The nation’s overall delinquency rate dropped to 9.85% in the second quarter, down from 10.06% of all loans outstanding three months earlier.

Even better, the percentage of seriously delinquent loans — ones 90+ days late or already repossessed by lenders — dropped to 9.11% from 9.54% in the first quarter.

The drop in loans 90 days or more late was the biggest the MBA has ever recorded, according to the MBA’s chief economist, Jay Brinkmann. "That shows we’re making headway," he said.

He cited three reasons for the improvement:

• Fewer loans are coming into the default process;
• The homebuyers tax credit, which increased demand for homes, generated many pre-foreclosure sales, removing the attached delinquent loans from the statistics;
• The government- and lender-led mortgage modifications "cured" some payment problems.

However, even with those bright spots, there was one troubling finding: First-time delinquencies increased after four quarters of decline. It inched up to 3.51% in the second quarter from 3.45% in the first quarter. According to Brinkmann, the reversal reflects the weakness in both the housing market and the overall economy.

"It’s a question of jobs," he said. "It takes a paycheck to make a mortgage payment."

Underscoring the trend is the foreclosure trend among borrowers with conventional loans, like 30-year, fixed rate mortgages. They accounted for nearly 36% of foreclosure starts during the quarter. And these safe loans rarely get into trouble unless they lose employment or income business card.

The four worst hit states — California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada — still account for nearly 60% of national delinquencies, but California’s numbers dropped dramatically this year. At the end of 2009, California foreclosure starts made up nearly 20% of the nation’s total. That dropped to 14.7% during the second quarter.

Another positive trend is the gradual downturn in the number of borrowers who are underwater on their mortgages, owing more than their homes are worth.

CoreLogic reported today that the rate of borrowers underwater dropped to 23% in the second quarter from 24% in the first.

When borrowers fall underwater, it increases the chance that they’ll lose the homes. Brinkmann calls it one of the two "triggers" that lead to foreclosure.

If homeowners have positive equity, they can use it as a source of cash to pay bills, including mortgages. But if their cash reserves are gone and they can’t afford to make payments because their income has dropped, foreclosure is almost inevitable.

CoreLogic found that negative equity is worst in five states: Nevada (68%), Arizona (50%), Florida (46%), Michigan (38%) and California (33%).

Have you just become delinquent on your mortgage payment? Is it because you lost your job? If so, send an email to realstories@cnnmoney.com and you could be profiled in an upcoming story. Please include a contact phone number. For the CNNMoney.com Comment Policy, click here.  

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FITNESS

Iron Tribe Fitness opened in Birmingham in February and now has a membership of 200 clients. It is one of 1,700 affiliates of the CrossFit network worldwide. Iron Tribe founder Forrest Walden opened his first Fitness Together franchise in 2001 and, by 2009, he had developed 55 locations in three states that participate in Iron Tribe Fitness.

NONPROFITS

The Alabama Association of Nonprofits has formed a new partnership with the Internal Revenue Service to help educate the more than 21,000 nonprofit organizations in Alabama about how to protect their tax-exempt status and comply with tax obligations on the heels of recent announcements about exemption revocations by the IRS. The association and the IRS will host a seminar in Birmingham Sept. 14 entitled “How to Lose Your Tax-Exempt Status (Without Really Trying).” Registration for the session is open at www.alabamanonprofits.org.

RETAIL

The state’s first Neighborhood Market, located in Center Point, reopened July 23 after a major three-month remodeling project. The store distributed grants to local organizations as part of the reopening. The store hired about 30 associates to help with the remodel. It employs approximately 90 associates.

TECHNOLOGY

TekLinks, a regional IT services provider headquartered in Birmingham, achieved the Cisco Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence for the eighth consecutive year low interest personal loan.

More than 200 people are expected to attend this year’s BarCampBirmingham conference. The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Innovation Depot, 1500 First Ave. N., downtown. Free tickets are available in limited supply by visiting barcampbirmingham.org.

