Find out how the US government is doing more to hurt homeowners than help them.
Plus, watch for two other important data points and a number of key earnings reports next week.
Stocks struggled Friday but managed to pull off a gain for the week, with the S&P holding a 17-month high at 1,150.
By setting risk retention requirements at each step of the process, the very legislation intended to avoid a housing crisis could drastically reduce liquidity and cripple the ability of the secondary mortgage market to deliver hundreds of billions of dollars of low cost mortgage credit needed each year.
Today the Treasury Department released its monthly Servicer Performance Report through February on the 75 billion dollar Home Affordable Modification Program. This is the report that shows how many loans are in the trial phase, how many have been converted to the permanent phase, and which banks are doing more and which are doing less.
Stocks struggled Friday as investors digested mixed readings on the consumer: Retail sales rose unexpectedly last month, while consumer sentiment softened.
Stocks slipped into the red Friday after a report showed consumer sentiment softened in March.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open for Wall Street Friday after Thursday's rally in the final hour of trading and with investors watching consumer data due later Friday.
Stocks rallied in the final hour of trading Thursday, pushing the S&P to a 17-month high above 1,150. Banks finished strong, with Citi up over 5 percent.
U.S. mortgage applications inched higher this month, the Dow Jones real estate index rose 114 percent since the 2009 March lows and foreclosure filings rose 6 percent in February from a year ago, the smallest increase in four years. Is the real estate sector the place to invest again? Jay Leupp, senior portfolio manager at Grubb & Ellis, and Paul Curbo, portfolio manager at Invesco AIM, discussed their sector insights.
Stocks slipped at the open Thursday after the government said weekly jobless claims fell but not as much as analysts had anticipated.
Stock index futures were treading water Thursday after posting a slight a gain Wednesday on the back of gains in financial stocks.
Big surprise that yesterday's blog garnered quite a few responses, not just on the page, but from folks here in DC who are involved in all those closed-door negotiations at Administration office buildings.