Economy

The U.S. government's 2012 decision to take all the profits from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will get a federal appellate review Friday when investors argue the appropriation was illegal.

Purchase mortgage activity, which normally picks up in March and April, is getting an extra boost from an improving economy, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

FHFA Director Mel Watt acknowledged that the principal reduction program may seem "too small and too late."

The number of new foreclosure filings in the first quarter stood at their lowest level in more than nine years, RealtyTrac reported.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans dropped to the lowest level in almost three years, aiding homebuyers during the housing market's busiest season for transactions.

Wells Fargo & Co. said first-quarter profit fell 5.9% as the firm set aside more money for soured energy loans and expenses increased.

Mutual of Omaha Bank and an affiliate of PlainsCapital Bank in Dallas have partnered to sell residential mortgages.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac surged to four-month highs on speculation lawsuits involving the mortgage giants have progressed in a way that favors shareholders.

The world knows JPMorgan's quarterly profits fell and that it flunked the living wills test. But underneath all that were solid first-quarter results in its core lending businesses that bode well for other banks at the start of earnings season.

Fannie Mae has priced a $1.15 billion credit-risk sharing transaction through its Connecticut Avenue Securities series.

Mortgage applications leaped 10% from a week ago on favorable conditions, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fannie Mae is selling four large pools of nonperforming loans which have a total balance of $1.5 billion.

PulteGroup's founder and largest stockholder hired lawyers from a shareholder-activism practice, a sign that he'll increase pressure to get Richard Dugas to step down immediately as the homebuilder's chief executive officer.

Quicken Loans plans to appeal a recent federal labor ruling that the Detroit lender and other companies owned by Dan Gilbert violated employees' rights.

Radian Guaranty's new reinsurance agreement will only cover single-premium mortgage insurance policies, a first for the company. These policies have higher capital requirements under the new secondary market standards.

The number of seriously delinquent mortgages reached its lowest level in over eight years, helped by new job creation and higher wages, CoreLogic reported.

Hint: businesses should be focused on data strategy and security, from the individual up to the enterprise level.

An Altisource Residential Corp. affiliate is taking management's side in the real estate investment trust’s fight with activist investors.

Congress should consider giving direct authority over nonbank mortgage servicers to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, according to a report released Monday by the Government Accountability Office. The report said there should be "parity" among financial regulators in the oversight of regulated entities and third parties they do business with.

New lender disclosure requirements aren't just disrupting the market for private-label mortgage bonds; they could also impact the market for bonds that transfer credit risk of mortgages insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private sector.