Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
For the fourth consecutive year, the OCC found that banks are consistently loosening their credit standards as they slowly ease up from the strict standards set in place after the financial crisis. The mortgage market currently has a reputation for having tight credit standards. Is this finally starting to change? …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Over the past year, average loan-to-value ratios and debt-to-income ratios are lower on mortgage originations, as is the accompanying risk.
The inaugural Housing Credit Index, a new measure of loan risk compared to 2001, came in at 48 as of the third quarter of this year.
That turned out to be lower than during the same three-month period last year, indicating that the level of risk on residential loans has fallen.
From:: Financing
AMC Entertainment Holding Inc.’s proposed $1.2 billion buyout of Carmike Cinemas Inc. was approved Tuesday by the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, with certain conditions. AMC will have to sell off theaters in 15 local markets, sell most of its holdings and give up governance rights in cinema media company National CineMedia LLC and transfer 24 theaters to the network of Screenvision LLC to close the deal. “Moviegoers across the United States have benefitted from head-to-head competition between AMC and Carmike that has kept ticket prices in check and delivered a higher quality movie experience,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the DOJ’s antitrust division. “Today’s settlement will ensure that movie theatre competition is preserved in 15 local markets where AMC and Carmike currently compete.” AMC’s stock rose 0.9% while Carmike shares eased 0.3%. Year to date, shares of AMC have rallied 39% and of Carmike have soared 45%, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Negative equity is decreasing, especially among starter homes, and others in the bottom third of the housing market. This positive change is slowly closing the equity gap between homes at the bottom and top of the market, however there’s still a long way to go. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Serious delinquency on second-lien mortgages tumbled 10 basis points on a month-over-month basis, while first-mortgage performance was unchanged.
The Composite Consumer Credit Default Index indicated that delinquency of at least 90 days on consumer credit was 0.87 percent in November.
Delinquency — which reflects performance on auto loans, bank cards, first mortgages and second-lien mortgages — was unchanged from the prior month.
From:: Financing
Allergan plc shares slumped 1.4% in morning trade Tuesday after the company announced a $2.9 billion cash deal to buy Acelity’s regenerative medicine company LifeCell. The company said that its portfolio, combined with LifeCell’s regenerative medicines business, would provide “significant opportunity to enhance the overall product offering for plastic and geenral surgery customers globally.” Allergan said it expects LifeCell, which sells various products used for breast reconstruction and soft tissue repair, to generate about $450 million in revenue next year. As part of the acquisition Allergan will also get LifeCell’s New Jersey manufacturing space and R&D operations. The purchase is “both strategically and financially compelling to Allergan,” said CEO Brent Saunders, with the company citing statistics about the growing number of reconstructive breast surgeries and breast cancer’s prevalence. Allergan shares have dropped 39.2% year-to-date, compared with a 11.0% rise in the S&P 500 .
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it’s fined Morgan Stanley & Co. $7.5 million for allegedly using trades involving customer cash to lower the firm’s borrowing costs. The SEC order said from March 2013 to May 2015, Morgan Stanley’s U.S. broker-dealer used transactions with an affiliate to reduce the amount it was required to deposit in its customer reserve account. The affiliate used margin loans from the U.S. broker-dealer to finance the costs of hedging swap trades with customers, the SEC said. Morgan Stanley didn’t admit or deny the findings.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Panera Bread Co. said Tuesday that it has set new animal welfare goals for its broiler chickens, to be met by 2024. The goals, which are in line with the Global Animal Partnership’s Broiler Chicken Standard, include providing birds with more space and better environments. Panera made a commitment in Nov. 2015 to use only cage-free eggs by 2020. The restaurant chain says that as of 2016, all of the poultry in its sandwiches and salads are raised without antibiotics, all of its pork products including ham and bacon served in sandwiches and salads are antibiotic-free and raised without the use of gestation crates, and 95% of its beef is grass-fed and free-range. Panera shares are down 0.2% in Tuesday trading, but up 8.6% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 13.3% for the last 12 months.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed nearer to the psychologically important 20,000 level. The S&P 500 index gained 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,267. The Dow advanced 48 points, or 0.2%, to 19,934, trading above its previous closing record. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 14 points, or 0.3%, to 5,473. Investors’ appetite for risky assets remained intact despite a series of attacks in Turkey and Germany. BlackBerry moved higher after the handset maker reported narrowing losses for the third quarter. Darden Restaurants , owner of several restaurant chains including the Olive Garden, saw its shares rise after reporting a rise in same-restaurant sales for the second quarter. Rising oil prices also helped boost energy shares.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s stock climbed 1.1% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the oil and gas exploration company said it agreed to sell a portion of its Haynesville Share assets for $465 million to an affiliate of Covey Park Energy LLC. The sale of the northern-Louisiana assets include 41,500 net acres and 326 wells, which are currently producing about 50 million cubic feet of gas per day. The company expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2017. “Upon closing, this strong bid for our second Haynesville package, along with our recent new issue and tender, will position Chesapeake with significant liquidity as we begin a new year,” said Chief Executive Doug Lawler. The stock has soared 62% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has run up 26% and the S&P 500 has gained 11%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News