Top News
Bernanke: Record-low rates still needed - USA Today - - WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that record-low interest rates are still needed to ensure that the U.S. economic recovery will last and to help cushion the sting of high unemployment
FCC: Cost a major broadband barrier - CNN - - Affordability is one of the main reasons why nearly one-third of Americans do not have broadband at home, a recent Federal Communications Commission survey found.
Freddie Mac loses $7.8B in 4Q, may need more taxpayer cash - USA Today - - WASHINGTON ? Freddie Mac(FRE) lost $7.8 billion in the final three months last year, but the mortgage finance company didn't need a federal cash infusion for the third quarter in a row.

Market News
Nearly 25% of all mortgages are underwater - CNN - - NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- More bad news on the housing bust front: Nearly 25% of all mortgage borrowers were underwater, meaning they more on their loans than their homes are worth.
Mortgages: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rise to above 5% - MarketWatch - - rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to above 5%, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates. Rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.05% for the week ending Feb. 25, up from 4.93% last week. They averaged
Home purchase loan demand at lowest since 1997 - Washington Post - - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications fell for a third straight week, with demand for home purchase loans sinking to the lowest level in 13 years as inclement weather weighed, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
New home sales fall to a record low - CNN - - NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Sales of new homes plunged in January to the lowest level on record, government figures showed Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales plummeted 11.

Technology News
RealEC Automates Income Verification - Mortgage Technology News - - AssetPlanUSA, a nationwide provider of foreclosure alternative solutions, and DepotPoint, a provider of default management workflow solutions, have joined forces to work with servicers and lenders to help expedite the short sale process.
Yahoo and Twitter to share content - CNN - - Wednesday's deal will share Twitter feeds with Yahoo network's 600 million users, companies say STORY HIGHLIGHTS Yahoo and Twitter announce partnership to share content De al will place Twitter's 'tweets' in front of Yahoo
Google Begins Indexing Facebook Pages - PC Magazine - - It took a while, but Google is now indexing Pages from Facebook, Google said today via a tweet on its official account
The story behind Google's doodles - CNN - - Google occasionally changes logo on its home page to celebrate a holiday or event Google has created more than 200 doodles in the U.S. and more than 700 globally The only rule that doodlers must uphold: The 'Google' word must be readable in some way

Other News
Reaching New Heights - DSNews.com - - The default rate on commercial real estate mortgages held by U.S. banks closed out 2009 more than double what it was a year earlier. Real Capital Analytics reported Tuesday that the default rate on loans
Banks at risk of going bust tops 700 - CNN Money - - Extract not available.
5 tax breaks you don't want to miss - CNN Money - - NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Tax season is upon us. And while nobody likes shelling out their hard-earned dollars to the IRS, this year the government is offering up some new opportunities that could save you big money. As part of the American Recovery and