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Two classes of CWMBS (IndyMac) Inc. mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.Class B3 of CWMBS (IndyMac) 2000-F (RAST 2000-A6) mortgage pass-through certificates was downgraded from CCC to C, and class B3 of CWMBS (IndyMac) 2000-G (RAST 2000-A7) mortgage pass-through certificates was downgraded from B to CCC. In addition, Fitch upgraded eight classes and affirmed the ratings on eight other classes from five CWMBS (IndyMac) deals. Fitch attributed the downgrades to loss levels and high delinquencies in relation to the applicable credit support.

Two classes of WMC Mortgage Loan pass-through certificates, series 1997-1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.Class M-2 was downgraded from A-plus to A-minus, and class B was downgraded from BB to CCC. The rating agency also affirmed the ratings on 15 classes in five WMC residential mortgage-backed securitizations. The downgrades resulted from the poor performance of the underlying collateral, whose high level of losses has led to the depletion of overcollateralization, Fitch said. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., San Diego, has announced the closing of a public offering of 3.4 million shares of 9.75% series A perpetual cumulative preferred shares by an indirect subsidiary, Accredited Mortgage Loan REIT Trust.The gross proceeds of the offering totaled $85 million, and the capital raised will be used "to allow Accredited, on a consolidated basis, to accelerate the growth of its portfolio and support the associated borrowings," Accredited Home Lenders said. (Accredited Mortgage, a real estate investment trust, had originally proposed to offer two million shares of the series A preferred shares, with a liquidation preference of $25 per share.) The lead managers of the offering were Bear, Stearns & Co., Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., and Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. The underwriters have been granted an option to buy an up to 510,000 additional shares to cover any overallotments. Accredited can be found online at http://www.accredhome.com.

Cohen & Steers Inc., a New York-based equity portfolio manager that specializes in the stocks of real estate investment trusts and utilities, has priced an initial public offering of 7.5 million shares of common stock at $13 per share.The company said it would use the net proceeds of the offering to expand its investment capabilities, launch new products, and expand distribution, as well as for general corporate purposes. Merrill Lynch & Co. is the book-running manager of the offering. The underwriters have been granted an option to buy up to 1.125 million additional shares to cover any overallotments. Cohen & Steers can be found on the Web at http://www.cohenandsteers.com.

Five classes of notes issued by E*Trade ABS CDO I Ltd., as issuer, and E*Trade ABS CDO I LLC, as co-issuer, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and removed from Rating Watch Negative.The downgrades were as follows: class B third-priority senior secured floating-rate notes, from AA-plus to A-minus; class C-1 mezzanine secured floating-rate notes, from BBB to B-plus; class C-2 mezzanine secured fixed-rate notes, from BBB to B-plus; preference shares, from BBB-minus to CCC-minus; and composite securities, from BBB-minus to CCC-minus. Fitch also affirmed the ratings on two classes. The transaction, a static cash flow collateralized debt obligation, is supported by a diversified portfolio of asset-backed securities, residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial MBS, and CDOs. Fitch attributed the downgrades to a "deterioration in the credit quality of E*Trade I's collateral pool and the negative impact of its interest rate hedge." If expected recovery estimates on the securities are not realized, Fitch said it may take further action on the notes. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Two classes of CWMBS (Countrywide Home Loans Inc.) mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-13 (Alt 1999-2), have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings and two others have been placed on Rating Watch Negative.The downgrades were as follows: class B3, from BB to CCC, and class B4, from B to C. The B4 classes of series 2001-21 (Alt 2001-10) and series 2002-13 (Alt 2002-8) were placed on Rating Watch Negative. The rating agency also upgraded 21 classes and affirmed the ratings on 11 other classes in six transactions. Fitch attributed the negative rating actions to loss levels and loss expectations relative to the applicable credit support.

Continued high issuance in the home equity sector in April caused a drop in the weighted average seasoning of Moody's Home Equity Index Composite, which tracks the aggregate performance of home equity loans backing securities rated by Moody's.The WAS dropped to 15.98 months, more than two months lower than the level in April 2003, according to the rating agency. The rate of serious delinquencies and chargeoffs as measured by the index also declined as a result of the addition of new pools, since these unseasoned pools have low delinquencies and no losses, Moody's said. Delinquencies and chargeoffs both decreased relative to those of March and on a year-over-year basis. The 60-day-plus delinquency rate for April fell to 6.66%, a 17% decrease from that of April 2003. The most dramatic decrease came in the foreclosure category, which fell 24% from that of a year earlier, the rating agency reported. After increasing in February and March, the chargeoff rate decreased to 1.22% in April, a nearly 14% decline from the level of a year earlier.

The Bond Market Association has reported that mortgage-related securities issuance made a comeback in the second quarter of this year, rising 33% to $536 billion."Second-quarter mortgage market volume probably benefited from lower interest rates through March, which led to another round of home purchases and refinancing transactions which actually closed during the second quarter," the association said. The association can be found online at http://www.bondmarkets.com.

MERS has reported the registration of the first electronic promissory note on the MERS eRegistry.The MERS registration, by 1st Advantage Mortgage LLC on July 23, makes the eNote "the first truly uniform electronic note that can be bought and sold on the secondary mortgage market," MERS said. It ensures that only 1st Advantage is recognized as the owner, and offers investors confidence that they can gain the benefits of buying the eNote while maintaining "holder in due course" status. "This technological advancement will dramatically change the way we do business," said Paul Lueken, president of 1st Advantage. ".... Electronic closing packages will allow us to be more efficient in getting closing documents to the title companies, and the cost of copying and shipping loan documents will be eliminated." The eNote and the closing documents were electronically signed at a standard settlement conference in the offices of Chicago Title, and the electronic closing was accomplished using patent-pending technology developed by Document Processing Systems of Novi, Mich., MERS said.

The First American Corp., a Santa Ana, Calif.-based provider of economic information, including title insurance and mortgage data, has announced the signing of a $500 million syndicated credit facility.The administrative agent for the credit agreement was JPMorgan Chase Bank, and the syndication agents were Comerica Bank; Union Bank of California NA; US Bank; and Wells Fargo Bank NA. First American can be found on the Web at http://www.firstam.com.