Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
Ocwen Financial Corp.’s operating subsidiary has combined its and wholesale and correspondent sales divisions into a single business.
A news release Thursday indicated that subsidiary-Homeward Residential Inc. consolidated its wholesale and correspondent sales divisions.
The Addison, Texas-based firm’s newly combined third-party originations business unit will operate under just one leadership structure.
From:: Financing
Shares of Bank of America Corp. powered up 2.8% toward a record high in active midday trade Thursday, after Raymond James turned bullish on the banking giant, on the belief that President-elect Donald Trump will bring “better days ahead.” Recent volume of 93 million shares made the stock the most actively traded on the major U.S. exchanges. Analyst David Long raised his rating to outperform, after being at market perform for about five months, and initiated a stock price target of $26, which is 12% above current levels. The stock has rocketed 37% since the election, compared with a 19% surge in the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF and a 6% gain in the S&P 500 . “The question we expect to receive on our more constructive view on BAC is why now after such a run up in their stock,” Long wrote in a note to clients. “However, with the changing of the guard, the prospect of stronger economic growth, a lengthening of the credit cycle, higher interest rates, and a clearer path to achieving its profitability targets, we see risk-reward more positively than we did under the prior administration.”
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
SunTrust didn’t quite make the cut in the latest report from the monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement. According to the update, SunTrust failed to uphold one metric in the National Mortgage Settlement requirements during the first quarter of 2016 and the bank’s Corrective Action Plan is currently under review. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
For the second time within a week, a real estate agent was shot under mysterious circumstances. This time, the tragedy occurred in an abandoned home in Atlanta. Here’s what police know about the home, and what the agent was doing there. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Shares of DeVry Education Group Inc. jumped 2.6% in midday trade Thursday, after the for-profit education company said the settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission will not impact access to federal student loans or student services. DeVry said it will pay $49.4 million to settle the FTC litigation regarding the use of employment statistics in former advertising. The company said it will also forgive $30.4 million of institutional loans issued before Sept. 15, 2015, and forgive outstanding accounts receivable balances by $20.2 million for former students. DeVry said it expects to record a change of $52 million to $55 million in its fiscal second quarter as a result of the settlement. “DeVry Group chose to settle this action after filing an answer denying all allegations of wrongdoing,” the company said in a statement. The settlement comes three months after rival ITT Educational Services, the parent of ITT Technical Institutes, filed for bankruptcy in the wake of the Department of Education’s decision to ban the for-profit school from enrolling new students using federal financial aid.
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
Prudential Financial Inc. provided its 2017 outlook in a presentation to investors, saying it expects earnings per share in the range of $10.15 to $10.65 for the year. That surrounds the FactSet EPS consensus of $10.33. The insurer said it is targeting return on equity in the 12%-to-13% range, in line with the 12.5% seen in the trailing 12 months ended Sept. 30, but down from 14.2% in 2015 and 15.8% in 2014. Prudential said its outlook is based on assumptions that include: the S&P 500 ending 2017 at 2,130, which is 1.5% above current levels; the yield on the 10-year Treasury at 2.50%, which is below with the current rate of 2.58%; and the repurchase of $1.25 billion worth of its stock next year. The stock rallied 2.7% in morning trade. It has surged 31% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF has rallied 20% 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
A 30-basis-point increase in expected interest rates has led to a small reduction in projected first-quarter mortgage production.
Total home-lending activity, including purchase financing and refinancing, is expected to reach $470 billion in the fourth-quarter 2016.
Originations are then expected to fall to $352 billion in the following period and bounce up to $430 billion in the second-quarter 2017.
From:: Financing
Natural-gas futures turned higher Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of natural gas dropped by 147 billion cubic feet for the week ended Dec. 9. Analysts at Citi Futures had forecast a fall of 124 billion cubic feet. Total stocks now stand at 3.806 trillion cubic feet, down 50 billion cubic feet from a year ago but 186 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. January natural gas added 2.5 cents, or 0.7%, to $3.565 per million British thermal units. It traded at $3.514 before the data.
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
Builders hit their highest confidence level since 2005 after the election of President-elect Donald Trump. As the confidence increases, the hope is that builders begin to bring life to what could be a very inventory-starved housing market in 2017. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Rep. Ryan Zinke to head the Interior Department, Trump’s transition team announced Thursday. Trump said in a statement that the Montana Republican has “one of the strongest track records on championing regulatory relief.” The congressman served for 23 years as a Navy SEAL and was elected in 2014.
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