Government

Former DocX president Lorraine Brown is looking at a two- to three-year stretch in prison after accepting a plea deal over robo-signing practices, according to announcement from Missouri attorney general Chris Koster.

Consumer confidence hit the wall in November as Americans sweat the rapidly approaching fiscal cliff, according to monthly survey results released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers showed confidence over the economy increased just 0.1 percent from October to November, hitting 82.7 on the Index of Consumer Sentiment. Preliminary data released earlier in November put the index at 84.9, and economists polled by Reuters expected a median index of 84.5.

Given improvements seen in housing, Fannie Mae revised its housing forecast higher for 2012 and 2013 in its November economic outlook report. The GSE's Economic & Strategic Research Group anticipates single-family housing starts will jump 25 percent this year, then rise by another 22 percent in 2013. Existing-home sales should also rise and see a 9 percent increase in 2012 and a 4 percent gain in 2013. Even though reports on the housing sector give reasons to be optimistic, Fannie Mae still warned ""data continue to show a sluggish recovery overall.""

While various economic reports hint at improvements in the nation's economy since the economic crisis was in full swing, improvement is meek and recovery seems too strong a word to describe the progress thus far. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke calls the pace of recovery ""disappointingly slow."" In a speech before the New York Economic Club Tuesday, Bernanke pointed out some of the lingering headwinds preventing the economy from more momentous progress.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 41,000 to 410,000 for the week ending November 17, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Economists expected 415,000 initial claims filings. The previous week's report was revised upward to 451,000 from the originally reported 439,000. In addition to the direct impact on businesses, Hurricane Sandy, which ripped through the East Coast on October 29, forced the closing of government offices that process claims filed by telephone or online.

Forty-one state attorneys general signed a letter Tuesday urging U.S. House and Senate leaders to extend the expiring Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007. The attorneys general argued failure to extend the act would take away from the national mortgage settlement. ""Requiring a homeowner to pay income tax on forgiven or canceled mortgage debt would make the National Mortgage Settlement much less effective,"" the letter states. The act, which is set to expire December 31, 2012, allows taxpayers to be excluded from paying taxes on forgiven debt from a foreclosure, short sale, or loan modification.

An analysis released by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods(KBW) found representation and warranty costs for loan repurchases remained elevated in Q3. According to KBW, current losses can mostly be attributed to loans sold to the GSEs. Fannie Mae repurchases totaled $2.02 billion in Q3, and its balance of outstanding repurchase requests increased to $16.2 billion. Meanwhile, Freddie Mac repurchases totaled $819 million, and its outstanding requests ticked up to $2.94 billion.

Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA), an association of private mortgage insurers, reported Monday that since 2009, its members have insured $86.9 billion in mortgages modified or refinanced through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) as well as in mortgages modified through other means. The $86.9 billion is distributed among 496,961 homes across the nation.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a complaint was filed Tuesday against Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and its affiliates for allegedly misrepresenting residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) sold to investors. The complaint is the result of investigations carried out by the RMBS Working Group. The investigations were based on practices from 2006 to 2007, and the group alleges Credit Suisse issued $93.8 billion in RMBS during that time. By mid-2012, losses from those securities reached over $11.2 billion, or 12 percent of the total.

With the deadline to request an independent foreclosure review nearing, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston sent out a notice to encourage the public to take action.