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First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 22,000 to 344,000 for the week ending February 23, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Meanwhile, the number of continuing claims fell to the lowest level in almost five years.

A month after launching the product on Google play, BankersLab announced the release of its Banc-it: Scoring Edition app for iOS.

According to Interthinx's latest Mortgage Fraud Risk Report, the company's mortgage fraud risk index climbed to 159 in last year's fourth quarter, representing a 16 percent increase from Q3 2012 and 9 percent increase from Q4 2011. Reflecting the national trend, the number of "very high risk" metros spiked from 70 in Q3 to an unprecedented 125 this quarter, the report revealed. In addition, 26 states have at least one newly added "very high risk" metro.

Single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose more than 10 percent year-over-year in January, according to new data from The Warren Group. Single-family sales reached 2,680--the highest January sales level since 2007, when there were 2,953 transactions. January 2012 single-family home sales were 2,436.

Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC), a post-closing services provider based in Palm Harbor, Florida, has added another entry to its list of achievements: earning Inc. Magazine's Hire Power Award for its contribution to creating more American jobs.

Institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recorded their second-highest annual earnings ever in 2012, according to the FDIC's Quarterly Banking Profile for the fourth quarter of 2012. High noninterest income and declining loan loss provisions contributed to the increase, according to the FDIC. Net income for all FDIC-insured institutions over the year was $141.3 billion, a 19.3 percent increase from net income recorded in 2011.

Guaranteed Rate announced sweeping changes to its website that will affect how borrowers apply for, track, and receive their home loans.

Following a recent report from the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), which charged that Treasury has not appropriately limited compensation for executives at companies bailed out by TARP, a House subcommittee held a hearing on the matter.

Home prices rose 5.5 percent year-over-year in 2012's final quarter, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported Tuesday. FHFA's seasonally adjusted purchase-only Home Price Index(HPI) increased 1.4 percent on a quarter-to-quarter basis in Q4. Month-over-month, December's index was 0.6 percent up from November, marking the 11th straight month of increases. The index rose in Q4 in 38 states and the District of Columbia, FHFA said.

After taking a hit from January's payroll tax hike, consumer confidence recovered somewhat in February, according to The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index. The overall index climbed more than 10 points in February, settling at 69.6 from January's 58.4. Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said February's increase reflects the fading "shock effect" from January's fiscal cliff uncertainty and the expiration of payroll tax cuts.