United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia has set the goal of topping arch-rival Rocket Mortgage by 2024. The second quarter earnings report shows he still has quite a bit of work ahead of him. The wholesale-only lender originated $59 billion in mortgages in the second quarter, generating $139 million in net income, UWM disclosed in […]
Summary List Placement After shedding residents through much of the pandemic, cities are bouncing back. The onset of lockdowns in early 2020 eroded the appeal of the US’s largest cities. Residents looking for more space and cheaper housing fled metropolitan areas in large numbers, with New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles seeing huge […]
Summary List Placement When it comes to what workers want out of their careers right now, there’s a simple answer for many: A new job altogether. A new survey from remote and flexible jobs site FlexJobs asked over 4,600 workers about their career paths, and what they’re looking for in a job. Of those surveyed, […]
In an interesting announcement last week, HUD and FHFA issued a joint MOU (memorandum of understanding) that enhances efforts to synchronize fair lending policy, enforcement and investigatory activities. This is a rare instance where HUD and the regulator of the GSEs have publicly agreed to attempt to synchronize efforts on such a major policy effort. […]
Summary List Placement Small businesses don’t see things returning to normal anytime soon. The Delta variant is causing a surge in COVID-19 cases, and consumers are shopping less out of fear of contracting the virus. Of more than 560 small-business owners surveyed, just 39% of them see economic conditions improving over the next year, according to a […]
Summary List Placement Nearly 3 million people have signed a petition calling for Congress to issue $2,000 monthly stimulus checks. The petition has been gaining significant traction since creator Stephanie Bonin posted it to Change.org last year. It’s been making waves again as the Delta variant spreads across the country. Since May, hundreds of thousands […]
Summary List Placement In the year 2021, it’s almost impossible not to be a techno-pessimist. Silicon Valley’s promises of revolutionary technological advancement just a decade ago have gone unfulfilled. No self-driving cars, just more expensive cabs. Sure, we got next-day delivery with Amazon Prime, but at the expense of our local corner store. The promise […]
Summary List Placement In 1991, a senator called out the deep-rooted flaws in the student-loan system that caused borrowers to take out debt they could not repay. He said the loan programs might not be salvageable, and three decades later, the flaws he pointed to are even worse. The new book by the The Wall […]
Summary List Placement The US economy has been on a rampage all summer, with growth, consumer demand, wage growth, and job openings all at historically high levels as the country reopened. But there’s a strange divide in the recovery, and how it works itself out could define the rest of the decade. There’s a split […]
Summary List Placement Calls are increasing for businesses to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for their employees. The White House has said it supports private employers who do this. A former health adviser to President Biden is arguing that businesses should do so quickly, saying we’re running out of time. In New York City, which has the […]
Summary List Placement The US economy is still getting better. But the pace of recovery might be slowing down. After a summer of reopening, vaccination, and lower cases, the coronavirus is bouncing back. The Delta variant’s spread lifted daily case counts to their highest levels since January, and authorities have since reinstated some restrictions to […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden promised a “summer of freedom” as Americans underwent mass vaccination, lockdown restriction were lifted, and the pandemic was put in the rearview. The Delta variant is challenging that narrative more and more by the day. The only problem is that much of Biden’s $2 trillion stimulus in March, designed […]
Summary List Placement Fox News host Lauren Ingraham had a suggestion on her program Thursday evening to bolster employment growth. “What if we just cut off the unemployment?” she said, adding, “Hunger is a pretty powerful thing.” Laura Ingraham: “What if we just cut off the unemployment? Hunger is a pretty powerful thing.” Bar Rescue […]
Divvy Homes, the prop-tech startup that buys homes on behalf of renters and guides them to eventual ownership, announced Friday a new round of funding that nearly quadrupled its valuation to $2 billion. Co-led by Tiger Global Management and Caffeinated Capital, Divvy’s latest round raised $200 million in equity, Divvy CEO Adena Hefets told Bloomberg. […]
In just a few months’ time, COVID-19 accelerated the digital shift era to forever change the way consumers approach home buying. This tipping point came after several years of rapid technology growth in our industry. In February 2019, we wrote an article predicting this seismic shift, detailing how mortgage lenders could and should prepare to […]
