The Federal Reserve released a new market-gauging rendition of its Beige Book Wednesday. The publication recounts signs of slow to moderate economic growth across 11 of the 12 Fed districts. The St. Louis district was the lone dissenter, reporting a decline in economic activity. Residential real estate activity overall was described as "sluggish," while commercial real estate activity was depicted as "lackluster" across most of the nation. Mortgage refinancing, however, was said to have grown at a rapid pace.

Fitch Ratings has lowered its ratings outlook for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a result of the mortgage financiers' reliance on the U.S. government. Fitch revised a stable outlook for debt held by Fannie and Freddie to negative, but reaffirmed the AAA-ratings in place for the GSEs. It's not just the government-backed mortgage companies that are feeling the pinch from ratings agencies. Standard & Poor's has downgraded the long-term credit ratings of several major U.S. mortgage lenders, including BofA, Citi, and JPMorgan Chase.

Fannie Mae acquired $58.4 billion of mortgages from its seller/servicers in October, its best purchase month since January and a sign that low rates are starting to spur new activity in the primary market.

Twenty-one members of Congress sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward DeMarco calling on him to allow - even encourage - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to start reducing principal balances for distressed homeowners. The lawmakers say underwater borrowers pose a greater risk of eventual default. They're advocating for principal writedowns, not "as a kindness to homeowners," but to save taxpayers from future losses.

In conjunction with the changes to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (FRBP) which go into effect on December 1, Fiserv, Inc. announced Wednesday that its LoanServ solution offers the capabilities to help ensure mortgage servicers remain compliant amidst evolving regulations. The rules amend the procedures and policies for servicing loans in bankruptcy and aim to enhance transparency in the process. FRBP governs the filing of proofs of claim and notice issues related to payment changes, post-petition fees, and other accuracy checks related to servicer actions.

The mortgage banking law firm of Butler and Hosch, P.A. has announced the appointments of Christopher L. Carman as managing attorney, Shawn Berry as litigation attorney, and Brian Gensler as SVP of vendor relations. Butler and Hosch offers representation in the states of Florida, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Mississippi. The firm's range of mortgage banking legal services include loss mitigation, foreclosure, eviction, and bankruptcy.

Coordinated Central Bank actions aimed at easing European financial concerns gave most industry stocks a lift Wednesday morning as the Dow rose more than 400 points.

The National Association of Realtors' leading indicator of future home sales unexpectedly jumped 10.4% in October after falling 4.6% the previous month.

The American Legion is calling on Congress to extend the $729,750 loan limit on Department of Veterans Affairs guaranteed loans before the ceiling drops down to $625,500 on January 1.