UNIVERSITIES

The University of Alabama at Birmingham developed a new Advanced Placement Scholarship Program for Birmingham City School System seniors, using income generated from an endowed fund made possible by an anonymous $4 million cash gift designated for scholarships for women and minorities. The first students to participate in the program will be eligible to receive their scholarships for the fall 2011 term.

Funding has been extended and expanded for the aerospace crew, robotics, avionics and equipment work performed by UAB’s Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The new contract is valued at more than $70 million and is shared among UAB and three out-of-state engineering firms.

UTILITIES

Southern Co. employees held a food drive for the Birmingham Salvation Army and dropped off more than 1,000 food items. The drive was a competition between six departments at Southern Co. and was called “Put Your Manager to Work,” because the managers had to stack and organize the nonperishable food.

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American Apparel (APP) shares were off 22 cents to 81 cents. The stock dropped 22% Wednesday when the Los Angeles-based retailer said a steep sales slump and manufacturing problems could cause the company to default on its loans.

In a government filing Tuesday, American Apparel said the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York sent it a subpoena relating to the circumstances around Deloitte & Touche’s resignation as the company’s auditor last month.

The filing also said the Securities and Exchange Commission has made inquiries into the situation.

American Apparel said Deloitte is investigating the "reliability" of the company’s consolidated financial statements for all of 2009, the company’s financial results for the first quarter of 2010 and its projected financial results for the rest of 2010 instant payday loans.

Officials for the U.S. Attorney’s office in New York and the SEC both declined comment. Deloitte representatives did not immediately return a call for comment.

Defaulting on its loans could sink the company within the next 12 months, the company said. American Apparel added it is in talks with its creditors to amend its loan agreements.

American Apparel said it expects to post a loss from operations of between $5 million to $7 million for the second quarter. It also warned losses from operations would continue into its third quarter. 

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Gas is selling for an average of $2.858 per gallon in Erie and Niagara counties as of Monday morning, according to the American Automobile Association.

That’s up seven-tenths of a cent from a week ago. The local average on Aug. 9 was $2.851.

And it’s up 1.2 cents from a month ago, when gas prices averaged $2.846 in the Buffalo area.

AAA issues daily price estimates for metropolitan areas across the country, based on its survey of credit-card purchases at self-service stations.

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The Federal Way timber giant (NYSE: WY) said it’s selling the six railroads, including two in Southwest Washington, to Boca Raton, Fla.-based Patriot for an undisclosed sum.

The six railroads handle about 60,000 carloads of freight annually, Weyerhaeuser said, and they employ about 120 people total.

The railroads in the sale include:

— The DeQueen and Eastern Railroad Company consists of two railroads — the DeQueen and Eastern and the Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern railroads — that operate over a total of 87 route miles in southeast Oklahoma and southwest Arkansas;

— The Columbia & Cowlitz Railway operates over 8 payday loan.5 route miles in Southwest Washington;

— The Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad operates over 30 route miles in Southwest Washington.

— The Golden Triangle Railroad operates over 13.3 route miles in central Mississippi; and

— The Mississippi & Skuna Valley Railroad owns 21 route miles in Mississippi.

Patriot said that the railroads primarily source Weyerhaeuser and International Paper mills, move finished products and serve some third-party customers.

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The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 5 points, or less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index slid 1.5 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) composite lost 10 points, or 0.5%.

The retreat came as investors braced for the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report Friday. The report, one of the most closely watched on Wall Street, is expected to show that the U.S. economy lost jobs in July for the second month in a row.

"We’ve got a market that seems to be waiting on pins and needles ahead of the all-important payrolls report," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.

Wall Street has been focused on the job market for signs that the economic recovery, which appears to be losing steam, can be sustained. Consumer spending, the main driver of U.S. economic activity, is closely linked to employment.

"Investors are waiting to see if the economy has hit a soft patch, or taken a right-hand turn," Hogan said. "Unfortunately, we need more data before we can determine that."

Reports on the job market this week have been mixed. The government said Thursday that the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance rose last week to a three-month high. But a payroll processing firm said Wednesday that private sector rolls grew more than expected last month.

