Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
After much anticipation, the CFPB officially released the finalized updates to the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule, also known as the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule. The newly amended rule finally answers industry calls for greater clarity and certainty. But it’s not over. The CFPB also announced a follow-up proposal, seeking information on closing disclosures. Click the headline for the latest developments. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Changes to down payment requirements for its first-time homebuyer program have been made by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
The changes impact Freddie Mac’s Home Possible Advantage Mortgages. The program is an affordable option for first-time homebuyers and other qualified borrowers.
McLean, Virginia-based Freddie is making the changes in order to ensure continued access to sustainable solutions for borrowers with limited down payment savings.
From:: Financing
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. surged 3.9% in active midday trade Friday, enough to pace the S&P 500’s gainers, amid a broad rally in semiconductor stock. Volume topped 49 million shares within two hours after the open, which is already more than half the full-day average, and enough to make the stock the most actively traded on major U.S. exchanges. The PHLX Semiconductor Index hiked up 1.6%, as the stocks of three other chip companies were among the top S&P 500’s gainers: Lam Research Corp.’s ran up 3.1%, Applied Materials Inc.’s climbed 3.0% and Nvidia Corp.’s rallied 2.1%. Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore raised his stock price target for Applied Materials to $52 from $47, and for Lam Research to $168 from $135. Moore said he believes capital spending in chips and display is continuing to improve, and that memory strength is driving an “unprecedented” memory cash flow. AMD’s stock has now rallied 19% year to date, while the SOX has rallied 16% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.2%.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
London-based HSBC announced another round of layoffs, cutting 197 employees at its Brandon, Florida, office. Among the affected positions are analysts, collection specialists and mortgage servicing support. Once all the cuts are complete, the office will remain open. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
The Federal Reserve expects a “gradual” increase in interest rates and for balance sheet normalization to begin this year, according to the monetary policy report released Friday. That’s the same assessment the Federal Open Market Committee gave after its June meeting, and comes ahead of Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s testimony on Capitol Hill next week. Also of note were the special topics the Fed chose to address: education’s impact on economic opportunities, the global productivity slowdown, liquidity in the corporate bond market and monetary policy rules.
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
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Friday showed that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 72 billion cubic feet for the week ended June 30. The report was delayed by a day because of the Independence Day holiday. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts forecast a build of 63 billion cubic feet. Total stocks now stand at 2.888 trillion cubic feet, down 285 billion cubic feet from a year ago, but 187 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. August natural gas added a penny, or 0.4%, from Wednesday’s settlement to $2.898 per million British thermal units. It traded at $2.925 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
Job growth increased significantly in June, up from May’s job growth and from predictions for June. The unemployment rate remained little changed over the month. Here’s the breakdown on the latest increases in employment. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
As was the case for all industries, monthly employment expanded in the mortgage sector. The positive news hurt interest rates. Still, unemployment inched higher, and wage growth stalled.
U.S. companies increased nonfarm payroll employment by a robust 222,000 jobs during June, according to data published Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Job growth increased compared to the previous month, when an upwardly revised 152,000 employees were added. But the expansion came up well short of the same month last year during the Obama administration when nonfarm employment surged by an upwardly revised 297,000.
From:: Financing
U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday after government data showed the economy added 222,000 jobs last month, the second-largest gain this year. Figures for April and May were also revised upward, though the wage growth remained sluggish. Despite Friday’s modest opening gains, the main indexes were on track to post small weekly losses. The S&P 500 was up by 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2,416. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 48 points, or 0.2%, to 21,364. The Nasdaq Composite index advanced 24 points, or 0.4%, to 6,114. Among biggest gainers, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc rose more than 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.
From:: Stock Market News
Financial stocks were broadly higher Friday, as a rise in Treasury yields following data showing the economy added more jobs than expected provided a boost. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF rose 0.5% in premarket trade. Among some of ETF’s more heavily weighted components, shares of Bank of America Corp. climbed 0.9%, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. gained 0.9%, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. tacked on 0.7%, Citigroup Inc. advanced 0.8% and Wells Fargo & Co. added 0.4%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 1 basis point to 2.380% toward a two-month high, after data showing nonfarm payrolls increased by 222,000 in June, beating expectations of a 180,000 increase. A rise in longer-term yields can help boost banks’ profits by increasing the spread they earn between longer-term assets, such as loans, and shorter-term liabilities. The financial ETF has gained 7.0% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has advanced 7.6%.
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