Newsdesk | May 4, 2012

Top News Buying a home won't get much cheaper CNN Money - Buying a home may never get any cheaper than this. Several housing experts are predicting that this year will be the last... Bank Of America Keeps Getting Leaner, 2,000 More Jobs Cut Forbes.com - The nation’s second largest bank continues to cut costs as means to bolster profit and its stock. Today there’s news that the bank is slashing roughly 2,000 jobs in its investment banking, commercial banking and non-U.S. wealth-management units...

Market News Foreclosure Inventory Still High, but It's Much Lower in Judicial States DSNews.com - While delinquencies saw a decline and reached their lowest level since August 2008, foreclosure inventory stayed near historic highs, according to data from the March Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services (LPS). The rate for delinquencies was 7.09 percent... Mortgage rates plummet to new record lows USA Today - The previous record of 3.11% was hit three weeks ago. Cheaper mortgage rates haven't done much to boost home sales. Rates have been below 4% for all but one week since early December... Purchase Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage Bankers Association - Mortgage applications increased 0.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 27, 2012. Justice Department Lawsuit DSNews.com - The Justice Department settled its first lawsuit involving discrimination against women and families in the mortgage insurance industry Monday. The lawsuit was against Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), the nation’s largest mortgage...

Technology News Bonjour Google! Gmail adds auto-translation CNN - Technology keeps bringing us closer to a world where people can communicate freely across language barriers. Google announced that Gmail soon would include an "automatic translation" feature for all users.

Other News Beazer narrows loss as home sales, orders rise MarketWatch - The continued struggling to come up with money for a down payment, while qualifying for a mortgage and the appraisal remain stumbling blocks. Plenty of Americans are also waiting for prices to stabilize before they head to the closing table. For the quarter... Energy efficiency greens most new homes USA Today - More than 80% of builders say energy-efficient features are now pervasive in new homes and are making their construction greener than just two years ago, a new report finds. Two-thirds of builders and remodelers say...