Wednesday is International Women’s Day with a theme this year focusing on the need for gender equity. The annual observance, which dates to 1911 and fights for women’s rights, is a day for people everywhere to celebrate the achievements of women across society. The United Nations is putting the focus of its International Women’s Day […]
When entrepreneur Sana Bhatt decided to set up a studio, she hardly knew if people would appreciate her efforts to revive traditional music on the Indian side of Kashmir. Prior to the launch of the studio, the 24-year-old approached many local artists to sing songs on a set that that appeared similar to that of […]
Cenlar FSB, the second-largest mortgage servicer and largest sub-servicer in the U.S., appointed Michelle DeHart as the vice president of loan operations, escrow, the company announced on Tuesday. “Having managed large-scale servicing operations, we will lean on Michelle’s expertise and are confident that she will deliver the best possible solutions for Cenlar, our clients and […]
Young artists everywhere struggle to earn a living but that’s especially true in South Africa, where youth unemployment is more than 43 percent. The International Public Art Festival is trying to help bridge that gap by connecting young artists with companies seeking creative marketing. Vicky Stark reports from Cape Town, South Africa. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com […]
Cloud-based mortgage CRM OptifiNow has launched a version of its CRM platform called OptifiNow Flex, which is designed to support multi-channel mortgage teams. The product aims to unify workflows for wholesale, retail, reverse mortgage, recruiting and more into a single system while also lowering IT costs, OptifiNow said in a statement. OptifiNow’s vice president of […]
Rocket Mortgage expanded its special-purpose credit program that will offer a $3,000 credit for first-time homebuyers to use toward their downpayment in select cities. The Detroit-headquarterd lender will offer Freddie Mac‘s BorrowSmart Access program for buyers who are purchasing a home in counties across 10 metropolitan areas — Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, El Paso, Houston, McAllen, […]
Black Knight will be selling its loan origination system Empower in a bid to save the merger deal with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). “ICE and Black Knight entered into the divestiture agreement in connection with efforts to secure clearance of ICE’s proposed acquisition of Black Knight under the Hart-Scott Rodino Act,” the two companies said in […]
Several hundred thousand Russian citizens are thought to have fled their home country since February of last year, when the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine. While no official figures exist, some estimates put the figure at close to one million people. The exodus includes Russian citizens seeking to avoid mandated military service, as well […]
All eyes will be on Hollywood Sunday when the Academy Awards, or Oscars, will honor the best in filmmaking. From Los Angeles, Mike O’Sullivan has a preview. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Several hundred thousand Russian citizens are thought to have fled their home country since February 2022, when the Kremlin launched the invasion of Ukraine. Critics of the war face imprisonment for “discrediting” the Russian military. Henry Ridgwell spoke to a Russian artist who has found sanctuary in London, and whose latest work addresses the war […]
Home Point Capital, the parent company of wholesale lender Homepoint, is seeking a successor to take over Mark Elbaum’s chief financial officer position. On February 24, Elbaum submitted his resignation as CFO, according to a March 1 8-K filing from the company. Elbaum’s resignation will be effective April 3 and he will continue to serve […]
California-based CMG Mortgage, Inc. struck a deal to acquire the retail division of Homebridge Financial Services, the companies announced on Monday. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CMG Mortgage, which claims it originated more than $19 billion in 2022, said the M&A deal seeks to increase its footprint on the retail lending […]
In 2012, UNESCO, the U.N. body tasked with promoting arts and culture, identified the traditional xylophone known as the balafon as an important part of humanity’s cultural heritage. Today, in Ivory Coast, informal workshops with students are underway to promote the instrument and highlight its African origins. Alain Amontchi looks at this unique instrument in […]
Guaranty Home Mortgage Corporation (GHMC) on Monday announced its expansion with three new licensed retail branches in Tennessee. The new branches are located in Brentwood, Lebanon and Chattanooga. GHMC originates and purchases loans through multiple channels. The expansion is part of the company’s strategy to grow its presence and focus on residential mortgage lending. “This […]
Illinois-based mortgage lender Celebrity Home Loans and its parent company Celebrity Financial, Inc. are the target of a class-action-seeking lawsuit. A former employee is suing the companies, alleging they “abruptly terminated hundreds of its employees” without giving legally required 60-day advance notice as required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act). In addition, plaintiff Michael Blake, […]
The housing market faced some serious obstacles last week as the 10-year yield broke over 4%, mortgage rates rose to over 7%, purchase apps fell again and we are still trying to find the elusive seasonal bottom for housing inventory. Here is a quick rundown of the last week: Purchase application data was down 6% […]
Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued the following statement on the passing of Disability Rights Leader Judy Heumann: details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
It felt like somebody turned on the spigot. There were leads, referrals and action in January, after people returned from holiday vacations and rates declined, said Don Monson, branch manager at Sente Mortgage. He was cautiously optimistic for a better 2023. Monson had hoped for a “spring rush,” but recently, somebody turned the spigot back […]
Growing supply shortages are holding housing prices higher, and affordability constraints coupled with elevated rates lock potential sellers in place. Home prices fell in January, pulling back by 0.24% from December to mark the smallest monthly decline in seven months, according to Black Knight‘s mortgage monitor report. The annual home price growth rate fell to […]
The battle to find baseball’s global champions gets under way this week when the pandemic-delayed World Baseball Classic returns after a six-year absence with Shohei Ohtani hoping to inspire Japan to a record third title. Teams from 20 countries are participating in the fifth edition of the tournament, with the four first round groups hosted […]
“Creed III” punched above its weight at the domestic box office in its first weekend in theaters. The MGM release knocked “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” out of first place and far surpassed both industry expectations and the opening weekends of the first two movies in the franchise. Playing in 4,007 locations in North America, […]
Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Alexandra Alonso Rojas and many others produce their collections with hand-knitted products made by Ukrainian women. It’s been a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, but despite the war, Ukrainian women continue to work. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Vladimir Badikov, Natalia Latukhina. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Ukrainian diver Stanislav Oliferchyk proudly bears the name of his late grandfather, who died in brutalized Mariupol. Russia’s troops turned the Ukrainian port city into a killing zone in the process of capturing it. The elder Stanislav could no longer get the cancer treatment he needed in the ruins, his grandson says. He was 74 […]
Archaeologists say they have uncovered a “unique” cache of well-preserved spices, from strands of saffron to peppercorns and ginger, on the wreck of a royal ship that sank off Sweden’s Baltic coast more than 500 years ago. The wreck of the Gribshund, owned by King Hans of Denmark and Norway, has lain off the coast […]
Tom Sizemore, the “Saving Private Ryan” actor whose bright 1990s star burned out under the weight of his own domestic violence and drug convictions, died Friday at age 61. The actor had suffered a brain aneurysm on Feb. 18 at his home in Los Angeles. He died in his sleep Friday at a hospital in […]
The second half-century for the world’s most famous sled dog race is getting off to a rough start. Only 33 mushers will participate in the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, the smallest field ever to take their dog teams nearly 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) over Alaska’s unforgiving wilderness. This […]
“The Red Suitcase,” a short film by Iranian-born filmmaker Cyrus Neshvad, will compete for an Oscar at the Academy Awards on March 12. The director and his star tell VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan that the film looks at a young woman’s struggle to determine her own future. Camera: Mike O’Sullivan. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this […]
Inflation is hot, so why aren’t mortgage rates over 10% like we saw in the 1970s? Put those disco pants back in the closet; this isn’t the 1970s, John, and the bond market has been saying this to anyone who would listen. Mortgage rates have trended up to over 7% while the 10-year yield has […]
Executives at Rocket Companies are engaged in a very tricky balancing act: they must drastically reduce expenses to return the company to profitability. And at the same time they must continue to invest in their business to avoid losing further ground in a mortgage market that doesn’t play to Rocket’s natural strengths. The lender has […]
Title industry revenue dropped 19% year over year in 2022, according to data released Thursday by Fitch Ratings. This 19% decline is on a GAAP basis for the Fitch Ratings title universe, which includes Fidelity National Financial, First American, Old Republic and Stewart. According to the Fitch report, the decline in revenue was driven by […]
Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison by a Belarus court. Bialiatski is the founder of Viasna, a prominent human rights group in Belarus that has provided legal and financial support to protesters, following a wave of unrest in 2020, following disputed election results that returned Belarus strongman […]
Scientists in Egypt have discovered a 9-meter hidden corridor near the main entrance of one of the Great Pyramids of Giza. The discovery was made as part of the Scan Project that uses noninvasive technology to look into Egypt’s ancient and mysterious structures without causing any harm. The discovery was found within the Great Pyramid […]
Blank-check firm Aurora Acquisition Corp. extended the deadline to complete its merger with struggling digital mortgage lender Better.com for the third time. The deadline for the merger is now September. The decision was made during Aurora’s shareholder’s meeting held on February 24, filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed on Thursday. “Aurora […]
He was in bands led by Miles Davis and Art Blakely, and founded the fusion band Weather Report details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Mortgage rates are surging again due to sustained economic growth and continued inflation, eclipsing 7% on Thursday. And it could be a while before they tick back down, economists say. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage on Thursday, March 2 touched 7.10%, up 16 basis points from 6.94 on Wednesday. The most recent survey by Freddie Mac […]
Good morning. Great to be here with you. Thank you for joining and to those who are streaming. I want to thank Dean Gerken and Dean Manning for their agenda-setting leadership. Since this conference is about data, I want to start with a number: 163. Does anyone know the significance of 163? Before you start […]
When the entire mortgage industry saw volume drop by more than half in 2022, nearly every lender emerged with battle scars. Rising rates caused refinances to dry up, production plummeted, and pink slips were issued to employees. Non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) wholesale lender A&D Mortgage, however, saw origination volume increase by more than 31% to $3.2 […]
California has a new poet laureate. And for the first time, that state poet is Asian American. For VOA, Genia Dulot traveled to Fresno, California, to hear from Lee Herrick about his roots and his poetry details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Income verification platform Truework has added its automated service ordering feature to Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Mortgage Technology’’s loan origination system Encompass. The integration is now built on the latest Encompass Partner Connect application programming interface (API) platform and is available through ICE Mortgage Technology, Truework said Wednesday. “The automation eliminates the tedious data submissions traditionally […]
San Francisco-based SaaS technology provider Polly on Monday announced its API integration with Total Expert, a customer engagement platform purpose-built for financial institutions. Through this API integration, users can populate MLS and non-MLS rate flyers in a short period of time using “real-time, scenario-specific mortgage offers” delivered through Polly’s cloud-native Product and Pricing Engine (PPE), […]
Issuance of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) is projected to contract significantly over the next two years in the face of a housing-market contraction, but the actual supply of MBS available for purchase in the private market is expected to swell to record levels over that period. That’s the takeaway from a recent market report by the Amherst Group, […]
Opteon, a Scottsdale-based appraisal, valuation, advisory, and property services provider, has expanded its direct-to-consumer business model nationwide, the company announced on Wednesday. The goal of the expansion is to provide homeowners and buyers, along with real estate, legal, and tax professionals, the option to order an appraisal directly through Opteon’s services, according to a statement […]
Fannie Mae updated its Selling Guide on Wednesday to include more options for property valuations, saying that they are “moving away from implying that an appraisal is a default requirement.” Those options include value acceptance (formerly appraisal waivers), value acceptance plus property data and hybrid appraisals. “We are on a journey of continuous improvement to […]
Higher mortgage rates have zapped mortgage demand, as buyers are having second thoughts about purchasing homes. Mortgage applications for home purchases dropped 6% for the week ending February 24 from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Mortgage demand was also 44% lower than the same week a year ago, […]
The financials are all red for the top U.S. mortgage lenders for the fourth quarter of 2022. United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) reported on Wednesday morning an unprofitable quarter, the day after Rocket Companies disclosed its most significant quarterly loss in company history to the market. UWM, the top U.S. wholesale lender, maintained flat gain-on-sale margins relatively in the fourth […]