Summary List Placement Most of America’s metro areas grew over the last decade, with especially big gains in southern and western cities. The US Census Bureau released the first detailed results from the 2020 Census count on Thursday that give states the tools they need to begin the contentious process of drawing new congressional districts. […]
Summary List Placement A federal judge refused to block the CDC’s moratorium on evictions on Friday. But U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich made it clear she believes the ban is illegal, writing in her opinion that the court’s “hands are tied” by a higher court’s ruling keeping the ban in place. An Alabama landlord group […]
Summary List Placement New Mexico could become the second state to implement a statewide universal basic income program. The city of Santa Fe is testing out universal basic income, or guaranteed monthly payments, for 100 parents under the age of 30 who attend Santa Fe Community College. They’ll get $400 monthly payments, also known as a […]
Summary List Placement Nine moderate House Democrats are threatening to block the passage of a $3.5 trillion social-spending package until the infrastructure bill gets through the House and is signed into law, The New York Times reported. They plan on sending a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday, warning they will oppose a […]
Summary List Placement The sneaker resale industry is bigger than ever, valued at some $60 million, and experts say it’s only getting bigger. Sneakerheads looking to score rare and exclusive heat turn to platforms like StockX which serves as a guiding light for original pricing, resale value, and price volatility. StockX works as a middle […]
Rocket Companies CEO Jay Farner Rocket Companies is not content with merely being America’s largest lender. Its ambitions are far outsized, even for a firm with a reputation for taking moonshots. In its quarterly earnings call on Thursday, CEO Jay Farner and CFO Julie Booth described a sophisticated company that has developed a product solution […]
Summary List Placement New demographic data from the 2020 Census was released on Thursday, revealing how the makeup of The United States has changed in the last 10 years. The long-awaited Census information is usually released by March 30 but was held up by coronavirus-related delays. Here are five of the biggest takeaways from the […]
Summary List Placement A map released Thursday by the US Census Bureau shows how widespread the population declines in rural areas have become over the last decade. Massive swaths of Middle America have seen a decrease in population growth since 2010, according to results from the 2020 Census. The areas — including large sections of […]
Summary List Placement The United Nations on Monday released a harrowing report saying some of global warming’s effects will be “irreversible for centuries to millennia.” Two days later, President Joe Biden called for an increase in the production of fossil fuels to help with the economic recovery. During a Wednesday speech at the White House, […]
Summary List Placement As the Delta variant continues to surge across the US, jobseekers may need to add something else to their resume: COVID-19 vaccination. That’s according to a new analysis by economist AnnElizabeth Konkel for Indeed Hiring Lab, who delved into the job site’s postings in the week leading up to August 7. The share […]
Summary List Placement Many Americans didn’t waste any time putting their first child tax credit payment to use. Millions of eligible families started receiving the first monthly child tax credit payment of up to $300 per child on July 15. The American Rescue Plan expanded the child tax credit temporarily, and families can receive advance […]
Summary List Placement Last month, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi broke with many of her Democratic colleagues when she told reporters that President Joe Biden does not have the power to cancel student debt. “People think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not,” Pelosi said. […]
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 2.87% for the week ending in August 12, according to mortgage rates data released Thursday by Freddie Mac‘s PMMS. The increase follows six consecutive weeks of mortgage rate declines. The week prior, mortgage rates slipped down to 2.77%, as the 10-year Treasury yields declined and fears over the […]
Summary List Placement Hot dog prices soared in July, even as inflation eased off overall. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, the price of frankfurters — the sausage used in a hot dog — jumped by 4.8% in July, the highest price increase among all meat products. Pork steaks and ribs […]
Summary List Placement Billionaires around the world added around $5.5 trillion to their wealth during the pandemic — and a 99% tax on those gains could help vaccinate the world. That’s according to a new report from Oxfam, the Fight Inequality Alliance, and the left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies and Patriotic Millionaires. The analysis looks […]
