General World News

Broker channel war a double-edged sword for Homepoint

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For all that executives of Homepoint did say on Thursday’s earnings call, it was what they wouldn’t discuss that drew the most attention. A week after United Wholesale Mortgage threw a bomb into the wholesale channel by issuing an ultimatum to brokers that has divided the community, Willie Newman, the CEO of Home Point Capital, […]

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Mortgage rates continue to rise to 3.05%

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Labor market optimism, continued vaccination roll-out and additional stimulus spending helped to push the average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan up three basis points last week to 3.05%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. This is the second consecutive week rates have risen above 3% — a trend not seen since July of 2020. At […]

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Fannie Mae tightens standards on investment properties

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Fannie Mae is tightening the underwriting criteria for second homes and investment properties, the government sponsored entity said in a letter to sellers on Wednesday. “Recent amendments to our senior preferred stock purchase agreement with Treasury impose additional risk criteria on the loans we acquire,” the GSE said in a letter. “One of those restrictions […]

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The $5 trillion in pandemic-era stimulus is more than triple Great Recession-era aid — and suggests a permanent shift in the way Congress spends

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Summary List Placement The amount of fiscal stimulus used to keep the US economy afloat over the past year blows past packages out of the water. But Americans don’t seem all that worried. In fact, one could say they’re getting used to it. House Democrats passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package on Wednesday, […]

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NYC landlords are sitting on apartments because rent is getting too cheap. They’d rather keep them empty.

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Summary List Placement New York City real estate is a finicky game: Apartment-hunting New Yorkers have been scoring deals left and right, but some landlords are trying to beat the discounts by holding empty apartments until prices rebound. They’ve been yanking empty apartments off the market while demand and rent are low, a practice known […]

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The pullback in clean tech stocks presents a ‘rare buying opportunity’, Morgan Stanley says (AES, AY, SEDG, RUN, TPIC)

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Summary List Placement The recent pullback in clean tech stocks presents a “rare buying opportunity” according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. In a note to clients on Wednesday, Morgan Stanley analysts led by Stephen C. Byrd said they are recommending clean tech stocks with “strong growth and cash flow” after a recent fall in share […]

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House hunters are snapping up multigenerational homes, and it’s reshaping how the typical American family looks

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Summary List Placement American households are becoming one big family. Fifteen percent of homebuyers have been buying multigenerational homes since the pandemic started, according to a new report by the National Association Realtors (NAR). That’s the highest multigenerational homebuying rate since NAR began tracking the metric nine years ago, in 2012, following the Great Recession, […]

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Mortgage applications drop, but spring buying season looms

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After a slight increase in late February, mortgage applications dipped 1.3% in the week ending March 5, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. But experts aren’t concerned. With spring approaching – signaling the start of a busy buying season – the purchase market sported its strongest showing in four weeks, with […]

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Payment for order flow models “undermine the relationship between the broker and their client,” Duke Law professor tells Congress (GME)

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Summary List Placement In a Tuesday hearing held by the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senators sat down with five experts to discuss “Who Wins on Wall Street? GameStop, Robinhood, and the State of Retail Investing.” In the hearing, Duke Law Professor Gina-Gail S. Fletcher was asked by Sen. Sherrod […]

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Equity jumps for Black homeowners, but problems remain

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A recent Redfin report showed both good and bad news for Black homeowners as the first quarter of 2021 nears its end. The positive: Black homeowners earned an average of $59,000 in home equity in 2020, compared with $50,000 for white homeowners through the period of 2019 to January 2021. That $59,000-gain represents a median […]

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Who are the HW Marketing Leaders?

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HousingWire’s newest award program launches today, honoring the housing economy’s top marketing execs in lending, mortgage servicing, investing and real estate. Nominations are open March 9 through March 26, 2021. Earlier this year, HousingWire recognized the top finance executives in housing with the HW Finance Leaders award. Now, we want to recognize the senior marketing […]

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These jobs could see the biggest increases and decreases in employment years after the pandemic ends

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Summary List Placement Based on two new alternate scenarios of job projections, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts more employment in computer-related and medical research jobs over the next decade and less in retail trade and restaurant or eating places. BLS regularly publishes employment projections for the next 10 years. However, last September’s release […]

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Forbearance exits more like a drip than a wave last week

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The total number of mortgages in forbearance fell three basis points in the last week of February, down to 5.2% on the back of a slight increase in forbearance exits, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Monday. At the current rate, the trade group estimates 2.6 million homeowners are still in some form of forbearance. Of those who are, […]

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Joe Manchin’s opposition to party-line infrastructure bill may derail early Democratic efforts to capitalize on Biden stimulus

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Summary List Placement Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he would not support an infrastructure bill that Republican support, a potential blow to early Democratic efforts to capitalize on the passage of $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. In an “Axios on HBO” interview on Sunday, Manchin — a moderate Democrat who opposed a minimum wage […]

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Is Q1 the last quarter to ride the refinance wave?

