Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced a new proposed Canadian lumber tariff that would stack on top of the tariff announced back in April on Canadian softwood lumber imported into the U.S. Why is this important? Softwood lumber is the type primarily used in home construction. As a result, the National Association of Home Builders says the steep increase would have a drastic financial impact on homebuilders and homebuyers. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Not surprisingly, the Case-Shiller home prices index showed an increase in home prices in April from the previous month and last year as competition grows among homebuyers. Now, experts explain home prices will be slow to react to any market changes, and will not change their upward trend anytime soon. However, at least one economist disagrees. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
The mortgage banking remnants of a bank that failed during the depths of the financial crisis have been scooped up by one of the nation’s biggest lenders.
In late 2009, the =Office of Thrift Supervision seized and closed down AmTrust Bank. The Cleveland-based financial institution was a big wholesale lender.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was appointed conservator of AmTrust by the OTS, accepted a bid by New York Community Bank to acquire the failed bank.
From:: Financing
Shares of Potlatch Corp. dropped 1.7% in morning trade Tuesday, after the real estate investment trust which owns timberlands was downgraded at Raymond James, which cited valuation in the wake of underwhelming regulatory announcement regarding tariffs on Canadian lumber. Analyst Colin Mings cut his rating to market perform from outperform and removed his stock price target. The stock closed Monday at a four-year high of $48.20, above Mings’ previous price target of $48. Late Monday, the Commerce Department announced it was considering additional fees on Canadian lumber imports that would mean some products could face duties as high as 30.88%. The announcement comes two months after the Trump administration moved to impose a 20% tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber. Mings said that while protectionist trade policies are a positive for the timber REIT sector, the preliminary duty rates were within expectations. “However, there was no upside surprise in yesterday’s announcement relative to our forecast, and we believe the preliminary finding will underwhelm some investors expecting a more aggressive stance on the issue,” Mings wrote in a note to clients. July lumber futures tumbled 1.8%. Among other timber REITs, shares of CatchMark Timber Trust Inc. slipped 0.3%, Deltic Timber Corp. lost 0.7% and Rayonier Inc. edged up 0.1%. Potlatch’s stock has climbed 14% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.8%.
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From:: Stock Market News
Alder BioPharmaceuticals Inc. stock dropped 19.5% in extremely heavy morning trade Tuesday after the company released positive results for its late-stage migraine prevention drug. The drug, eptinezumab, met the primary and key secondary endpoints in a phase 3 trial, and the company plans to file with the Food and Drug Administration for approval in the second half of next year. Patients on eptinezumab had on average 4.3 fewer monthly migraine days on a higher dose of the drug and 3.9 fewer days on a lower dose, compared with 3.2 fewer days on average for patients on the placebo. However, investors noted that while the drug showed a statistically significant reduction in migraine days, the results did not appear much better than those for the placebo. Moreover, Alder — a clinical-stage biotech company — faces some stiff competition from Amgen Inc. , Eli Lilly & Co. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Co. , large pharmaceutical companies developing other migraine prevention drugs, all of whom have either already filed for approval or have plans to do so this year. Alder shares have dropped 29.9% over the last three months to $15.10, compared with a 4.1% rise in the S&P 500 .
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 reverse mortgage unit of a Maryland-based home lender has been sold in a transaction that promises to create a top-tier reverse mortgage lender.
Huron Valley Financial Inc. was already in the reverse mortgage space through subsidiary 1st Nations Reverse Mortgage, which was launched in October 2016.
But the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based organization aspires to be a bigger player. So it has made an acquisition that will help it achieve greater market share.
From:: Financing
Shares of Pandora Media Inc. fell nearly 2% after the market opened on Tuesday following news that Founder and Chief Executive Tim Westergren is officially stepping down. Westergren will also no longer sit on the company’s board. Reports over the weekend had said Westergren was expected to exit the company. The internet radio company said the board of directors will begin the search for a new CEO immediately. Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra will serve as CEO in the interim. Pandora said it will fill Westergren’s seat on the board with Jason Hirschhorn. “Tim stepped in to be CEO at a critical time for the company and was quickly able to reset relations with the major labels, launch our on-demand service, reconstitute the management team and refortify our balance sheet by securing an investment from Sirius XM,” said board member Tim Leiweke. Pandora recently secured a $480 million investment from Liberty Media Corp.-owned satellite radio company Sirius XM Holdings Inc. , while also selling its Ticketfly business to Eventbrite for $200 million. Pandora has been struggling to compete with other on-demand music streaming services, like Apple Inc.’s Apple Music and Spotify. Its recent moves give it the cash necessary to move forward with its new subscription-based on demand service, but some analysts believe that might not be best opportunity for Pandora. Shares of Pandora are down more than 36% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 9%.
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
Home prices increased once again in April, though at a slower pace than the previous month. The S&P Dow Jones Indices’ managing director explained home prices cannot continue to increase without limit. But will home price gains gently slow or will they crash and take the economy down with them? …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Tuesday, as a renewed selling of technology shares weighed on the main indexes. Investors were also cautious ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen this afternoon, hoping for any clues about the timing of the next interest rate increase. The Nasdaq Composite was down 30 points, or 0.5%, to 6,215. The S&P 500 declined 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,434. The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the session slightly lower, down 17 points, or less than 0.1%, at 21,396. Among biggest decliners, Alphabet Inc , parent of Google, was down more than 1% shortly after the opening bell.
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
Pandora Media Inc. said on Tuesday that Founder and Chief Executive Tim Westergren is officially stepping down. Westergren will also no longer sit on the company’s board. Pandora shares were up more than 2% following the news. Reports over the weekend had said Westergren was expected to exit the company. The internet radio company said the board of directors will begin the search for a new CEO immediately. Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra will serve as CEO in the interim. Pandora said it will fill Westergren’s seat on the board with Jason Hirschhorn. Shares of Pandora are down more than 35% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 9%.
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