Summary List Placement China issued a five-year blueprint on Wednesday that suggests its crackdown on the tech sector isn’t subsiding anytime soon. It also signalled that new laws will be drafted for other key industries. Authorities said they would actively work on legislation for national security, tech innovation, monopolies, and education, indicating that the recent […]
Summary List Placement The UK economy grew at a rate of 4.8% in the second quarter after shrinking 1.6% in the first, as the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and a rapid vaccine rollout powered a solid economic rebound. Gross domestic product increased more than expected in June, rising 1% month-on-month, the Office for National Statistics […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden dismissed threats from Republicans who say they won’t strike a deal on raising the debt ceiling, a fresh sign that both parties are on the verge of a major clash that raises the threat of default. “Nope, they’re not going to let us default,” he told reporters. “$8 trillion […]
Summary List Placement Democrats advanced a $3.5 trillion spending blueprint on Wednesday, laying the foundation for a major anti-poverty push aimed at locking down a key part of President Joe Biden’s agenda in the months ahead. But the image of all 50 Senate Democrats supporting the budget resolution quickly gave way to fresh disagreements within […]
Summary List Placement After months of negotiations, the Senate passed President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday. A day later, the president made sure Americans knew his economic agenda would represent a sharp break from President Donald Trump. “This isn’t going to be anything like my predecessor, whose unpaid tax cuts and other […]
Summary List Placement In June, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was responsible for holding up the confirmation of a top Education Department nominee to push for reforms to student debt. Last week, she lifted her hold, citing his commitment to reform. A source familiar with the matter told Insider in June that Warren was stalling James […]
Rocket Homes has plans to start iBuying – and discount real estate. The Detroit-based company – and no. 1 mortgage lender in the U.S. by volume – fired off a 1,490-word press release Tuesday declaring its intention to “combine every aspect of home selling and buying into one simple, customizable platform.” Such are the ambitions […]
Summary List Placement Inflation has been on the rise, but so are wages, especially in the leisure and hospitality industry. Looking back over the course of the pandemic, wage growth has outpaced the rate of inflation. The higher inflation seen through the summer, which some economists have cited in saying that American workers are seeing […]
On-time rental payments will now factor in to Fannie Mae underwriting calculations, and missed rental payments won’t keep borrowers from getting a mortgage. The Federal Housing Finance Agency today announced that positive rental payment history will be taken into account in the government sponsored entity’s underwriting system. The change is effective immediately, through a change […]
Summary List Placement Prices of used cars and trucks skyrocketed as the economy reopened and powered much of the US’s stronger inflation over the last few months. It’s the latest development in a debate engulfing economists over whether strong inflation will stick around and endanger the recovery, or fade away as the economy normalizes. Soaring […]
Summary List Placement Most people around the world don’t think their country’s economy will recover from the pandemic in the next year. A recent global survey from Ipsos for the World Economic Forum surveyed around 21,500 adults spanning 29 different countries, including the US, India, and Japan, to learn about when people think recovery will […]
Summary List Placement Inflation slowed from its rapid pace in July, signaling faster price growth might prove temporary as most economists expect. The Consumer Price Index — among the most popular US inflation yardsticks — rose 0.5% last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday. The gauge tracks the prices of various goods and […]
Mortgage applications increased 2.8% for the week ending Aug. 6, and there are signs that at least some first-time homebuyers are finding opportunities despite high home prices. Ten-year Treasury yields rose slightly at the end of last week after the July jobs report exceeded expectations. That was enough to drive mortgage rates up slightly to […]
Summary List Placement Walmart won widespread applause last month for requiring its employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. But its announcement came with a twist: The mandate applied only to its corporate staff, not to the bulk of its 1.6 million employees who work in its stores and distribution centers. From a public-health perspective, the […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is fulfilling its promise to scrutinize mortgage servicers, and some servicers are riding the forbearance exit wave better than others. In a new report, which drew on data from 16 mortgage servicers from December 2020 to April 2021, the CFPB found a marked increase in the share of borrowers […]