WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates moved slightly higher this week, after declining to record lows for the past 11 weeks, according to Freddie Mac.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – In an unusual independent campaign initiative, CUNA is airing radio ads over the next few days for Senate candidate Ovide Lamontagne, chairman of the board of St. Mary’s Bank, the nation’s first credit union, who is running in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

WASHINGTON – Credit unions are pulling their time deposits from the corporate system at increasing rates in recent months, with the corporates’ share of the movement’s investable funds falling to a 30-year low of just 7.7% as of the end of July, according to CUNA.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA Board’s monthly meeting next week will be conspicuous for what is not in it, rather than what is in it–the Board will not vote on a final corporate credit union rule, as had been expected.

BARSTOW, Calif. – The former CEO of Barstow Railway Employee CU was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of fraud and filing false accounting records.

SEATTLE – A man dressed as a woman – just like the title character in the one-time hit movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” – is believed responsible for at least six local robberies since April, including two at Alaska USA FCU branches.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The CU Association of Oklahoma announced yesterday it hired Gary Jones, its lobbyist and currently interim CEO, as president and CEO.

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – In an effort to raise support for the ongoing Gulf oil spill clean up and restoration, Navigator CU created the Coast Aid benefit concert.

DES MOINES, Iowa – TMG Financial Services said yesterday it purchased credit card portfolios from The Jersey Shore FCU and Community 1st CU.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Fiserv said yesterday it is changing the name of its Loan Servicing Platform to LoanServ.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard on Wednesday announced the availability of the MasterCard MoneySend person-to-person money transfer service for BlackBerry smartphones.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – ViVOtech and DeviceFidelity announced a joint solution they say brings contactless mobile payment, loyalty, transit, ticketing and coupon redemption capabilities to leading smartphones, including BlackBerrys and iPhones.

BETHPAGE, N.Y. – Bethpage FCU announced yesterday the renewal of its sponsorship deal with professional hockey’s New York Islanders, under which the $3 billion credit union will present a number of team community initiatives including the Islanders Kids Club, the Islanders Community Events (I.C.E.) Tour and Islanders at School Program.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Private credit union insurer ASI, battered by losses among its Nevada credit unions, announced a 15 basis points special premium assessment for 2010, its second in a row.

WASHINGTON – The credit union lobby is cautiously predicting a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, with Democrats retaining a slim majority in the Senate, creating a more evenly split Congress – and more gridlock.

An item in Tuesday’s CU Journal Daily Briefing incorrectly stated CO-OP will be rolling out CO-OP Revelation, a portfolio optimization tool that marries transactional data with demographic data. CO-OP Revelation is an existing product with a number of clients.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. – Access To Money, which operates 12,000 ATMs across the country, on Tuesday said it has obtained $5.5 million in new financing that will allow it to refinance debt from venture funds at a savings of $500,000 a year.

ATLANTA – 1st choice CU has chosen Open Solutions Inc.’s DNA-sme for its core processing system.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Great Falls Teachers FCU awarded a $500 grant to Holy Spirit Catholic School on Tuesday as part of its weekly "Back To School Bucks” grant program.

AUSTIN, Texas – Amplify CU has donated $12,000 for creation of a new concept in children’s playground that encourages kids to have open-ended and free play with the movable pieces that promote creativity.