Government

VirPack, a mortgage industry leader in document management, and IDS Inc., a provider of mortgage documents and compliance, are teaming up to streamline initial disclosures.

ZipRealty analyzed two years' worth of multiple listing service data and Census Bureau information to come up with a list of the top 10 most affordable housing markets of 2013. The coveted title of "Most Affordable Market of 2013" goes to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the median sales price is 5.27 times the median household income. Meanwhile, metros located on or close to the coasts make up the list of least affordable areas. Washington, D.C., takes the top spot, with the average median price costing 16.78 times the average household income.

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell 10,000 to 332,000 for the week ending March 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 350,000 initial unemployment claims. The drop in filings the third in the last four weeks resumed a downward trend in layoffs.

House prices increased 9.7 percent year-over-year in January, continuing a recent trend, and prices show "no signs of an imminent slowdown," according to Capital Economics.

Leads360, a leader in cloud-based intelligent sales automation solutions based in Los Angeles, announced the addition of industry vet Kelly Booth as director of the company's mortgage unit.

Effective immediately, Bank of Commerce Mortgage will be called simply Commerce Mortgage. According to a press release, the name change is consistent with the terms of the re-acquisition of 51 percent of the equity back from Bank of Commerce Holdings, which sold back the ownership position to the partners of Simonich Corporation, Scott Simonich and Mario De Tomasi.

Caldwell Partners released a new white paper addressing a crucial issue in the mortgage industry: the lack of knowledgeable leaders able to manage their business' new needs.

Los Angeles-based CBRE Group, Inc., once again earned top honors as the highest-ranked commercial real estate services and investment company in Fortune Magazine, the company announced. In addition, the firm was named the No. 1 commercial real estate brand in Lipsey Company's annual brand survey for the 12th consecutive occasion. The survey measures commercial real estate professionals' perceptions of the industry's leading brands.

Led by a surge in gasoline prices, retail sales rose 1.1 percent in February, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday. Economists had expected an increase of 0.5 percent. In January, retails sales rose 0.2 percent.

The Los Angeles Times obtained more than 1,600 pages of FDIC settlements from 2007 through 2013 addressing a variety of behaviors (ranging from reckless lending to inflated appraisals). According to the report, many of these settlements went unannounced, sparing the institutions from negative attention. These "no-press-release arrangements" sometimes help FDIC close deals with defendants in the least costly manner possible.