Secondary markets

Standard & Poor's downgraded to BB from BB-plus its underlying rating on nearly $700 million of Queens Ballpark LLC bonds used to backstop the construction of the New York Mets' Citi Field.

Sales of U.S.-backed mortgage bonds soared to a three-year high as steps by the Federal Reserve and Obama administration to make home ownership more affordable propelled a 34% jump in refinancing.

The upcoming deadline for the qualified mortgage definition is causing a lot of excitement in the secondary market.

Some cities, like Santa Ana, are refusing to hand over to the state money from the remaining affordable housing funds of their defunct redevelopment agencies.

The housing market will continue to improve in 2013, as long as the U.S. economy continues its slow recovery, according to Standard & Poor's.

Rep. Barney Frank, the retiring lead Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, has always been known for speaking his mind.

Guthrie Federal Credit Union has joined the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.

Builder Lennar Corp.’s Rialto Capital subsidiary has completed the first closing of its second real estate investment fund.

Fortress Investment Group said principal and director Robert Kauffman is retiring from the company.

Wall Street banks are offering warehouse lines to fund investors that are gathering large portfolios of single-family rental properties to begin the process of a securitization.

Hurricane Sandy’s impact on the private-label residential mortgage-backed securities market won’t be systematic and estimates for it are shrinking under closer examination.

Lower yields on mortgage-backed securities haven’t led to more savings on home loans after the Fed expanded its balance sheet to an all-time high of almost $3 trillion through bond purchases.

Donna DeMaio will have the same policies that led United Guaranty to become No. 1 in new insurance written.

Freddie Mac purchased $62.5 billion in mortgage loans and securities in November, up 25% from the month prior.

The Federal Housing Administration is certain to be the target of major reform efforts by Congress.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rely on Libor to determine interest payments on their investments in floating-rate financial instruments such as bonds and swaps.

In recent years, banks have been regularly putting mortgage-backed securities on their books.

Freddie Mac’s chief financial officer Ross Kari will be leaving the company next summer.

In total, Moody's rates 687 stand-alone housing bonds, with approximately $5.5 billion of debt outstanding.

In today's low interest rate environment real estate is getting hot. Here are some tips to ponder if you are considering helping a family member purchase real estate this holiday or next year.