Consumer Stocks Stall Amid Surprising Earnings
2010, a true consumer recoveryand robust advances for consumer stockswill need a strong recovery in jobs and the housing market, says Terry Morris, senior equity manager at National Penn Investors Trust. "That's the fuel for consumer confidence," he

Asian Shares Mostly Lower; Weak Financials Hurt Australia
The government's announcements in Parliament will be of particular interest to anyone with a stake in the housing market,' said Bank of New Zealand head of market economics Stephen Toplis. Property for Industry was up 1.8% while Kiwi Income Property

Fed plots careful strategy to undo growth measures
getting the Fed out of the business of subsidizing mortgages. But selling the assets probably would drive up mortgage rates, damaging a housing sector whose recovery is slow and fragile. So far, the Fed has convinced markets that the 'how' of unwinding

Assist-2-Sell Founders Join Ben Bernanke on Inman List of 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders
structure for some transactions. Assist-2-Sell has been influential in educating and helping homeowners avoid the devastating effects of foreclosure by being an aggressive advocate of short sales. The company was founded in 1987 and currently numbers 416

Debt fears drag Dow below 10,000
Stanley reportedly upgraded the Dow component to "overweight" from "equal-weight," saying it will benefit from a recovering housing market. But a variety of financial shares fell, dragging on the market. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase

U.S. Stocks Retreat on Concern Europe Finances to Hurt Recovery
committee memo to lawmakers on the panel. The Fed’s efforts have helped push U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rates down to 5.04 percent on Feb. 5 from last year’s high of 5.74 percent in June, according to Bankrate.com in North Palm Beach, Florida.

FTC Proposes Rule That Would Bar Mortgage Relief Companies from Charging Up-Front Fees
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) moved to protect distressed homeowners from the promoters of bogus foreclosure rescue and mortgage modification services by proposing a new rule that would forbid companies to charge up-front for these services.

• Lost your house? You still have to pay
21 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As terrible as it is to lose your house to foreclosure, at least it's a relief to put your biggest financial headache behind you, right? Wrong. Former homeowners may still be on the hook if there's a difference between

Dow down on debt concerns
Stanley reportedly upgraded the Dow component to "overweight" from "equal-weight," saying it will benefit from a recovering housing market. But a variety of financial shares gained, dragging on the market. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan

AIG Hires Hancock to Oversee Risk, Derivatives Unit (Update2)
oversee the AIG Financial Products unit that drained the insurer of funds after losing swap bets on the housing market with banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Financial Products hired Gerry Pasciucco, a former Morgan Stanley executive, in 2008 to

Geithner: U.S. Will Never Lose Aaa Rating
beginning the process of healing.” Helping Homeowners Geithner defended the Obama administration’s efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure through subsidized mortgage modifications. When asked why few homeowners have so far received permanent

Research and Markets: 2009 Top Mortgage Banking Business Process Outsourcing Vendors, Black...
outsourcing - top vendor by function 2009 BLACK BOOK METHODOLOGY OVERVIEW Mortgage servicing Mortgage origination services Default management Foreclosure (judicial, non-judicial) Securization and support The next generation of business process

Dow slips on debt concerns
Stanley reportedly upgraded the Dow component to "overweight" from "equal-weight," saying it will benefit from a recovering housing market. But a variety of financial shares gained, dragging on the market. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan

Money pit: When a cheap foreclosure costs much more
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Dusan Tatomirovic found a steal when he bought a foreclosed condo just north of Monterey, Calif., last April for $130,000. The locale is incredible, just 10 minutes from his office and close to his daughter. The weather is

US Stocks Drop, Financials Lag Amid Regulation, Europe Concerns
Depot surged 3.3%, after Morgan Stanley upgraded the company to overweight from equal-weight, expressing optimism in the housing market's recovery. The Standard & Poor's 500-share index fluctuated between small gains and losses. The financial sector

RE/MAX Achieves Top Market Share in Twin Cities Metro for 2009
S., which are focused on helping homeowners who are having challenges in making their mortgage payments or facing foreclosure, sell their homes.' In addition to earning the number one market share in the Twin Cities 13-county metro, RE/MAX agents proved

