In an effort to stabilize neighborhoods and rebuild local economies, HUD secretary Shawn Donovan announced Thursday that HUD is awarding $2 billion in grants to states, local governments, and nonprofit housing developers under its Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).

Freddie Mack's recently released economic outlook describes a refreshingly brighter view of the year ahead, but the pace of recovery in the forecast is well below the growth following most recessions in the past half-century.

In an announcement Friday, Webster Financial Corporation, the holding company for Webster Bank, N.A., said Theresa M. Messina has joined the company as chief accounting officer. In her new position, Messina will serve as the company's principal accounting officer and have responsibility for all accounting and treasury operations.

California foreclosure activity plummeted in December, especially when looked at on a daily average basis, according to the monthly California Foreclosure Report released by ForeclosureRadar, a Website devoted to tracking every California foreclosure. Notices of default dropped 17.

The Treasury Department says there has been a significant uptick in the rate at which distressed homeowners are being approved for permanent mortgage modifications under the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

The mortgage default law firm of Robert J. Hopp and Associates, LLC has added two new members to its team of attorneys.

The FDIC is looking for a buyer for the $20 billion loan servicing portfolio it seized from AmTrust Bank last year, and the agency has chosen the investment advisory firm Milestone Merchant Partners in Washington, D.C. to manage the sale.

Emerging from the steely clenches of a historical financial crisis that's taken billions of dollars in government intervention to repair, JPMorgan Chase & Co earnings announced Friday that it made $11.7 billion last year, more than double its profit in 2008, and brought in record revenue of $108.6 billion.

The Federal Reserve's first Beige Book of 2010 shows that toward the end of 2009, home sales increased across the country, especially for lower-priced homes.

Thursday was day two of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission hearings, aimed at uncovering the root causes of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression.