Georgia Senate Unanimously Approves Bill Criminalizing Foreclosure Fraud<br/>http://law.ga.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,87670814_180301954_182524239,00.html

Trulia's New Rent vs. Buy Study Takes an In-Depth look at the San Francisco Bay Area and New York's Five Boroughs

Bloomberg Annualized rate of US new-home groundbreakings in February Bloomberg By Karl Cates | March 21, 2012 The US housing market is showing signs of recovery. New-home sales have been rising since August, existing single-family home sales in January logged their biggest increase in two years and homebuilder confidence in March ...

Cell phone-based retail payments, the metallic content of circulating coins and other issues involved with value transfers in retail settings will be featured in a series of hearings that begin this week in the Financial Services Committee. Dubbed "The Future of Money," the series starts Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee with a hearing entitled "The Future of Money: How Mobile Payments Could Change Financial Services." The Committee's in-depth look at the future of money will examine the technology used to conduct mobile payments, identify potential security problems, and consider whether statutory changes are necessary as mobile payment systems become more widely available, said Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus. Bachus said the purpose of the hearings will be to ensure that consumers, retail establishments and financial institutions all have access to the broadest range of forms of payment and that each form available is as robust, safe and practical as possible. "Advances in technology give consumers and businesses new options on how to make and receive payments.  It's up to Congress to ensure that each one of these options is safe and secure, that regulation is carefully crafted to allow innovation but prevent abusive practices, and that the mobile payment system operates as efficiently as possible," said Chairman Bachus.  Subcommittee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito said Thursday's hearing is the first of three planned this spring in her subcommittee that will focus on the opportunities and challenges presented by mobile payment technology that is rapidly becoming available. The hearing will feature five experts on mobile payments. Later hearings will focus on the various business and technology models for mobile payments and on regulatory and security issues. "The idea that you could make a payment at the grocery store or restaurant...

In a recent column for Reuters, Bethany McLean does an excellent job of demolishing one of the most widespread urban legends regarding the causes of the financial crisis.

Joanna Stern, technology editor at ABC News noted, "fighting homelessness with technology seems to be a trend this month" referencing Project REACH, an effort sponsored by the VA, HUD and and Jon Bon Jovi's Soul Foundation to create an app to fight the national issue of homeless veterans. HUD Assistant Secretary John Trasviña traveled to [...]

U.S. home resales unexpectedly fell in February and the supply of properties on the market rose, underscoring the many hurdles for the housing recovery.

Peer-to-peer lending is gaining in popularity. Find out how to protect yourself against scams like the one a former mortgage broker in Hawaii pulled on his victims.

Though its capital position improved slightly over last month, the FHA is still firmly in the red, with a current net worth of –$13.45 billion. Particularly alarming is the growth of the Ginnie/USDA division, which has a higher default rate than the FHA.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Deutsche Bank AG, in its annual report, quantified the cost of its legal risks at €3 billion, or nearly $4 billion, a figure that analysts said might be conservative, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The problems stem in part from the Frankfurt banking firm's business -- including mortgage-backed securities -- before the financial crisis of 2008, the Journal reported. And Germany's largest lender by assets said that it is one of several lenders under scrutiny as regulators in the U.S. and Europe look into what they suspect was manipulation of the London interbank offered rate from 2007 through 2010, the Journal reported.

ABI Remains Positive for Fourth Straight Month<br/>http://www.aia.org/press/releases/AIAB093699