Palm Beach County, FL Clerk & Comptroller Launches Online Foreclosure Auctions with Grant...
BusinessWire - The Clerk & Comptroller of Palm Beach County is now conducting foreclosure auctions online using Grant Street Group's ClerkAuction(R) platform at www.mypalmbeachclerk.clerkauction.com. Since the first auction on January 21, 2010, more than

Berlin Packaging, Leading Supplier of Packaging, Announces Agreement for the Acquisition of...
Stock Exchange (IVC) and Bahrain Stock Exchange (INVCORP). Investcorp has five lines of business: private equity, hedge funds, real estate, technology investment, and Gulf growth capital. Founded in 1982, Investcorp has grown to become one of the largest

Market rises on energy, Home Depot
of Home Depot, Morgan Stanley said it was optimistic about the home improvement chain's prospects as the housing market begins to recover. JPMorgan cited improving economic conditions in its upgrade of Disney, but said the company's earnings recovery

Home-builder stocks rise ahead of Pulte earnings
and likely to reverse over the near term," Goldberg said. "We continue to believe fundamentals in the housing market are approaching a trough. That said, results in the first half of the year are likely to be inconsistent, with various data points

Early View: Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index Posts Estimated Positive Performance of...
bond prices as well as the Chinese central bank's credit tightening over concerns of overheating in their housing market. -- Event Driven managers had a generally positive month as a number of managers took advantage of inefficient pricing in smaller

Research and Markets: State of the Industry: Blinds and Shades in the U.S. (4th Edition)
Priced Key Topics Covered: Written Analysis (18 pages): Drivers of Industry Growth Automation to Gain Market Share as Housing Market Rebounds Shutters in High Demand Due to Many Positive Attributes Window Shades Continue to Benefit from Energy-Efficiency

Workouts Take Center Stage Amid Historic Real Estate Collapse
the event, held in Melville, N.Y., included key issues related to automatic stay, letters of credit, noteworthy foreclosure litigation, treatment of secured claims, and more. Given the increasing prevalence and complexity of workouts amid the real estate

Geithner Says U.S. Will ‘Never’ Lose Aaa Debt Rating (Update1)
beginning the process of healing.” Helping Homeowners Geithner defended the Obama administration’s efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure through subsidized mortgage modifications. When asked why few homeowners have so far received permanent

REFILE-WRAPUP 2-China mortgage rates up as loan clampdown bites
year By Zhou Xin and Simon Rabinovitch BEIJING, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A major Chinese bank has raised mortgage rates in one of the first signs of how a government lending clampdown is rippling through the economy and could tame turbo-charged growth but spook

Cheung Kong Says H.K. Property Is Due for Correction (Update1)
bit unusual,” Chiu said in a Bloomberg interview today. “There should be a correction at some point.” Low mortgage rates and buying by rich mainland Chinese drove a 29 percent gain in Hong Kong home prices last year. The city faces a “huge”

Greenspan Sees ‘Slow’ Recovery, Is ‘Concerned’ If Stocks Drop
since records began in 1947. In the residential property market, Greenspan said home prices are “bottoming out.” The housing market was the epicenter of the recession, and foreclosures are projected to set a record this year, according to private

Cheung Kong’s Chiu Says H.K. Property Is Due for Correction
bit unusual,” Chiu said in a Bloomberg interview today. “There should be a correction at some point.” Low mortgage rates and buying by rich mainland Chinese drove a 29 percent gain in Hong Kong home prices last year. The city faces a “huge”

Geithner Says U.S. Will ‘Never’ Lose Its Top Aaa Debt Rating
We are beginning the process of healing.” Geithner defended the Obama administration’s efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure through subsidized mortgage modifications. Asked why few homeowners have so far received permanent reworked loans, the

First-Time Buyers: Beyond the Mortgage Payment, Brace Yourself for Extra Costs
the unexpected. He and his wife had an offer accepted on a home, only to later find that foreclosure proceedings were about to begin on it. That’s after they considered another home that was aesthetically pleasing but had major issues that came to