There was a lot of shock, sadness, and yes, grief here at SourceMedia at the recent passing of Neil Morse. We knew Neil as a gifted mortgage writer, an indefatigable road warrior, a thoroughly professional public relations executive, and finally as a colleague for his work with our conference group. He died way too soon (he was 62). But he had an impressive life.

Mortgage applications rose a scant 0.1% for the week ending April 27 with refinancings slipping ever so slightly.

PHH Corp. posted net earnings of $75 million for the first quarter, turning a profit on its residential mortgage operation, but suffering charges on its servicing business. In 1Q11, the company earned $49 million.

ISGN Corp., Melbourne, Fla., hired Matthew Mesmer as associate general counsel with a focus on regulatory compliance, corporate compliance, ethics, risk management and operational compliance.

It appears that a flip-flop of sorts is happening in regard to the FHA and VA programs.

Recent hikes in FHA premiums appear to be causing a shift in government-backed mortgage programs.

Experience 1 Inc., a holding company for two title insurance providers, named former LPS executive Eric Swenson chairman.

The inventory of vacant homes for sale fell in the first quarter to the lowest level in six years, according to a new government report which helps explain why real estate agents are complaining about the tight supply of REO properties.

LendingQB, Costa Mesa, Calif., named Brian Smith to its business development team.

Large banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, credited a pickup in mortgage banking returns for helping boost their quarterly revenue.

Out of 212 markets tracked by RealtyTrac’s metropolitan foreclosure market report, 114 had more foreclosures take place for the first three months of 2012 than the final quarter of last year.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s director of industry standards is leaving the trade group, less than six months after the MBA resumed running the day-to-day operations of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization.

The average primary market rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan during the week ending April 26 inched down two basis points to 3.88%, according to Freddie Mac's latest survey.

After the conclusion of a successful pilot program, the Internal Revenue Service is planning to roll out the production version of its electronic signature capabilities for Form 4506-T by the end of 2012, according to officials who detailed the plans during the MBA tech show in Phoenix this week.

Sterling Financial, Spokane, Wash., reported that first-quarter net income rose 146% from the same period last year, to $13.3 million, due primarily to growth in loan balances, lower funding costs and improved asset quality.

Ellie Mae said that Cathleen Schreiner Gates has joined the company as senior vice president of sales and client services.

Freddie Mac purchased $42 billion of mortgages from its seller/servicers in March, its strongest acquisition month since the refinancing boom of late 2010.

National home values experienced their largest monthly gain since May 2006 by increasing 0.5% in March, according to Zillow’s Home Value Index.

Mortgage applications fell by almost 4% for the seven-day period ending April 20 after a brief week of improvement, according to new figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

ISGN Corp., Melbourne, Fla., hired Jennifer Fulks and as associate general counsel with a focus on regulatory compliance, corporate compliance, ethics, risk management and operational compliance.