Also weighing on stocks, the nation’s top retailers reported July sales growth that largely missed analysts’ expectations, though certain pockets remained strong.

Guarded optimism about the job market helped support stocks Wednesday, but gains were slight. The Dow added 0.4% and the broader S&P 500 increased 0.6%.

The choppy action this week came after the market rallied 7% in July, marking the best month in a year for stocks. Better-than-expected corporate earnings helped support the market as concerns about the debt crisis in Europe eased last month.

"We had a great earnings season, now reality is setting back in," said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equities at Canaccord Adams.

Jobs: The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment claims climbed 19,000 to 479,000 in latest week. It marked the highest figure in three months and compared with an upwardly revised 460,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected 455,000 Americans to have filed for first-time jobless claims last week.

On Friday, the Labor Department is expected to report that the economy lost 87,000 jobs in July, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 9.6% from 9.5%.

In June, payrolls declined for the first time this year, with the economy suffering a net loss of 125,000 jobs. The drop was primarily due to the end of 225,000 temporary Census jobs that had swelled payrolls in May.

Before that, payrolls had been growing modestly since January as the economy gradually recovered from the depths of the recession. But the recent declines have raised questions about the pace of the recovery and stoked fears that the economy could slip back into recession.

Still, private sector employment has expanded for the last six months and job growth is typically sluggish following a recession, notes John Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

"The job numbers may be weaker than some are expecting," he said. "However, dips in the job numbers and other indicators do not necessarily mean an early sequel to the recession."

Retail sales: The nation’s top retailers reported mixed sales for July as the back-to-school shopping season got off to a sluggish start.

Sales tracker Thomson Reuters, which looks at monthly same-store sales for 28 chains, said that July sales were up 2.9%, just below the 3.1% growth expected by analysts. Same-store sales are a key gauge of a retailer’s performance at stores open at least a year.

Target (TGT, Fortune 500) said sales rose 3.8% last month, driven by apparel purchases, while electronics and other discretionary items remained soft. Shares were up more than 2%.

Wholesale discounter Costco (COST, Fortune 500) reported a 6% increase in sales, slightly higher than the 5.5% that had been expected. Excluding the impact of higher gas prices and favorable foreign exchange rates, however, sales rose 4% in the month. Shares fell 1.7%.

Teen stores The Buckle (BKE) and Hot Topic (HOTT) were two of the worst performers, reporting deep declines in sales for the month of around 9%, But two other teen apparel chains - Zumiez (ZUMZ) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) - surprised analysts with much stronger-than-expected sales.

World markets: European markets ended mixed. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4%. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were little changed.

The European Central Bank voted to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.1%, as expected. In a statement, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the EU economy strengthened in the second quarter and that activity in the current quarter has been better than expected. Looking ahead, he said growth is expected to be "moderate" and "uneven."

Separately, the ECB, European Council and International Monetary Fund said in a statement that efforts to stabilize the shaky Greek economy are off to a good start, though challenges remain.

Greece is undergoing a painful restructuring of its economy with the help of an €80 billion loan from euro area nations and a €30 billion facility from the IMF. The debt-ridden nation is expected to receive additional loans later this month.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rallied, climbing 1.7%. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.7% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong finished little changed.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained against the euro and the British pound, but fell versus the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for September delivery fell 46 cents to $82.01 a barrel.

COMEX gold’s December contract rose $3.40 to $1,199.30 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices climbed Thursday, with the yield on the 10-year note falling to 2.92% from 2.95% late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.  

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In a complaint issued late Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Sam and Charles Wyly Jr. attempted to hide their ownership and trading of stock in these firms by creating an elaborate system of off-shore trusts and subsidiary companies.

The SEC said the Wylys served as corporate directors at four different firms that were publicly traded at the time: Michaels Stores, Sterling Software, Sterling Commerce, and Scottish Annuity & Life Holdings, now known as Scottish Re Group Limited.

Over a period of 13 years, the brothers went to great lengths to hide their scheme, including making misleading statements to brokerage firm intermediaries, according to the SEC.

