Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
As home-lending activity increased at Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., so did the size of its mortgage servicing portfolio and the amount it earned.
The Irvine, California-based mortgage banking firm earned nearly $13 billion before income taxes during the three months that ended on June 30.
Income improved from more than $1 million three months earlier, though Impac came up short compared to the $17 million earned a year earlier.
From:: Financing
Proposed changes to the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures rule was welcomed by financial services associations, though three groups still have concerns.
On Friday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a proposal to update the Know Before You Owe Mortgage Disclosure Rule.
The disclosures, which are required under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, became effective in October 2015.
From:: Financing
A financial institution out of the East has agreed to settle allegations that it discriminated against a woman who was on maternity leave.
Word of a conciliation agreement with two subsidiaries of Providence, Rhode Island -based Citizens Financial Group Inc. came on Friday.
The bank allegedly required a woman who was applying for a home-equity line of credit to return to work before it would approve her request.
From:: Financing
U.S. stocks ended the month on a high note, with the S&P 500 closing just a few points off a record level. All three main indexes posted solid monthly gains. For the benchmark S&P 500 and Dow industrials this was the fifth consecutive monthly advance. For the Nasdaq Composite, the monthly gain was the largest since March. The S&P 500 index hit an intraday record level at 2,177.13, but closed off the highs. The index rose 3.54 points, or 0.2% to 2,173.60, finishing the week flat. Over the month, the index of large-cap stocks gained 3.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 24.11 points, 0.1% to 18,432.24 and posted a 0.8% loss over the week. Over the month, the blue-chip index gained 2.8%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index ended the session up 7.15 points, or 0.1%, at 5,162.13, posting a 1.2% gain over the week and a 6.6% gain over the month.
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From:: Stock Market News
Neither presidential nominee may agree, but United Parcel Service Inc. is all for free trade agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. When U.S. has entered into a free-trade agreement with a country, U.S. exports to that country rise by about 20%, Chief Financial Officer Richard Peretz said in an interview with MarketWatch. And every 22 packages that crosses a border supports one UPS job, Peretz said. “Global trade has been a catalyst for the U.S. economy for more than the last decade,” Peretz said. He said the agreements can especially benefit small and medium-sized businesses. In a conference call with analysts following UPS’s second-quarter results, Chief Executive David Abney said trade deals like the TPP are “vital” to the health of the U.S. economy. “We encourage out political leaders to support and pass pending trade legislation,” Abney said in the call, according to a transcript provided by FactSet. The stock slipped 0.8% in afternoon trade. It has climbed 12% year to date, while shares of rival FedEx Corp. have advanced 8.6% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.3%.
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From:: Stock Market News
Oil futures settled higher on Friday, finding support from a weaker U.S. dollar, but prices finished the month with a loss of roughly 14% as a glut of crude supplies and gasoline inventories weighed on the market. September WTI crude climbed by 46 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $41.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have now posted losses in three out of the seven months of the year so far.
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From:: Stock Market News
Gold futures settled higher on Friday on the back of a sharp decline in the U.S. dollar as weaker-than-expected data on U.S. economic growth gave the Federal Reserve more reason to move cautiously in its plans to hike interest rates. December gold rose $16.30, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,357.50 an ounce. Futures prices ended the month with a climb of roughly 2.8% from the settlement of the most-active contract on June 30, according to FactSet data. Prices have now posted gains in six out of the seven months so far this year.
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 week-over-week increase in new refinance business wasn’t quite enough to offset a decline in purchase activity. Adjustable-rate and jumbo activity accelerated.
At 175, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from OpenClose and Mortgage Daily for the week that ended on July 29 was off 1 percent from one week prior.
However, the index — which is a reflection of average per-user rate locks by clients of OpenClose –has increased by 31 percent compared to the same week in 2015.
From:: Financing
The Community Home Lenders Association believes that small non-bank mortgage lenders should be exempt from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rules. Here, the organization explains why and discusses why that exemption would help small lenders better serve consumers. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
New home starts in Dallas may be up, but it won’t help the affordability crisis as homebuilders made a dramatic shift in the type of homes they are building. Instead of building affordable homes, new home starts are increasing in the higher price ranges. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire