operational leaders who are driving the growth and success of their organizations behind the scenes.  Over the years, Insiders have shared how this recognition has positively impacted their careers and professional growth. Here’s what some of […]

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ICBA voices opposition to Freddie Mac second mortgage product

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The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) issued a statement on Monday that opposes the conditional approval of Freddie Mac’s plan to buy closed-end second mortgages. The plan was approved on Friday by Freddie Mac’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which said that it reached the decision to begin the pilot program following […]

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U.S. Treasury launches initiatives to boost housing supply

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The Biden administration, through the U.S. Department of the Treasury, announced the launch of multiple initiatives on Monday to increase funding sources for housing production. The announcement comes as high mortgage rates and a lack of supply have created affordability challenges. In a speech in Minneapolis, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will announce the new funding […]

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Chicago’s iconic ‘Bean’ sculpture reopens to tourists after nearly a year of construction

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Chicago — One of Chicago’s most popular tourist attractions known as “The Bean” reopened to the public Sunday after nearly a year of renovations and construction. Construction started in August last year, and fencing around the iconic sculpture limited closeup access to visitors. The work on the plaza surrounding the sculpture included new stairs, accessible ramps […]

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Iran’s top court overturns rapper Salehi’s death sentence, lawyer says

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Tehran, Iran — Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence against popular rapper Toomaj Salehi, who was jailed for backing nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death, his lawyer said Saturday. “Salehi’s death sentence was overturned,” the rapper’s lawyer, Amir Raisian, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding that the Islamic republic’s top […]

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Don’t expect a ‘ramp up’: Fannie Mae trims estimates for home sales, origination volume

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Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group said on Friday that it expects a slower recovery of the U.S. housing market than previously forecast. That’s because volatility in inflation readings and resilience in nonfarm payroll growth may provide the Federal Reserve confidence to cut benchmark rates only once in 2024.    “Unfortunately, we’re still not […]

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India beats Afghanistan at T20 World Cup

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets for just seven runs as India beat Afghanistan by 47 runs in their Super Eight match at the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday. Later, Pat Cummins took the first hat-trick of the tournament as Australia beat Bangladesh by 28 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis system due to […]

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Federal regulators approve final rule for AVM usage

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On Thursday, two U.S. regulators — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) — announced their approval of a final rule imposing quality control standards for automated valuation models (AVMs) used by mortgage originators and secondary market issuers. AVMs, which value residential real estate used as […]

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Finance of America takes action in move to raise stock price

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Finance of America (FOA), the leading U.S. reverse mortgage lender, has received shareholder approval upon recommendation of its board to perform a reverse stock split at a 10-to-1 ratio in a move designed to boost the company’s stock price. This is according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviewed by […]

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Services provider Adfitech rebrands as Mortgage Connect Risk Solutions

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Oklahoma-based Adfitech, a mortgage industry partner for quality control and risk management services, has changed its name to Mortgage Connect Risk Solutions. The move reflects the company’s 2022 acquisition by Pennsylvania-headquartered Mortgage Connect LP. Mortgage Connect, a nationwide services provider for lenders, institutional investors and servicers, acquired Adfitech two years ago to expand its efforts […]

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Donald Sutherland, ‘M.A.S.H.’ and ‘Hunger Games’ actor, dies at 88

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NEW YORK — Donald Sutherland, the prolific film and television actor whose long career stretched from “M.A.S.H.” to “The Hunger Games,” has died. He was 88. Kiefer Sutherland, the actor’s son, confirmed his father’s death Thursday. No further details were immediately available. “I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film,” […]

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loanDepot concludes $500M debt extension

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California-based loanDepot has concluded the transaction to extend $497.7 million in senior notes due in the fourth quarter of 2025, resulting in new debt with a higher interest rate and a shorter maturity period than usually seen in the market for similar companies. A loanDepot subsidiary, LD Holdings Group LLC, will exchange its outstanding senior […]

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Brussels refuses to host Belgium-Israel match over security fears

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Brussels — Brussels has refused to host a Nations League football match between Israel and Belgium on September 6 because it could spark demonstrations, city authorities said on Wednesday. They said holding such a match while the war in Gaza was continuing “will undoubtedly provoke large demonstrations and counterdemonstrations, compromising the safety of spectators, players, Brussels […]

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Gen X has regrets about retirement savings, study suggests

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Members of Generation X are more concerned about their post-retirement ability to support the lifestyles they’ve grown accustomed to when compared with other generations — including baby boomers and millennials — according to the results of a recent survey conducted by Allianz Life. In the company’s 2024 Annual Retirement Study, respondents indicated that 62% of […]