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McCalla Raymer, a full service provider of residential and commercial real estate legal services, was honored by the Downtown Orlando Partnership at its annual ceremony. The company was the recipient of the Golden Brick Award, given out annually to projects that affect the downtown development district.

A former bank executive for a Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bank has been indicted in a bank fraud conspiracy. The announcement came from the Office of the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP), which commented that Gary Alan Rickenbach of Little Rock, Arkansas has been indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

North Carolina's economy appears to back on the move, according to a recently released study performed by the Wells Fargo Economics Group. Labor market conditions are improving, with job growth outpacing the nation and home sales finally recovering from a period of dormancy.

Poppi Metaxas, former president and CEO of Gateway Bank of Oakland, California, was charged with bank fraud, bank fraud conspiracy, and perjury in relation to a sham "round trip" transaction. The scheme, initiated by Metaxas, caused Gateway to execute a false transaction in which the bank self-funded a down payment to make it appear that Gateway had sold toxic, non-performing mortgage loans.

According to the UCLA Anderson Forecast, the one-two punch of harsh winter weather in the East and a nagging drought in the West (namely California) stalled industries from real estate to factory production, putting a tight chokehold on the national economy.

A new report issued by the Warren Group found the number of foreclosure petitions dropped by 48.7 percent in Massachusetts for the month of February. The monthly drop represented 18 consecutive months that petitions have decreased on a year-over-year basis in the Bay State.

Texas employment grew in the month of February, particularly in the oil and gas industry, according to a new report from the Wells Fargo Economics Group. The group from Wells found that Texas added 37,600 workers to nonfarm payrolls throughout the month.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced Christopher Tumbaga of Colorado Spring, Colorado pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and to one count of illegally receiving kickbacks for procuring loans.

After losing 32,000 jobs in January, nonfarm employment rebounded in February, adding 58,800 jobs in February, according to the Wells Fargo Economics Group. February's increase reflected a 2.3 percent growth over the past year, creating a net gain of 345,600 jobs.

A new report issued by the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) found a decrease in home sales and an increase in median price in February. The IAR noted that median prices increased 6.9 percent, while home sales decreased by 6.2 percent last month.