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Oil trades near session highs as U.S. extends sanctions on Iran

Oil futures climbed toward the session’s highest levels Friday, buoyed by news that the U.S. Senate has approved a bill that will extend sanctions against Iran’s missile development and weapons program that was not part of last year’s nuclear pact. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill. “It is clear that this will not help positive developments in U.S. and Iranian relations,” said Troy Vincent, oil analyst at ClipperData. And “the potential for deterioration in U.S.-Iran relations puts the future of Iranian crude exports in question once again,” he said. January West Texas Intermediate crude rose 54 cents, or 1.1%, to $51.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, near the day’s high of $51.66.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Wells Fargo splits Chairman and CEO roles in wake of fake account scandal

In the wake of Wells Fargo’s fake account scandal, which led to the bank being fined $185 million and other significant changes at the bank, some blamed the bank’s executive structure for allowing the millions of fake accounts to go unnoticed for so long. Moving forward, one person will not be allowed to serve as both chairman and CEO of the bank, as the bank’s board of directors announced this week that it is splitting the roles. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

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Baker Hughes reports increase in weekly U.S. oil-rig count

Data from Baker Hughes Friday revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil climbed by 3 to 477 rigs this week. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also rose 4 to 597, according to Baker Hughes. January crude was up 25 cents, or 0.5%, to trade at $51.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at around $51.36 before the rig 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.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Ford’s stock reverses lower after recall of 681,000 cars

Ford Motor Co.’s stock slumped 1.5% in midday trade Friday, reversing an earlier 1.2% intraday gain, after the auto maker issued two safety recalls involving more than 650,000 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ model cars. “In the affected vehicles, increased temperatures generated during deployment of the seat belt anchor pretensioner could cause pretensioner cables to separate, which may inadequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing risk of injury,” Ford said in a statement. The recall is for Fusions built from 2013 to 2016 and for Lincolns built from 2013 to 2015. Ford said 680,872 vehicles are affected, including 602,739 in the U.S., 35,614 in Canada and 8,665 in Mexico. Ford shares had closed Thursday at a two-month high after Ford’s November sales report. They have now shed 13% year to date, while General Motors Co.’s stock has gained 4.5% and the S&P 500 has climbed 7.2%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

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New Mortgage Business Recovers From Holiday

As expected, new home-lending activity bounced back from the holiday week. Refinance and adjustable-rate business were the biggest beneficiaries, while jumbo activity took the biggest hit.

Mortgage Daily’s U.S. Mortgage Market Index, a forecasting tool for originations based on average per-user rate-lock volume by OpenClose clients, was 129 in the week ended Dec. 2.

The index, which is not adjusted for seasonal factors, ascended 21 percent versus the previous week. The increase reflects the prior week’s subdued activity from the Thanksgiving holiday.

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From:: Financing

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5 Ways to Boost Occupancy With Online Marketing

By Rachel Jefferson

If you’re having trouble filling your vacancies, check out these 5 tips from Multifamily Executive for boosting your occupancy with online marketing strategies like Search Engine Optimization and reputation management. These strategies will help increase leads, fill occupancies quickly, and help you maintain that high occupancy.

Read the full article on Multifamily Executive.

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From:: Property Management

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Tesla analysts: ‘We continue to have reservations’ on company

Analysts at Cowen & Co. have cut their price target on Tesla Motors Inc. stock to $155, from $160, on concerns about the integration with SolarCity Corp. , which Tesla recently bought, and ongoing worries around Tesla’s production targets, the launch of its mass-market Model 3, and competition in the electric-vehicle arena from other car makers. Cowen’s new price target represents about 14% downside for Tesla’s current share prices. The shares are off 24% so far this year, versus gains of more than 7% for the S&P 500 index in the same period.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Risk Retention to Exacerbate Maturing CMBS Defaults

Growing defaults from a wave of securitized commercial real estate loans that are maturing are likely to be exacerbated by the upcoming implementation of the risk retention rule.

Performance data from Trepp LLC indicates that delinquency of at least 30 days on loans included in commercial mortgage-backed securities was 5.03 percent in November.

Based on historical data from the New York-based firm, that was the highest level of CMBS delinquency since December 2015, when the 30-day rate landed at 5.17 percent.

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From:: Financing

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Mortgage Jobs Increase But Likely to Decline

Mortgage employment has expanded for eight consecutive months now, though recent market conditions are likely to lead to contraction.

U.S. employers added 178,000 nonfarm jobs in November. Growth accelerated from a downwardly revised 144,950 the prior month.

But job growth plummeted compared to the same month last year, when nonfarm payroll employment grew by an upwardly revised 280,000.

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From:: Financing