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Shares swelled for the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós four largest lenders Tuesday, with analysts crediting a rise in construction spending over March for a climb by the stock market to levels not seen in four years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average cleared an important psychological hurdle by rising 65 points to 13,279, the highest in four years. Media outlets and analysts attributed the boon to a leap ahead in confidence for the Chinese and U.S. economies, with a slight rise in construction spending over March responsible for the latter. Construction spending arrived at $171.2 billion.

The Justice Department announced Monday that it had settled discrimination claims with the nation's largest mortgage insurance provider. The settlement requires that Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. set up a $511,250 fund to pay 70 individuals identified by federal officials as victims of the alleged discrimination and $38,750 in civil penalties to the United States. The Justice Department said in a statement that MGIC had fully cooperated with federal officials by turning over documents and records during the course of an investigation.

Genworth Financial, Inc., is ushering in a new senior vice president and chief information officer. The company recently announced the appointment of Daniel J. Sheehan IV to the executive role.

In Washington, D.C., the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) is preparing to host its State of Housing in Black America Issues Forum. The group, which is the oldest African American trade association of real estate business owners and professionals in the U.S., will present commentary from members of Congress, minority businesses, and granting agencies during the event on May 2.

Consumer spending grew just 0.3 percent in March, down from the 0.9 percent growth in February, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Monday. Economists had expected spending to be up 0.4 percent. At the same time, personal income grew 0.4 percent in March, BEA said, slightly faster than February├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós 0.

Twenty-four trade groups and associations signed off on a comment letter Friday that calls on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to give creditors more legal leeway when it comes to Qualified Mortgages. The two-page letter ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô headed up by the American Bankers Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Home Builders, and National Association of Realtors, among others ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô framed forthcoming rules around credit availability and sound home loans. Influential trade groups continue to criticize the rule.

The Appraisal Institute has submitted its response to a recent report released by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The group's March 2012 Mortgage Loan Fraud Update showed that incidences of mortgage fraud rose by 20 percent year-over-year between the third-quarter of 2011 and the third-quarter of 2010. The group's March 2012 Mortgage Loan Fraud Update showed that incidences of mortgage fraud rose by 20 percent year-over-year between the third-quarter of 2011 and the third-quarter of 2010.

Transwestern has announced the appointment of a new president for its Midwest region. The company recently named Mike Watts to the leadership role, and Watts will take over responsibilities for overall strategy, business development, recruitment, and financial performance for the region.

Life insurer MetLife announced Thursday that it will exit the reverse mortgage origination business, with plans to sell the division responsible for these loans to Nationstar Mortgage LLC. It was not immediately clear how much Nationstar paid to buy the reverse mortgage portfolio from MetLife. The life insurer also said that it would cease receiving any new reverse mortgage loan applications and registrations. MetLife said that retail banking, including reverse mortgages, accounted for less than 2 percent of operating earnings for the company last year.

Debt crises in Europe once more left interest rates for mortgage loans near record lows. Finance Web site Bankrate.com found 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 4.09 percent, down from 4.10 percent last week, alongside a 15-year loan that hit 3.28 percent this week, down from 3.32 percent. Bankrate.com found said that 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages meanwhile fell from 3.05 percent last week to 3.03 percent this week. News out of Britain this week found that the bulwark economy slipped into a double-dip recession during the first quarter.