BofA says Countrywide deal on track

Bank of America Corp. says it's moving forward with its $4 billion acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. even as the troubled lender reported a $422 million fourth-quarter loss.

Countrywide's losses for the year totaled $704 million, thanks to an even more tumultuous third quarter, when the seizure of credit markets in August contributed to a $1.2 billion loss for the Calabasas, Calif.-based lender.  more...

Risk of delinquencies expected to rise for 18 months

An index that tracks the risk of mortgage delinquencies based on housing prices, local economic conditions and fraud increased in the first quarter of 2008 by 23 percent from the previous quarter and 9 percent from a year ago, and is expected to continue rising during the next 18 months.  more...

Record home-price declines continued in November

Record declines in prices for existing single-family homes continued in November, as the nation continued to experience a significant slowdown in home sales activity.

November marked the 11th consecutive month of negative annual returns and two full years of decelerating returns, according to the indices released today from S&P/Case-Shiller.

A monthly 10-city composite index showed an annual decline of 8.4 percent, a new record low, while a monthly 20-city composite index recorded an annual decline of 7.7 percent.  more...

Outlook gloomier for jobs, economy

Consumer confidence declined in January on expectations that business conditions and employment will worsen in the coming months, The Conference Board reported today.

The Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved moderately in December after four straight months of weakening, gave back the gain this month and now stands at 87.9, down from 90.6 in December.  more...

Real estate rates lower overnight

Long-term mortgage interest rates dipped Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield inched up to 3.58 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.45 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate slipped to 4.94 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate, however, gained to 5.12 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was up at 4.28 percent.

Rates and bonds are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  more...