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THEMREPORT.COM The Top 10 Ten online headlines drew major readership response at TheMReport.com, as the industry focuses on 2012 forecasts and Capitol Hill's latest housing initiatives. 1.Unemployment Claims Fall Again First-time claims for un- employment insurance fell 13,000 for the week ending February 11 to 348,000, the lowest level since March 2008, the Labor Department said. Continuing claims, fell as well, dropping 100,000 to 3,426 million, the lowest level since August 2008. The total number of individuals receiving benefits—including emergency and extended programs—rose slightly for the week ended January 28. 2.Housing Starts, Permits Up in January Housing starts rose 1.5 percent in January to 699,000, com- pared with market expecta- tions for a smaller increase to 675,000. Housing starts were 9.9 percent above their year ago level but still 69.2 percent below their January 2006 peak. Single-family housing starts fell 1 percent to 508,000. Single-family starts were 16.2 percent above levels from a year ago but still 72.1 percent below their January 2006 peak. 3.Housing Market Index Highest in Nearly Five Years: NAHB The National Home Builders Association released a housing market index that improved to 29 in February, its highest level since May 2007, with all three of the components showing new strength. The trade group said that it was the fifth con- secutive monthly increase, the longest stretch of consecutive monthly increases since 1995. 4.Goldman Sachs Scoops $6.2B in AIG Mortgage Assets Goldman Sachs scooped up $6.2 billion in risky mortgage bonds from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the central bank said. The Maiden Lane II assets stem from the taxpayer-funded bail- out of American International Group during the financial crisis. An original senior loan in the amount of $19.5 billion needed repayment, and Credit Suisse offered an initial inquiry to pick up the tab for Maiden II assets last fall. 8 | THE M REPORT 5.HARP 2.0 Benefits Small Originators Most Modifications to the Home Affordable Refinance Program will likely benefit small loan originators this year, even while refinance share of activity beats market expectations, FBR Capital Markets said in a recent note. 6.Citi Admits Role in Bad Mortgage Claims, Settles for $158.3M The mortgage subsidiary for Citigroup settled claims that it misrepresented govern- ment-backed loans by agree- ing to pay $158.3 million in damages. The settlement resolves a suit filed by the civil fraud unit at the office of Manhattan U.S. attorney. 7.Family, Hit Man Receive Hefty Sentences for Fraud Charles Walker, wife Linda, and son Lee Edward received separate prison sentences, according to the AP. Two appraisers, five real estate agents, four investors, and three mortgage brokers helped the family rake in roughly $11 million by draft- ing false mortgage applica- tions, bilking lenders with inflated prices, and sharing the illicit funds among each other, the AP said. 8.Nearly 800 Banks at Risk of Failure: Invictus Speaking out on the data findings, Invictus' chairman and CEO, Kamal Mustafa, said, "While any possibility of a bank failure is serious, what makes this situation even more dire is that the demise of any of these banks would adversely affect their local communities, espe- cially smaller businesspeople and those seeking to buy or improve their homes. Borrowers will simply run out of time and resources. The banks' earnings will be insuf- ficient to sustain capital, and many banks will be unable to raise enough capital." 9.Senators Introduce Bill to Pay GSE Execs Federal Salary Introducing a bill that would assign federal pay scale to employees with either of the GSEs, capping the highest salaries at $275,000, Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), said, "Our goal is to make sure the reckless and outrageous bonuses issued to Fannie and Freddie execs last year are never repeated and remain a history lesson on abuse of taxpayer money." The bill ends any future bonuses for GSE executives this year and seeks to repurpose any such funds to tamp down the national debt. 10.Florida Closes 2011 with Higher Home Sales Year-over-year, Florida's median single-family home and condominium sales were improving to end 2011, repre- senting the third consecutive annual uptick in sales, accord- ing the National Association of Realtors. John Tuccillo, Florida Realtors' chief economist, commented on the moder- ating prices, stating, "Our expectation is that recovery will continue through 2012. The major obstacle in the market is the adequate accessibility to financing. Prices are moderat- ing, but we don't expect too much movement, owing to the continuing significance of distressed properties." Are you an origination news junkie? Go to TheMReport.com and sign up to receive MReport news daily! We feature the top headlines and stories breaking daily via the MReport Daily newsletter, webcasts, and social media. If you need more, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.