Mortgage originators who seek success in 2024 need to move with confidence and adaptability. To reach strategic goals for the year ahead — and avoid being left behind — here are four strategies for originators to consider. 1. Identify potential market impact The mortgage market is feast or famine, with origination volumes varying between high […]
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today released a “Toolkit for the Promotion of Voter Participation for Students” to provide resources for educational institutions to help them identify and implement actions to assist eligible students with voter registration and voting. Recognizing that our nation’s schools, colleges, and universities have a critical role in promoting civic […]
In South Africa, skateboarding is enjoying something of a revolution. The once predominantly male pursuit is attracting more and more women. VOA’s Zaheer Cassim reports from Johannesburg. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Los Angeles — For a second straight week, biopic “ Bob Marley: One Love” continues to exceed expectations by claiming the No. 1 spot at the box office, overcoming two debut films and Sony’s “Madame Web” that’s still producing subpar numbers. The Paramount film starring Kingsley Ben-Adir pulled in $13.5 million during its second week of […]
Jerusalem — Israel on Sunday warned that it may withdraw from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest if organizers reject the lyrics from its entry as too political. Eden Golan and her song “October Rain” were chosen to compete in the annual competition, which is being held in May in Malmo, Sweden. Media reports have […]
Geneva — Since late last century and the early days of the web, providers of digital media like Netflix and Spotify have had a free pass when it comes to international taxes on films, video games and music that are shipped across borders through the internet. But now, a global consensus on the issue may be […]
Ōshū, Japan — Steam rose as hundreds of naked men tussled over a bag of wooden talismans, performing a dramatic end to a thousand-year-old ritual in Japan that took place for the last time. Their passionate chants of “Jasso, joyasa” (meaning “Evil, be gone”) echoed through a cedar forest in northern Japan’s Iwate region, where the […]
details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Mortgage rates have risen recently but they could be much worse than they are today. As someone who doesn’t believe the Federal Reserve has pivoted and that the Fed enacted a COVID-19 housing policy to keep existing home sales depressed, It’s not shocking to me that rates are still this high, even though we had […]
HONG KONG — Dior has postponed a fashion show set to be held in Hong Kong next month, a city official confirmed Saturday, dealing a blow to the financial hub’s ambitions to boost its economy through major events. Hong Kong is courting top international celebrities and brands in the hope of rebooting its reputation, which has […]
Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, lost money in 2023, but executives have expressed confidence about a big turnaround by touting investment in artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the company’s profitability. Despite reporting a GAAP net loss of $390 million in 2023, investors seem to be sold on the company’s path towards Rocket’s “AI-fueled […]
Mortgage servicers, regulators and economists are closely watching the delinquency rates for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans following a spike in the fourth quarter of 2023. Industry experts say that although there’s a correlation between unemployment and delinquency rates, some homeownership costs — including insurance — have increased significantly over the past two or three […]
The year 2024 has started with cautious optimism that mortgage rates will drop, sparking much-needed activity in the sluggish U.S. housing market. Mortgage rates, however, have been on a rising trend of late. Recent data shows that the economy is booming, while the Federal Reserve is signaling that it will take its time before cutting […]
US parents get more creative when deciding what to name their children details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
It’s Black History Month in the United States. In Los Angeles, there is an exhibit of black artists sharing their experiences growing up in America. Genia Dulot takes us there. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Fannie Mae announced on Thursday the appointment of Peter Akwaboah as executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective May 20, 2024. Akwaboah, who is currently serving as COO for technology and global head of innovation at Morgan Stanley, has nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He will […]
Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, was in the red again in 2023 as it reported a GAAP net loss of $390 million. The company reduced its cost structure by nearly 20% in 2023 following a nearly 25% reduction in 2022, but lower origination volume failed to keep the company profitable as the industry […]
Delinquencies improved in January, highlighting the resiliency of U.S. mortgage holders. The national delinquency rate fell to 3.38% in January, down from 3.57% in December, according to the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) First Look Mortgage Performance report. The rate remained flat on a year-over-year basis and was the lowest recorded since October. The rebound was anticipated […]
HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Jason Cave, former deputy director at the FHFA where he ran their FinTech Office, to talk about where mortgage tech is falling short, and what the government should do to help. Sarah Wheeler: What led you to leave FHFA for the private sector? Jason Cave: I […]
Hispanic families who own their homes have on average 26.4 times the net worth of those who rent. As of late 2023, Latinos had a homeownership rate of 49.5%, just shy of Hispanic household wealth ballooned to $63,400 in 2022, growing more rapidly than any other demographic group in the country, according to a recent […]
The Biden-Harris Administration today is publishing a state-by-state breakdown of the nearly 153,000 borrowers who are receiving $1.2 billion in forgiveness under President Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. Servicers started processing this forgiveness today. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs is still moving forward with its servicing purchase program, despite a hearing in the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs last week raising uncertainties about its future. “We’re still moving forward; we’re still working to get our program out for veterans. We do believe that it can save up […]
details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Many analysts who cover the mortgage industry believe that the worst of the current cycle may be in the rearview mirror. In 2022 and 2023, quickly rising mortgage rates and shrinking volumes sent shockwaves through the industry and prompted massive job cutbacks. But analysts anticipate growth in both purchase and refinance originations this year. According […]
