Nearly Four in 10 Mortgages to Minorities Were Subprime in 2006 (PR Newswire via Yahoo! News)
Mortgage lending to minorities was down seven percent in 2006, according to a new analysis released today at the 3rd Annual Mortgage Lending Industry Emerging Markets and Diversity Conference outside Washington, D.C. The only exception was among African Americans, which showed an increase of 0.6 percent over the prior year.

Executive paints bleak picture on home-mortgage foreclosures (The Kansas City Star)
Foreclosures on home mortgages seem likely to continue rising for at least a year, a market expert predicted Tuesday in Kansas City.

Firethorn and CheckFree to Provide Arvest Bank Group Mobile Banking and Payments (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Firethorn Holdings, LLC, the mobile banking and payments enabler, and CheckFree Corporation , a leading provider of financial electronic commerce services and products, announced today that Bentonville, Ark.-based Arvest Bank Group , a $9.3 billion-asset community banking leader throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas, will offer the Firethorn mobile banking and payments solution ...

Your guide to today, tomorrow and beyond (El Paso Times)
Three 6 Mafia: Three 6 Mafia, with special guests Lil' Scrappy, Track Team, Question and LOE Family, will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at NMSU's Pan American Center.

Foster parenting rates don't reflect real expenses (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Bridget Foster has foster parenting in her blood, and her name for that matter. It's a calling for the single mother from St. Louis, who has adopted two children from state custody and typically offers a home to two other foster children.