Government

The Federal Reserve painted a picture of a split economy with concerns about the ""fiscal cliff"" in its periodic Beige Book released Wednesday. The economy, according to the Beige Book, expanded ""at a measured pace"" in seven of the 12 federal reserve districts--Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. According to the Beige Book, business leaders and others ""expressed concern and uncertainty about the federal budget, especially the fiscal cliff.""

Consumer debt declined in the third quarter, largely due to decreasing mortgage debt throughout the nation, according to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. After decreasing by $74 billion in the third quarter, consumer debt now stands at about $11.31 trillion. Mortgage balances make up the bulk of household debt but are on the decline as well. After a 1.5 percent decline over the third quarter, Americans hold $8.03 trillion in mortgage debt.

New home sales barely budged in October, dropping 0.37 percent to 368,000 after September’s report was revised sharply downward from an original 389,000 to 369,000, Census Bureau and HUD reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the report to show a sales pace of 387,000.

After reaching a year-to-date high in October, consumer confidence continued to climb in November, according to The Conference Board's recently released Consumer Confidence Index. The index, which is based on survey conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, ""posted a moderate increase"" in November, rising to 73.7 from 73.1 previously. According to Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, the index is now at its highest level in more than four and a half years.

With revenue up and the housing market showing a sustained recovery, Fitch Ratings says the outlook for the U.S. title insurance industry is ""stable."" According to the ratings agency, its stable rating outlook is based on its belief that ""ratings actions for the industry will on balance approximate current levels over the next 12-18 months as financial performance has improved recently."" Operating profit margins for Fitch's title universe rose to 10.3 percent in the first nine months of 2012, a dramatic jump from 6.1 percent during the same period in 2011.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced revisions to parts of its loss mitigation program last week in order to expand the number of borrowers who can receive assistance. Through changes to the Loss Mitigation Home Retention Options, more homeowners in distress should be able to qualify for FHA foreclosure prevention efforts and the level of assistance available should also increase.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported home prices continued to climb higher in September, with prices gaining by 0.2 percent from August. On the same day Tuesday, the Case-Shiller Indices posted a similar monthly increase of 0.3 percent. FHFA's house price index (HPI) also revealed a quarterly price gain of 1.1 percent from the second to the third quarter. Compared to the third quarter last year, prices rose 4 percent. The agency stated the monthly index has increased for eight straight months now.

The share of distressed properties is shrinking and home prices are rising, but first-time homebuyers aren't benefiting from the improvements, according to findings from a survey. In the most recent Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulseTracking survey, the first-time homebuyer share for home purchases was found to be 34.7 percent in October. The figure is a decrease from 37.1 percent in June and the lowest share in the survey's three-year history. The decrease coincides with a significant rise in purchases for non-distressed properties.

A specific provision in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) was amended to extend protections for military members with mortgage obligations, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 3.31 percent (0.7 point) over the week ending November 21. The previous week, the rate was 3.34 percent, and last year, the rate stood at an even higher 3.98 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also experienced a decline this week, falling from 2.65 percent to 2.63 percent (0.7 point), according to Freddie Mac's data. This week last year, the rate was 3.3 percent.