WASHINGTON (8/17/15)--The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has launched a new mobile app that is designed to expand and enhance HUD customer service. The HUD Resource Locator will use location services to pinpoint where the closest HUD resources are located. Uses include finding the nearest housing during a disaster or where and when social workers are in the field assisting homeless people in finding housing assistance. The app is available for Apple and Android devices...

WASHINGTON (8/17/15)--The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 504 program, which can be used to buy big-ticket equipment or for commercial real estate, is lagging behind the agency’s successful 7(a) lending program. According to a report in American Banker, the SBA has approved just $3.4 billion in 504 loans, well below the currently authorized $7.5 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. A bill that would broaden the 504 program has been introduced by Sen. Jeanne Sheehan (D-N.H.)...