Politics

The government-sponsored enterprises' oversight chief severed ties with the AI firm following President Trump's dispute with it over boundaries on military use.

Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., released new legislative language Monday night that includes a ban on institutional investors' purchase of single family homes and a temporary ban on the Federal Reserve issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency.

MBS numbers at both soared in January, when Trump directed the enterprises to accumulate more bonds, but a decline in loans shrunk Freddie's total number.

MBS buying has become the near-term focus but a 2026 offering is still possible, Federal Housing Finance Agency official Bill Pulte told Fox Business.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., moved to consider the housing package next week, but it's not clear what version of the bill senators will be voting on as the House, Senate and White House are still negotiating priorities.

For the first time since early September 2022, the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey has the 30-year below 6%, but the 15-year gained this week.

Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struggled to find a resolution to an injunction issued last year that halted reductions-in-force by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The CFPB is in an existential legal brawl against it's own acting director, Russell Vought, and President Donald Trump, whose confirmed goal is to kill the agency.

In a letter to regulators, the consortium of organizations recommended regulatory changes affecting a range of rules from risk weights to warehouse financing.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said in comments Wednesday that the central bank plans to publish its Basel III endgame capital proposal for public comment before the end of March.

A White House Council of Economic Advisers report published Tuesday found that the CFPB cost consumers between $237 and $369 billion since its creation, an analysis that consumer advocates and some financial academics say is flawed.

In a speech Tuesday, Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr said it was possible that artificial intelligence will boost productivity in an undisruptive way. But he said policymakers should also be wary of a financial crash if those gains are not realized or a rapid adoption that could lead to labor displacement.

Large and mega investors accounted for 5.8% of all single family-home purchases in December, up from 4.8% at the same time last year, according to Cotality.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint portal has been flooded in recent years, but corporate debt collectors, industry attorneys and consumer advocates question whether the bureau's efforts to reduce the volume will help consumers as much as it helps the firms they're complaining about.

A House subcommittee hearing discussing the future of the government-sponsored enterprises, noted both are still severely undercapitalized.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its delayed January employment report Wednesday morning, showing the economy added 130,000 jobs in January. But the agency also sharply revised its estimates for total jobs created in 2025 to 181,000 from 584,000.

The Government Accountability Office was tasked with investigating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's stop-work order, but CFPB officials refused to meet with or provide information to Congress' investigative arm.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said in a speech Friday that long-term productivity gains brought on by artificial intelligence could compel the central bank to maintain higher rates to keep prices stable.

Bowing to industry pressure, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is warning consumers with notices on its complaint portal not to file disputes about inaccurate information on credit reports, among other changes.

Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook said in a speech Wednesday night that the central bank's credibility depends on its ability to bring inflation back to its 2% target.