Those who commit mortgage fraud have made their way onto the FBI’s (or the Federal Bureau of Investigations) most-wanted list. The division that investigates financial crimes said in its newly released Financial Crimes Report to the Public that the number of cases involving mortgage fraud increased from 436 in 2003 to 818 cases last year.

Zacks.com, the online resource for Zacks Investment Research Inc., has released an analyst interview in which the speaker calls the number of new delinquencies in the subprime market troubling. The interview, which features director of research Dirk van Dijk, begins with Dijk discussing Countrywide’s recent bout with delinquencies.

New York-based Fitch Ratings downgraded the residential primary servicer rating for New Century Mortgage Corp.‘s subprime product on Thursday to ‘RPS4’ from ‘RPS3+’ and placed the company on negative ratings watch.

Santa Monica, California-based Fremont General Corp., the parent company of lender Fremont Investment and Loan, responded to all the media attention surrounding its troubles in the subprime market by announcing there can be no assurance the company will be able to enter into any transaction involving its residential loan origination platform.

The Mortgage Banker’s Association) says decreasing mortgage rates last week led to an increase in mortgage refinancing applications and a 7.3 percent increase in the Market Composite Index, which is a measure of the mortgage loan volume.

Melville, New York-based American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., believes recent events in the market have caused some confusion about what types of loans the mortgage real estate investment trust holds and originates.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will be crossing paths with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on Thursday when both agencies take a major step in educating the public about the dangers of mortgage fraud.

Is the math behind state foreclosure statistics exact and precisex A new report from the Colorado Division of Housing seems to suggest it’s not – especially with researchers utilizing different research methods to capture their data.

Santa Monica, California-based Fremont General Corp., a financial services company originating subprime loans through its Fremont Investment & Loan subsidiary, is facing a string of new Fitch Ratings downgrades after announcing plans to exit the subprime market on Friday and retaining Credit Suisse Securities LLC to explore financial alternatives.