By Glenn Somerville WASHINGTON | Wed May 23, 2012 2:10am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wanted for the Treasury Department: a new boss who can fix trillion-dollar-plus budget deficits, overhaul the tax system and spur a reluctant Europe into fixing its debt crisis. It's a tall order, especially when the new Treasury chief also must deal with a fractious Congress - and all for a salary lower than that paid to many junior Wall Street bankers.Economists, investors and veterans of past administrations are appraising potential successors to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, either in a new Obama administration, if President Barack Obama is re-elected, or under Mitt Romney.Geithner has made it clear that he is leaving the post he has held since January 2009 even if Obama, ... Continue reading →

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON | Wed May 23, 2012 10:35am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New single-family home sales rose solidly in April and prices pushed higher, offering further evidence the housing market was turning the corner. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales increased 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted 343,000-unit annual rate after a 332,000-unit pace in March.The report, whose details were fairly bullish, came on the heels of news on Tuesday that home resales hit a two-year high in April and suggested the housing market recovery was gaining traction.It also highlighted the economy's underlying strength, even though job growth has slowed in recent months. The weak housing market had been the Achilles heel of the economy's recovery from the 2007-09 recession."It's encouraging. These ... Continue reading →

WASHINGTON | Tue May 22, 2012 10:20am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home resales rose in April to their highest annual rate in nearly two years and a falloff in foreclosures pushed prices higher, hopeful signs about the pace of recovery in the still-struggling housing sector. The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday that existing home sales increased 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.62 million units last month, the highest since May 2010.Nationwide, the median price for a home resale jumped to $177,400 in April, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier. That was the biggest year-over-year increase since January 2006.Distressed sales accounted for 28 percent of resales, down from 29 percent in March. NAR economist Lawrence Yun said a drop in ... Continue reading →

Fri May 18, 2012 11:46am EDT * House bill extends protections due to expire * House measure attached to bill that could face veto* Democrat in Senate backing similar measureWASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to further insulate some service members from home foreclosures and extend borrower protections to disabled veterans and surviving military spouses.The measure passed 394-27 on a bipartisan vote and was attached to a $554 billion defense spending bill that is set for a final vote Friday in the Republican-controlled House. The White House has said the defense bill would face a presidential veto if it hinders the Pentagon's defense strategy.The foreclosure relief amendment would extend some provisions included in a longstanding federal law, the ... Continue reading →

By Donna Smith WASHINGTON | Thu May 17, 2012 2:18pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday confirmed two nominees to the Federal Reserve, bringing its short-handed board up to full strength for the first time since 2006 as it wrestles with a tepid economic recovery and a revamp of U.S. financial rules. The Senate voted 70-24 to confirm Harvard economist Jeremy Stein and 74-21 to confirm investment banker Jerome Powell."We have ensured the nation has a Federal Reserve Board operating at full strength, with strong leaders working to solidify our economic recovery and help prevent another financial crisis," Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, a Democrat, said after the vote.The two nominees were approved over the opposition of some conservative Republicans who worried ... Continue reading →

By Margaret Chadbourn and Aruna Viswanatha WASHINGTON | Wed May 16, 2012 7:24pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's housing secretary has launched a roadshow to ensure the benefits of the $25 billion mortgage settlement with the nation's biggest banks will live up to the hype, ahead of the November presidential election. The settlement nudged states to use their roughly $2.5 billion portion of settlement funds for housing relief and related efforts, but more than a dozen states are considering using the funds to plug budget holes.Transferring the funds could limit total relief those states' residents might see, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan is telling attorneys general, governors and state legislators around the country, and could also dull any potential political impact ... Continue reading →

By Jilian Mincer NEW YORK | Wed May 16, 2012 12:18am EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Jennifer Anderson's family could no longer afford their mortgage and lost their home, she expected many years to pass before they would again become property owners. But less than two years later, in March, they purchased a $297,000 house outside Phoenix, Arizona, after qualifying for a loan backed by the U.S. government.They joined a small but growing number of Americans who are making a surprisingly quick return to homeownership after defaulting on their loans or being forced into short sales that cost their banks money."We didn't really expect it," said Anderson, 40. "We were resigned to the fact that we were going to be in a rental property ... Continue reading →

WASHINGTON | Wed May 16, 2012 8:33am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Housing starts rose more than expected in April, according to a government report on Wednesday that offered signs of a nascent housing recovery, even though permits for future building fell after touching a 3-1/2 year high the prior month. The Commerce Department said housing starts increased 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 units. March's starts were revised up to a 699,000-unit pace from a previously reported 654,000 unit rate.Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts rising to 680,000-unit rate. Compared to April last year, residential construction was up 29.9 percent.The housing market is showing some signs of life after collapsing six years ago, but remains hobbled by a glut ... Continue reading →