Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed nine housing bills into law this week. One in particular, Senate Bill (SB) 94, consumer advocacy groups are calling a clear victory for California's many troubled homeowners facing foreclosure.

Since the market ""crash"" of last spring, The NYSE Financial Stock Index is up 137 percent.

The just-released Deloitte Consumer Spending Index rose again in September, hitting its highest level in two years. The index attempts to track consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) annual convention in San Diego this week has seen a flood of new service unveilings and company announcements. The event has seen two independent launches of national mortgage fraud databases.

The unemployment rate will hit 10 percent in the first quarter of next year and it may be 2012 before the 7.2 million lost in the recession have been restored, according to the latest survey of business economists.

The number of foreclosed homes currently on offer by Countrywide has fallen to early 2007 levels, indicating that the housing market is recovering and may be poised for a rebound.

Nearly a third of all borrowers who applied for a home loan last year were turned down, according to the Federal Reserve's recently released annual report on home-lending activity. The U.S. central bank found that denials were even higher for minorities. The rejection rate for all home loans was about 32 percent last year, but when looking at just black and Hispanic borrowers, the Fed said the denial rate was more than twice as high as the rate for white borrowers.

Mortgage and foreclosure scammers with their eyes set on Nevada - be wary. The state may hold the title of "riskiest" when it comes to housing-related fraud, but in an interview granted to DS News, Elisabeth Daniels, of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry and chairperson of the state's Fight Fraud Taskforce, said Nevada is committed to shedding that label.

The Federal Reserve is continuing its purchase of Fannie Mae securities as part of its temporary program to directly purchase paper from the housing finance agencies, snapping up some of the securities as soon as they are issued.

Riding a crest of rapid growth, Pro Teck Valuation Services said it will move into a new corporate headquarters with double the space by the end of the month. The company also unveiled a new logo as part of a rebranding effort.