Texas Capital Bank (TCB), a warehouse lender that is suing Ginnie Mae over loans made by TCB to now-bankrupt lender Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF), has objected to a motion by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys seeking to stop the evidence gathering process, saying its requests are reasonable. Late last month, DOJ attorneys initially filed […]
Longtime reverse mortgage industry professional Tane Cabe has joined C2 Financial’s reverse mortgage division as a “retirement mortgage expert,” according to an announcement issued by the company this week. Cabe, who most recently served as president of reverse mortgage lending at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp., helped grow that company’s division after a series of changes […]
North Carolina-based mortgage lender Premier Lending Inc. has adopted the FICO Score 10 T credit-scoring model for its nonconforming loan originations and whole loan acquisitions. Premier Lending is adopting FICO’s updated credit-scoring model “to continue to drive the company’s innovation strategy forward and help make more homeownership dreams a reality,” the company stated in a […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Wednesday issued a mortgagee letter that implements the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) payment supplement partial claim. The new loss-mitigation alternative resulted from the FHA’s acknowledgment that its toolkit wasn’t enough to support struggling borrowers as mortgage rates surged. Since March 2020, lenders and servicers have […]
Mortgage demand continued its downward trajectory last week as interest rates moved back above 7%. Mortgage applications decreased by 10.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ending Feb. 16, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey. A stronger-than-expected inflation reading sent mortgage rates back north of 7% and also […]
An affiliate of Paceline Equity Partners LLC, a private equity manager based in Texas, completed a debt investment in a subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc. The investment stems from a merger agreement between Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Black Knight, which included the divestiture of Optimal Blue. ICE and Black Knight agreed to sell Optimal Blue […]
Warburg Pincus-backed fintech Sagent launched on Wednesday its new servicing software platform called Dara, which has a single real-time database and user experience across the entire core, consumer and default servicing life cycle, according to the company. It’s the first launch for Sagent under the leadership of recently appointed CEO Geno Paluso, a retired U.S. Navy captain who […]
Infamous ransomware gang AlphV/BlackCat claimed it was behind the January cyberattack at top 15 U.S. mortgage lender loanDepot. loanDepot, which originated about $17 billion in mortgages in the first three quarters of 2023, had reported that a cyberattack brought down the company’s systems earlier this year. The ransomware gang claimed it offered loanDepot $6 million […]
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation announced on Tuesday a series of reverse mortgage maneuvers designed to increase the company’s investment in the space. The first initiative is the decision to rejoin the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), which the company left at the end of 2021 under previous reverse division leadership. “Fairway is renewing its […]
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released four new resources today with information for students, parents and families, and schools addressing civil rights of students with disabilities, as well as a data snapshot about education access for students with disabilities drawn from OCR’s 2020-21 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com […]
Several historic events over the past few years have brought seismic changes to the way the mortgage lending industry operates. The impact of the pandemic and an unprecedented refinance boom followed in short order by the highest interest rates seen in decades cannot be overstated. Today, as we face what appears to be the beginning […]
NEW YORK — The Beatles are getting the big-screen biopic treatment in not just one film, but a Fab Four of movies that will give each band member their own spotlight — all of which are to be directed by Sam Mendes. For the first time, the Beatles, long among the stingiest rights granters, are giving […]
Reston, Virginia-based Ardley Technologies announced on Tuesday the launching of its white-label automated underwriting engine called Autopilot, which the company states will enable lenders to create instant, conditional loan approvals for qualified borrowers. “The main thing about Autopilot is the speed with which we can offer a decision to a borrower,” Nate Den Herder, founder and CEO […]
Paris — The Eiffel Tower, one of the most visited tourist sites in the world, closed on Monday as staff went on strike in protest against the way the Paris monument is managed financially, disappointing the crowds below. The strike comes as Paris prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, which begin on July 26 and […]
BERLIN — This week’s Berlin international film festival is wrestling on- and off-screen with the weight of the Nazi past and the menace of a resurgent far right. The 74th Berlinale, as the event is known, has a reputation for confronting political realities head-on with high-profile movies and hot-tempered debates. German director Julia von Heinz brought […]
New York — Paramount Pictures’ Bob Marley biopic “Bob Marley: One Love” outperformed expectations to debut at No. 1 at the box office with a $27.7 million opening weekend, while Sony’s “Madame Web” flopped with one of the lowest debuts for a movie centered on a Marvel character. Both films launched in theaters on Tuesday to […]
London — Hollywood stars descended on London on Sunday for the annual BAFTA Film Awards, where U.S. historical drama “Oppenheimer,” one of the highest-grossing films of 2023, leads nominations for Britain’s top movie honors. The three-hour epic about the making of the atomic bomb during World War Two has 13 nods, including for the night’s top […]
Los Angeles — Samantha Sumiko Pinedo and her grandparents file into a dimly lit enclosure at the Japanese American National Museum and approach a massive book splayed open to reveal columns of names. Pinedo is hoping the list includes her great-grandparents, who were detained in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II. “For a lot […]
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal’s gods and goddess are returning home. An unknown number of sacred statues of Hindu deities were stolen and smuggled abroad in the past. Now dozens are being repatriated to the Himalayan nation, part of a growing global effort to return such items to countries in Asia, Africa and elsewhere. Last month, four […]
LONDON — The cultural richness brought by migrations across the world, familial nostalgia and the frenetic pace of London life marked the second day of the city’s Fashion Week on Saturday as up-and-coming designers showed off their styles for the season ahead. Some 60 designers, ranging from rising talents to renowned brands like Burberry, are exhibiting […]