MORTGAGE

Major banks are willing to pay as much as $5 billion to settle claims by federal and state officials of improper mortgage foreclosure practices, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Almost five years ago, in A New Book on Taxation of Residence Sales: Don't Leave Home Without It, I reviewed Julian Block’s HOME SELLER’S GUIDE TO TAX SAVINGS.”

British banks gave up a fight over compensating customers wrongly sold insurance, forcing Barclays Plc and HSBC to take a combined hit of more than $2 billion in the latest blow to the industry.

Though the unemployment rate did tick up to 9%, the U.S. economy had a net increase of 244,000 jobs in April.

Wells Fargo & Co on Friday raised its worst-case estimate for litigation losses by 42 percent to $1.7 billion because of its exposure to foreclosure-related legal issues.

World renowned musician Prince has reportedly fallen behind $368,382 on the mortgage to his former home in Chanhassen, Minnesota, which now faces a foreclosure auction.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a lower opening on Wednesday, ahead of economic data including ADP national employment report and ISM non-manufacturing index.

Bank of America Corp's mortgage servicer quality ratings were downgraded by Moody's on Tuesday, because of a deterioration in the company's collections and loss mitigation on home loans.

The government sued Deutsche Bank AG for more than $1 billion, accusing the German bank of fraud for repeatedly lying to obtain federal guarantees on mortgages it issued.

The United States sued Deutsche Bank AG, accusing the German bank and its MortgageIT Inc unit of repeatedly lying to be included in a federal program to select mortgages to be insured by the government.

FBR Capital Markets upgraded its rating on shares of Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) to "outperform" from "market perform" and raised its price target to $2 from $1.75, after its reassessment of the company's burn-down book value.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) that robust economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region may lead to overheating and rising inflationary pressures.

Due to unprecedented foreclosures and price declines, many investors are flocking to remove the area's massive glut of homes on the market.

The board of Citigroup Inc was sued by an individual shareholder for the damage done to the bank by years of shoddy mortgage and foreclosure practices, which recently led to a costly fix agreed with regulators.

Lenders would be required to make sure prospective borrowers have the ability to repay their mortgages before giving them a loan, under a proposal released by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment slipped a notch in April as home prices continued to fall in most areas of the country amid widespread foreclosures, a survey released on Monday showed.

The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced that John Bryk, 61, of Trumbull, has waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport to one count of conspiracy to make a false statement in a Department of Housing and Urban Development transaction.

Faced with its worst financial situation in over 30 years, Portugal avoided default on Friday by paying off maturing 2005 bonds.

The securities regulator is in talks with major Wall Street banks to settle fraud allegations relating to the sale of toxic mortgage bonds to various investors that helped unleash the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Bank of America Corp is expected to report a 9 percent drop in its first quarter profit, as U.S. consumer lending contracts and the costs for collecting on mortgages continue to rise.

U.S. bank regulators announced pacts with the largest home lenders over allegations of shoddy foreclosure practices, jumping ahead of a states-led probe and leaving the amount of fines until later.