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Lenders may have one last quarter to ride the market’s massive refi wave after Monday data from Black Knight’s Mortgage Monitor Report revealed that despite rising interest rates, Q1 2021 refinance lending volumes are poised to remain near last quarter’s meteoric high. “Roughly 2.8 million homeowners refinanced their mortgages in the last quarter of 2020, […]

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Fed extends small business aid lending program by 3 months

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Summary List Placement Ahead of its expiration date on March 31, the Federal Reserve Board announced on Monday that it is extending the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Liquidity Facility through the end of June, allowing continued distribution of funds through the PPP to small businesses. The PPP was implemented under the CARES Act in March, […]

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Sen. Joe Manchin says Biden’s infrastructure bill can be as large as $4 trillion as long as it’s paid for with tax increases

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Summary List Placement Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said on Sunday that he supports Congress passing a massive infrastructure bill — as long as it’s paid for with tax increases and doesn’t add to the country’s deficit.  Manchin told Axios’ Mike Allen on “Axios on HBO” that he would be willing to get behind […]

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Fannie Mae: buyer, seller confidence should rise soon

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Fannie Mae‘s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), a composite index designed to track the housing market and consumer confidence to sell or buy a home, fell 1.2 points in February. Fear not, experts say – better days are ahead. Overall, the HPSI hit 76.5 last month, down from 77.7 in January. A small drop was expected, […]

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The stock market’s inflation fears are overblown as explosive economic growth is primed to create a perfect ‘mix’ for more gains, says a Wall Street chief strategist

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Summary List Placement The stock market’s inflation fears may be overblown if explosive economic growth comes to fruition to create a perfect “mix” for more gains, according to James Paulsen, Chief Investment Strategist of The Leuthold Group. In a letter to investors on Friday, Paulsen said that although inflation may be on the rise,  that […]

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Health and fitness wearables have boomed during the pandemic — and they’re changing the way we eat, sleep, exercise and drink alcohol

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Summary List Placement When Adeline Cheng wakes up, she checks the app on her phone that’s synced with the chunky titanium Oura ring she wears to bed. While she slept, the ring measured her breathing, heart rate, body temperature, sleep quality, and movement.   The Oura app displays her “readiness” score, meant to indicate how prepared […]

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Millennial New Yorkers are ditching basements and roommates for luxury apartments at $1,000-plus discounts

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Summary List Placement $3,200. $3,000. $2,900. Over the past several months, Brett Vergara had been watching rent fall like dominoes for apartments at The Brooklyner, a residential skyscraper that briefly had the title of Brooklyn’s tallest building around a decade ago. Replete with a rooftop deck, floor-to-ceiling views of The Empire State Building, and an […]

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The stock market’s inflation fears are overblown as explosive economic growth is primed to create a perfect ‘mix’ for more gains, says a Wall Street chief strategist

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Summary List Placement The stock market’s inflation fears may be overblown if explosive economic growth comes to fruition to create a perfect “mix” for more gains, according to James Paulsen, Chief Investment Strategist of The Leuthold Group. In a letter to investors on Friday, Paulsen said that although inflation may be on the rise,  that […]

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The Senate approves a $1.9 trillion stimulus package, drawing another step closer to final passage after turbulent stretch of voting

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Summary List Placement The Senate approved the $1.9 trillion stimulus legislation on Saturday morning, putting Democrats another step closer to locking down President Joe Biden’s first legislative achievement after a marathon period of voting. The economic aid package heads back to the House for final approval. Republicans were united in their opposition in the 50-49 […]

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America’s crumbling infrastructure has become a global laughingstock. A new government agency could fix it — here’s how.

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Summary List Placement In this week’s episode of “Pitchfork Economics,” co-host Nick Hanauer points out that the United States doesn’t really have an industrial policy. Other nations intentionally establish suites of economic, regulatory, and fiscal policies which direct their industrial sectors into specific fields, focus manufacturing into new technologies, and discourage harmful corporate behavior such […]

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Texas officials say the state will not reverse $16 billion in electricity overcharges incurred during power outages

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Summary List Placement Texas officials said they do not plan to reverse an estimated $16 billion in electricity overcharges  incurred during a deep freeze that roiled the state’s power grids and left millions without power last month.  In a meeting on Friday, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCOT) said it will be too challenging […]

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Yellen says the US needs to ‘go big’ with stimulus package, in contrast to Republicans who are deeply critical of the growing national debt

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Summary List Placement The US treasury secretary Janet Yellen on Friday said the US government needed to “go big” with its coronavirus stimulus relief.  Yellen spoke in favor of President Joe Biden’s planned $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which is working its way through Congress.  “Well, it’s a big package, but I think that we need […]