Rates on 30-Year Mortgages Fall (AP)
June 02, 2005 09:53
AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week for the eighth time in the past nine weeks, hitting the lowest level in four months, according to an industry report.

Fannie Mae Drops Interim From CEO Title (AP)
June 01, 2005 02:49
AP - Fannie Mae's board of directors on Wednesday removed the interim from the title of Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mudd, another step in the mortgage lender's struggle to recover from an accounting scandal.

Financial Planning for Disasters Urged (AP)
June 01, 2005 01:56
AP - With the arrival of hurricane season, it's a good time for families living near the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf Coast to make sure they're prepared financially if they have to flee a storm.

Fannie Mae names insider as CEO (Reuters)
June 01, 2005 01:55
Reuters - Fannie Mae on Wednesday named Interim Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mudd as permanent CEO and president, erasing one of many uncertainties surrounding the embattled mortgage funder as its investigation of multibillion-dollar accounting problems unfolds.

Average Mortgage Rates (AP)
June 01, 2005 01:40
AP - Average Mortgage Rates

Housing sector sales hit record highs (Reuters)
June 01, 2005 09:59
Reuters - The hot U.S. housing market powered forward in April thanks to low mortgage rates and rising incomes, which propelled U.S. construction spending and pending sales on existing homes to new highs, data showed on Wednesday.

Construction spending hits record high (Reuters)
June 01, 2005 07:15
Reuters - U.S. construction spending jumped by a smaller-than-expected 0.5 percent in April but still reached another record high as low mortgage interest rates gave fresh wind to the long-running housing boom, a government report showed on Wednesday.

When Do You Need a Financial Advisor? (The Motley Fool)
June 01, 2005 07:13
The Motley Fool - If you think that personal financial advisors are for only the rich, you're wrong. There are affordable options available, and just about anyone who goes through some life changes needs to reevaluate his or her personal financial situation.

Microcaps Can Add a Lift to Portfolios (AP)
June 01, 2005 05:07
AP - The biggest stocks get a lot of fanfare, but Wall Street's tiniest companies have yielded even greater rewards in recent years. Microcap stocks perform very differently from larger issues, but investing in corporate America's incubator can be tricky for individuals.

Mortgage applications decrease last week-MBA (Reuters)
June 01, 2005 04:42
Reuters - Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week due to decreasing purchasing and refinancing activity even as mortgage rates eased, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Prudential: A Prudent Purchase? (The Motley Fool)
May 31, 2005 07:09
The Motley Fool - Unlike the property/casualty and reinsurance sectors, the life insurance and investment management markets have largely avoided deterioration. As companies like ING (NYSE: ING - News), AXA (NYSE: AXA - News), and MetLife (NYSE: MET - News) have shown, business is actually pretty good.

Healthier Balance Sheets at Home (BusinessWeek Online)
May 31, 2005 05:11
BusinessWeek Online - Personal income posted a solid 0.7% increase in April, alongside a 0.6% gain in personal consumption. The chain price index, a broad inflation measure at the consumer level, rose 0.4% overall -- 0.1% excluding food and energy. On a year-over-year basis, the overall inflation gauge accelerated to a 2.7% pace, from 2.4% in March, while the core slowed to 1.6%, from 1.7%.

Proposed H&R Block Refund Deal Tossed Out (AP)
May 27, 2005 01:13
AP - A federal judge in Chicago has denied H&R Block Inc.'s proposal to settle a class-action lawsuit over its tax-refund loans for $360 million, the Kansas City-based company said Friday.

Consumer spending, incomes rise in April (Reuters)
May 27, 2005 08:12
Reuters - U.S. consumer spending and personal income both rose in April, while underlying inflation remained muted in another sign the economy is growing at a firm pace, a government report showed on Friday.

Fannie Mae mortgage portfolio drops again (Reuters)
May 27, 2005 07:29
Reuters - Fannie Mae , the largest U.S. home funding company, said on Friday its mortgage portfolio fell by an annualized 16.3 percent in April, its sixth straight monthly drop.

Stocks Close Higher Ahead of Long Holiday (AP)
May 27, 2005 04:17
AP - Stocks eked out modest gains Friday ahead of the long holiday weekend as investors eyed higher oil prices and a government report that showed rising personal incomes but slower growth in consumer spending.

Feds Targeting Abusers of Student Loans (AP)
May 26, 2005 11:36
AP - Federal student loans remain open to a range of abuses, from falsified aid applications to stolen identities, a top Education Department official said Thursday.

Treasury disappointed by House GSE bill (Reuters)
May 26, 2005 10:17
Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow on Thursday said he was disappointed with legislation cleared by a House committee on Wednesday to overhaul regulation of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and hoped the bill could be strengthened.

The Cost of All Those McMansions (BusinessWeek Online)
May 26, 2005 05:19
BusinessWeek Online - It's like living in a parallel universe. Surprising most economists, mortgage rates have gone down in recent weeks rather than up. The housing market, instead of cooling, has stayed hot, with record sales of existing homes in April. And prices are up 15% over a year ago. Even Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who has regularly dismissed the possibility of a housing bubble, is worrying that current trends are "unsustainable."

House Panel Approves Mortage Giants Bill (AP)
May 25, 2005 04:04
AP - A House committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would strengthen federal government oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the big mortgage companies.