Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

Although some of the cohort surveyed were flush with savings, others admitted having precarious debt situations and steadfast attitudes toward luxury purchases. View the full article

Annual home-price appreciation ended last year at 0.7%, the smallest calendar-year increase since 2011, when prices dropped 2.9%, according to ICE. View the full article

A housing official renewed his call for credit bureaus to address lenders' concerns. Low pull-through magnifies a cost that's small relative to others. View the full article

The deal still faces a lawsuit from activist investor HoldCo Asset Management, which contends that Comerica didn't properly shop itself before agreeing to sell to Fifth Third. View the full article

Marshall is tasked with bringing Sagent's Dara servicing platform implementation up to scale, replacing Geno Paluso, who is vice chairman during the transition. View the full article

While the US military operation in Venezuela didn't hit sentiment on American financial markets, the action reminded investors how tenuous any trading thesis can be in a world undergoing geopolitical changes. View the full article

With limited seasoning and primarily a clean payment history, OBX 2026-NQM1 had a seasoned probability of default of 33.3% among the AAA stresses and 11.4% among the B. View the full article

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin said economic uncertainty should ease in the coming year as businesses gain confidence in sustained demand and adapt to the new policy environment. View the full article

Late last year, commercial bank holdings of mortgage paper reached the highest level since 2023 as these depositories are flush with deposits. View the full article

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods attributes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac portfolio growth for the narrower spreads, but other reasons include lower volatility. View the full article

The accusations, relating to the lender's marketing programs, including trips for brokers as things of value, stem from a larger racketeering complaint. View the full article

First Federal Bank stretched its retail mortgage operations into Louisiana and Mississippi, following its expansion into the Midwest and Arizona in 2023. View the full article

The impact of extreme weather remains top of mind for many, with a majority of homeowners citing it as a factor behind purchase or relocation considerations. View the full article

Yields gravitated back toward session lows — down three to four basis points on the day — after the December ISM manufacturing gauge unexpectedly dropped. View the full article

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said on CNBC that both sides of the central bank's dual mandate show signs of imbalance, with the labor market appearing more vulnerable. View the full article

The rally sparked by the weekend US arrest of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro also faltered as oil prices rebounded from their initial declines View the full article

Brinton joins the mortgage industry trade group after previously holding accounting leadership positions at a range of business organizations and nonprofits. View the full article

Mamdani issued several other orders, including one that created a new office devoted to community engagement and three that concern housing and real estate. View the full article

The number of remodeling establishments hit at a record high earlier this decade and now accounts for over 60% of home construction-related businesses. View the full article

The government-sponsored enterprise is under fire from dozens of the more than 100 workers it fired last spring for allegedly committing fraud. View the full article

A definitive move could occur as early as fiscal year 2026 or take until 2033, depending on what the government is willing to do, according to one analyst. View the full article

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago will be offering more funding and higher per-member limits as part of its 2026 Community Advance program. View the full article

Fitch Ratings' outlooks for mortgage and title insurers this year are neutral, as housing deals with affordability challenges and a likely economic downturn. View the full article

The merger of equals, which received a chilly reception from investors when it was announced in July, closed faster than analysts had expected. View the full article

For 2026, most Wall Street interest-rate strategists expect stable-to-higher Treasury yields as the Fed's rate-cutting cycle comes to an end. View the full article