Finance Globe

Fewer consumers applied for new residential mortgages and refinancing last week, according to a weekly survey released on Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). For the week ending February 19, the index used to measure mortgage loan application volume decreased 8.5% from the previous week, seasonally-adjusted. Unadjusted, the index dropped 7.3% from the previous week.For purchases, the seasonally-adjusted index decreased 7.3% from the week before, putting the index at its lowest level since May 1997,...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced on Wednesday that they've proposed a new forbearance program to help qualified homeowners who lose their jobs. The program would allow homeowners to stay in their homes and pay a reduced mortgage payment for up to nine months as they search for a new job. "The vast majority of new distressed borrowers we are seeing involve the loss of income," said John A. Courson, MBA's President and CEO. "This program...

Most consumers are aware that they have access to a free credit report from all three major credit reporting bureaus each and every year, entitled by federal law. But sometimes that's just where the confusion begins. Musicians playing catchy jingles with "free credit report" said over and over in an advertisement can easily mislead any consumer into believing that they are getting the free credit report authorized by federal law when they respond to one of...

More than one out of every nine home loans in the U.S. is delinquent, according to a report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Friday.The rate of residential mortgage delinquencies fell in the fourth quarter 2009 to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 9.47% of all mortgages. Non-adjusted, the fourth quarter delinquency rate was 10.44%, up 50 basis points from 9.94% in the third quarter. Loans are considered as delinquent by the MBA survey when at...

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time unexpectedly rose last week, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday.For the week ending February 13, 473,000 initial claims were filed, up by 31,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 442,000. The four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility, was 467,500, down by 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 469,000.The insured unemployment rate for the week ending February 6 was unchanged...

Existing home sales were strong across most states during the fourth quarter of 2009 with many metro areas showing price increases from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Thursday.Fourth quarter sales increased from the previous quarter in 48 states and the District of Colombia and 32 states had gains in the double digits. Total existing home sales increased 13.9% to a seasonally-adjusted annual pace of 6.03 million in the fourth quarter,...

The unemployment rate fell in January from 10% to 9.7% in January, and the number of unemployed people fell to 14.8 million in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics (BLS) reported on Friday. However, the report also showed that last year's job losses were almost 600,000 more than previously reported.Another 2.5 million were "marginally attached to the labor force," up from 734,000 a year earlier. The marginally attached group consists of individuals who are not...

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday released the advance estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2009. Real GDP rose 5.7% at an annual rate, the second consecutive advance and the strongest increase since the third quarter of 2003."Today's strong GDP showing represents important economic progress that must now be translated into new jobs," Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. "Further Recovery Act spending, measures like the $5,000 small...

Sales of existing homes fell in December after a rising surge from September through November. The drop was expected after a rush of buyers raced to meet the original tax credit deadline in November, the National Association of Realtors reported today.However, home prices rose from December 2008 and annual sales in 2009 improved. There were 5,156,000 existing home sales in 2009, 4.9% higher than the 4,913,000 homes sold in 2008. 2009 showed the first annual gain...

A mortgage broker, who was charged in December 2008 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for throwing consumer's credit reports and other sensitive documents in a publicly-accessible dumpster, was ordered to pay a $35,000 civil penalty to settle the FTC charges.The broker, Gregory Navone, was also ordered to employ a comprehensive information security program for sensitive consumer information, and to hire an independent, third-party security professional to review the program every year for 10 years to...