Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
The good news is that productivity and purchase-share increased last month on home lending. But credit conditions tightened and turnaround slowed.
Conventional mortgages made up 64 percent of all residential loans that were closed during May. The share was no different than one month prior.
Another 23 percent were loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, and 9 percent were guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
From:: Financing
Oil futures turned higher Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude supplies fell by 900,000 barrels for the week ended June 10. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday had reported a 1.2 million-barrel rise, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected a 1.4 million-barrel decline. Gasoline supplies declined by 2.6 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles edged up by 800,000 barrels last week, according to the EIA. July crude was at $48.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 11 cents, or 0.2%, from Tuesday’s settlement. Prices traded lower at $47.90 before the data.
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From:: Stock Market News
Although government-funded and Freddie Mac refinances retreated, overall government-sponsored enterprise refinances reached a nine-month high.
During the month of April, there were 168,212 residential loans that are owned or backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which were refinanced.
The last time the volume of Fannie and Freddie mortgage refinances was this high was in July of last year, when 198,080 GSE loans were refinanced.
From:: Financing
Despite the lowest long-term fixed rates in over a year, new applications for home loans moved down — with purchase financing activity leading the drop.
A seasonally adjusted 2 percent decrease from one week earlier was recorded for the Market Composite Index for the week that ended on June 10.
The index, which is a measure of mortgage loan application volume, actually climbed 21 percent, however, from the week that included Memorial Day.
From:: Financing
Bank of America Corp. is planning to shed up to 8,000 jobs at its retail bank, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing comments from the president of retail banking at a conference this week. Thong Nguyen said the bank had 68,400 employees at the end of the first quarter, and that number would likely fall to the low 60s, the FT reported. It cited people with knowledge of the program saying the cuts would come mostly from attrition of back-office employees, meaning staff would not be replaced when they leave. Shares rose 1.5% in early trade, but are down 20% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8%.
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From:: Stock Market News
Cisco Systems Inc. was downgraded to neutral from buy and removed from Goldman Sachs’ Americas Buy list on Wednesday. Analyst Simona Jankowski also lowered the 12-month price target on Cisco’s stock to $32 from $35, citing decelerating earnings-per-share growth and other “elevated risks” in the near-to-intermediate term that could weigh on the company’s expansion. Cisco’s shift to a more “recurring revenue” model may help strengthen sales and give it a stronger position in the Internet of Things market long term, but Simona said the near-term risks are of larger concern at the moment. Shares of Cisco fell 1.6% to $28.50 in morning trade – representing the biggest decliner in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The stock is about flat on the year, versus a 0.5% decline for the Dow 30.
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From:: Stock Market News
U.S. stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday as investors braced for an updated monetary-policy outlook from the Federal Reserve in the afternoon. The main benchmarks were on track to snap a four-day losing streak, the longest streak of declines since the stock market reached its nadir in February. A pair of stronger-than-expected reports on manufacturing and inflation also boosted sentiment. The S&P 500 gained 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,079. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 43 points, or 0.3%, to 17,724 at the open. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the session up 11 points, or 0.2%, at 4,854.
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From:: Stock Market News
Office Depot Inc. said it planned to hire 8,000 seasonal workers for the back-to-school season, up from 6,000 a year ago. The seasonal workers will have the potential to transition to a regular position if they become available. The office and school supply retailer said both its regular and seasonal employees will receive a 10% discount at its stores. “We’re looking forward to bringing in more associates this year to ensure our customers get the best, personal service to fulfill their back-to-school shopping needs,” said Lynn Gross, Office Depot’s vice president of human resources. The stock, which climbed 1.8% in premarket trade, had tumbled 41% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 had gained 1.5%.
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From:: Stock Market News
Office Depot Inc. said it planned to hire 8,000 seasonal workers for the back-to-school season, up from 6,000 a year ago. The seasonal workers will have the potential to transition to a regular position if they become available. The office and school supply retailer said both its regular and seasonal employees will receive a 10% discount at its stores. “We’re looking forward to bringing in more associates this year to ensure our customers get the best, personal service to fulfill their back-to-school shopping needs,” said Lynn Gross, Office Depot’s vice president of human resources. The stock, which climbed 1.8% in premarket trade, had tumbled 41% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 had gained 1.5%.
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 U.S.-listed shares of YY Inc. dropped 3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the China-based social platform said an investor group has withdrawn its proposal to buy the company because of unfavorable market conditions. The investor group is led by YY Chairman June Lei and Chief Executive David Xueling Li. Separately, YY said it set a new program to repurchase up to $200 million worth of its stock or convertible debt over the next year. When YY received the going-private proposal on July 9, 2015, the investor group said it would pay $68.50 in cash for each American depositary share outstanding, which represented a 17% premium to the July 8 closing price of $58.35. Since then, the stock has tumbled 35% through Tuesday. The S&P 500 has gained 1.4% over the same time.
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