"The cloak of secrecy has been lifted from the complex web of foreign structures used by the Wylys to evade the securities laws," Lorin Reisner, deputy director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement said in a statement.

Attempts to reach the Wylys’ attorney were not immediately successful.

Thursday’s announcement is not the Wylys’ first brush with the law. In 1979, Sam Wyly came under investigation by the SEC over a bond deal his company was involved with. He would ultimately settle the case without admitting or denying the allegations.

The Wylys’ personal wealth was also at the center of a reported federal and state investigation from 2005 into whether Bank of America was helping wealthy clients hide their fortunes from the IRS.

In 2001, Sam Wyly made headlines following a drawn-out battle to win control of the software maker Computer Associates.

Throughout their respective careers, both men also established deep connections within the political world. Sam Wyly served as chairman of a presidential advisory commission under Presidents Nixon and Ford. Charles Wyly also served on a presidential advisory council on the issue of management improvement.

Between 2002 and 2010, members of the Wyly family made more than $178,000 in political campaign contributions through an entity called Ranger Governance, according to the nonprofit research firm MapLight.org. 

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The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act for the deal, Cott said in a statement.

Cott plans to buy Cliffstar in a deal valued at up to $569 million. The closing remains subject to receipt of financing and other conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

Cott (NYSE: COT) is a private label soft drink company with executive offices and a plant in Tampa.

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Hours after the House voted Thursday to push back the deadline to file for extended unemployment benefits until the end of November, President Obama signed the measure into law.

The approval came a day after the Senate voted 59 to 39 to restore the payments, ending a seven-week stalemate.

Some 2.9 million people were scheduled to run out of benefits by the end of the week. The jobless stopped getting their checks in early June, after Congress failed to extend the deadline to apply for unemployment insurance.

Senate Republicans, as well as Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson, prevented the legislation’s passage, saying it should be paid for first. They suggested covering the $34 billion tab with unused stimulus money, a step the Senate Democratic leadership rejected.

Federal unemployment payments, which last up to 73 weeks, kick in after the state-funded 26 weeks of coverage expire. These federal benefits are divided into tiers, and the jobless must apply each time they move into a new tier Online payday loans.

The payments will be retroactive to the previous deadline of June 2. But it could take up to a month for states to start sending the checks again, experts said.

Lynda Kahn of Coral Springs, Fla., can’t wait to get that check. She stopped getting benefits last week and applied for Medicaid, only to be turned down because she doesn’t have dependent children. But she did get a supermarket gift card from a local charity to supplement her $200 a month food stamp allotment.

Kahn depends on her unemployment check, which was $275 a week plus a $25 stimulus-funded supplement that will be discontinued for those newly unemployed. She lost her job as a manager for a doctor’s office last August.

"It covers my mortgage payment," she said. 

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Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) created an underwater cave-mapping sensor that has the capability of traveling down a cave to gauge the path, dimensions and morphology of the tunnel. SwRI officials say these remote neutrally buoyant sensors work by injecting a dye in the water that can be used to determine the path and travel time of water through caves. The sensors are designed to float through the cave or conduit to measure the path by using an array of ultrasound sensors.

Local scientists say cave diving is extremely dangerous and is limited to large passageways, relatively shallow caves and limited distances.

“The information captured from these sensors is critically important for water-resource management and geotechnical risk assessment,” says Ronald Green, a scientist in the geosciences and engineering division at SwRI and a principal developer of the sensor paperless payday loans. “Adequate management of karst aquifers requires knowledge of water flow through caves and conduits, including location, size and morphology of the complex interconnected voids.”

SwRI officials say there could be applications in pipelines or sanitary sewers. Also, there could be future applications in flooded underground mines, tunnels or conduits that are not safe for manned entry.

San Antonio-based SwRI is an independent, nonprofit applied research and development organization. It has more than 3,200 employees and an annual research volume of more than $564 million. The institute has won 35 R&D 100 Awards since 1971. SwRI will accept its 2010 R&D Award Nov. 11 in Orlando.

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