WSJ: Banks initiated fewer foreclosures in April than at any time since late 2008 even though the number of loans in foreclosure remains near record high levels, offering the latest evidence that banks are struggling to repair hobbled foreclosure processes. Mortgage companies started foreclosures on 187,400 properties in April, a 31% decline from March and a 15% drop from one year ago, according to LPS Applied Analytics, a data firm. The decline came in a month where 14 banks signed consent orders with federal banking regulators to revamp their foreclosure processes. The orders were prompted by last fall’s document-handling problems that had led major banks, including Bank of America Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., to suspend some foreclosures.”