The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has announced upgrades to its consumer education Web site, www.HomeLoanLearningCenter.com an effort to help bilingual consumers obtain more answers when hunting for home mortgages and deciding on refinancing options.

Statistics show lenders are continuously issuing fewer non-traditional and subprime loans in the marketplace, according to a new report from the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB). NAMB, which compiled its report from data provided by Wholesale Access Mortgage Research and Consulting, Inc.

Home sales in the Bay Area of California are suffering because of changing market conditions, tightening underwriting guidelines, and rising interest rates, according to a new report from Prudential California Realty provider of real estate technology solutions.

Popular 2/28 adjustable-rate mortgage loans will no longer be offered by Wells Fargo & Co. because of regulatory and market pressures, Reuters news agency reported on Monday. In an article published this week, the news agency says Wells Fargo decided to cut the loan product in response to downgrades recently made by ratings agencies and conditions in the current market.

Calabasas, California-based Countrywide Financial Corp. says diluted earnings per share jumped from $.72 in March to $.81 in June, while net earnings increased from $434 million to $485 million. Compared to the same period last year, Countrywide has experienced at least a $300-million drop in net earnings from $722 million in June of 2006 to $485 million in June of 2007.

Calabasas, California-based Countrywide Home Loans recently launched a campaign to educate homeowners about all the payment structures available to them when they sign on the dotted line for mortgage loans.

IndyMac Bankcorp, Inc. is laying off 400 employees, or roughly 4-percent of its workforce, according to a company e-mail sent to employees on Friday. IndyMac chief executive officer Mike Perry said while layoffs are against the company’s business philosophy, less than favorable market conditions caused the company to pursue strategic changes, including the job cuts.

The First American Corp. is expanding its reach into the market of debt recovery with the launch of First American Intelligent Recovery Systems—a company that markets software for the debt recovery industry under the arm of the First American Default Information Services division.

The UBS/Gallup Index of Investor Optimism, which measures how optimistic investors are in terms of personal investments and the American economy, shows many investors losing enthusiasm when it comes to the overall U.

Independent investment research firm Weiss Research, Inc. has released a white paper, which blames the recent housing slump and mortgage crises on the lax practices of the Federal Reserve and mortgage lenders.