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http://online.wsj.com |  By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN “The end of the presidential election brings greater certainty to many small-business owners in critical areas from health-care policy to taxes. Here’s a look at what President Barack Obama’s re-election might mean for them: Health Care One campaign issue that business owners likely no longer need to question is theRead more

By Les Christie @CNNMoney “The clock is ticking on a tax break that saves struggling homeowners from paying thousands of dollars to the IRS. If the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 does not get extended by Congress by the end of the year, homeowners will have to start paying income taxes on the portion ofRead more

By Jeff Kearns | Bloomberg.com   “Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke said pending bank regulations may “seriously” impair mortgage lending by community banks, which play a “significant” role in the market for home loans. Duke, a former community bank executive, said she and other Fed governors, including Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, are concerned about the potential harm from several rules mandatedRead more

Florida’s attorney general and top legislators reached a deal Friday over how to spend $300 million in foreclosure settlement cash, ending a months-long stalemate. BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA HERALD/TIMES TALLAHASSEE BUREAU “Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday she has reached a deal with the state lawmakers over how to use $300 million in foreclosure settlementRead more

By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer | “Although the $25 billion national mortgage settlement’s goal is to keep people in their homes, big banks are doing much better at ushering Florida homeowners out, as a new report shows short sales dwarfing other forms of relief as lenders’ atonement of choice. Under the settlement, five of theRead more

By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer “In a landmark robo-signing case, a former executive of a Jacksonville mortgage-processing giant faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to orchestrating years of fraudulent foreclosure documents, according to a plea deal filed Tuesday in Jacksonville federal court. Lorraine Brown, who headed a Georgia processing firm, DocX,Read more

Reuters | “Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week as Superstorm Sandy battered the East Coast and disrupted normal business activity for millions of people, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity fell 5 percent in the week ended Nov. 2. TheRead more

By CHRISTINA REXRODE | The Associated Press | “The latest federal lawsuit over alleged mortgage fraud paints an unflattering picture of a doomed lender: Executives at Countrywide Financial urged workers to churn out loans, accepted fudged applications and tried to hide ballooning defaults. The suit, filed Wednesday by the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, also underscored how BankRead more

By Les Christie @CNNMoney | “Foreclosures fell in nearly two-thirds of the nation’s largest metro areas during the third quarter, according to RealtyTrac Thursday. With 62% of the nation’s 212 largest markets seeing foreclosure activity shrink during the latest quarter, the ongoing decline is yet another sign that the housing market is starting to stabilize. During September, foreclosureRead more

By: Diana Olick CNBC Real Estate Reporter |   “Who can forget the heady days of the housing boom when property flippers would follow condo developers around like hungry wolves, waiting to pounce on new projects before one grain of earth had moved? Property auctions for single family homes weren’t any different, as novice buyers wereRead more