Stocks

Ocwen Financial Corp. is on track to become profitable on a pretax basis by the third quarter without any special items enhancing earnings, according to a preliminary release of its fourth-quarter results.

The strong refinance market in the fourth quarter propelled earnings at three different mortgage-related business that also were dealing with merger and acquisition activity during and after the period.

The U.S. mortgage insurance business remained a bright spot for Genworth Financial, as fourth quarter adjusted operating income increased 29% and new insurance written rose nearly 95% over the prior year.

A booming housing market coupled with low interest rates helped M/I Homes report record results for 2019.

Mortgage refinancings made up slightly under one-third of MGIC Investment Corp.'s new insurance written during the fourth quarter, contributing a significant percentage of its business.

A 10-basis-point year-over-year increase in gross margin on loans sold, along with a nearly 30% increase in origination volume, helped Waterstone Mortgage turn around its fourth-quarter results.

Flasgstar Bancorp's mixed results in its fourth-quarter earnings report are a sign strategic shifts it made to make its earnings less volatile are working.

Bank of America's fourth-quarter mortgage origination volume more than doubled on a year-over-year basis, a faster pace of growth than two of its national banking peers.

Fourth quarter gain on sale margin moved in opposite directions at two of the nation's largest banks, falling 9% quarter-over-quarter at JPMorgan Chase, but increasing 25% at Wells Fargo.

The U.S. Supreme Court may soon decide if it will intervene in a high-stakes fight over the government-sponsored enterprise net worth sweep.

Stock prices rose for publicly-traded homebuilders after Lennar Corp.'s fourth-quarter orders and revenue beat estimates, even as home prices fell in the quarter.

Yields on the 10-year Treasury slipped in Jan. 3's morning hours as investors moved money into safer instruments following the U.S. attack that killed an Iranian general.

The deadline for China Oceanwide to complete its acquisition of Genworth Financial was extended for a 13th time, following completion of the sale of Genworth MI Canada to Brookfield Business Partners.

Despite an uptick in homebuilding and favorable financing rates, Hovnanian Enterprises' latest earnings results remained in the red due to a charge the company took to reposition debt.

Impac Mortgage Holdings generated $1.4 million in net income during the third quarter in earnings that were favorable compared to a string of losses in the past year.

The two newest private mortgage insurance companies had their best quarters ever for new insurance written, aided by the increase in consumers refinancing with less than 20% home equity.

Zillow Group reported third-quarter revenue that beat estimates as growing sales in its online marketing and home-flipping businesses sent shares higher in late trading.

Taylor Morrison Home Corp. has agreed to buy William Lyon Homes in a deal that would combine the two companies' in-house mortgage divisions and make the resulting entity the fifth-largest U.S. homebuilder.

Black Knight and PennyMac Financial Services are suing each other in separate disputes linked respectively to the latter's creation of a servicing platform and the former's dominant position in the market.

Ocwen Financial's cost-cutting initiatives are bearing fruit toward returning to profitability, management said, although the company's third-quarter loss was slightly higher than the same period one year ago.