30-year mortgage rate remains at 3.55 percent

WASHINGTON >> The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage held steady this week, staying slightly above the lowest level on record. Low mortgage rates have aided a modest housing recovery. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan was unchanged at 3.55 percent. In July the rate fell to 3.49 percent, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage slipped to 2.85 percent, down from 2.86 percent last week. That’s above the record low of 2.80 percent.

Cheap mortgages have helped lift the housing market. Sales of new and previously occupied homes are well above last year’s levels. Low rates have also allowed people to refinance, which lowers monthly mortgage payments and helps boost consumer spending.

Turtle Bay union workers OK strike vote

Union workers at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore unanimously approved a strike vote Thursday following a rally held at the property earlier in the day.

The vote will give members of Unite Here Local 5’s negotiating committee leverage to call a strike. Some 350 or so union workers at the resort have been without a new contract for more than two years. Key issues in the dispute are wage parity with union colleagues in Waikiki and the resort’s expansion plans, according to a union statement.

"Workers like me have sacrificed a great deal to help various owners of this resort, but we can’t afford to be so generous to the banks that now own our hotel. It’s time that they step up and actually do some real good for this community," said Elaine Hornal, a food and beverage worker at Turtle Bay.

Turtle Bay Resort is doing everything possible to provide workers with one of the most attractive and competitive benefit packages in the industry, said Danna Holck, vice president and general manager of Turtle Bay Resort.

"We are very disappointed with the results of the vote and the decision to position for a strike," Holck said. "Our availability and willingness to negotiate terms since July 2010 have been delayed by union negotiators. It has always been our intent to finalize a fair and equitable contract as quickly as possible to provide our employees with the benefits they deserve."

Bargaining resumes Monday, said Holck, adding that the resort continues to operate without interruption.

Closeout sale under way at Ritz Camera

Longtime Ala Moana Center retailer Ritz Camera has begun a going-out-of-business sale, according to a statement from the joint venture managing the closeout sales at 137 stores around the country.

The locations also do business as Wolf Camera, Inkley’s, Proex, The Camera Shop and Camera World.

Storewide discounts of up to 40 percent are offered on all merchandise, and all manufacturer warranties remain in effect.

Merchandise includes cameras, lenses, accessories, film, batteries, memory and storage devices, frames and albums. In-store photo processing services are now discounted, and store furnishings and equipment also are available for sale.

Wii U will launch Nov. 18, Nintendo says

NEW YORK » Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U gaming console will start at $300 and go on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 18, in time for the holidays, the company said Thursday.

A "deluxe" version will sell for $350. It will be black instead of white and include extra features such as more memory, a charging stand and the game "Nintendo Land."

Nintendo Co. has been trying to drum up excitement for the Wii U, which is the first major gaming console to launch since 2006. The device has a touch-screen controller called the Wii U GamePad. It also plays games made for the original Wii.

Disney hurt by weak ads, $50M film loss

NEW YORK » The Walt Disney Co.’s TV advertising revenue did not rebound as expected after last month’s conclusion of the hugely popular London Olympics that were aired on rival NBC, the company’s chief financial officer said Thursday.

Disney also expects to book a $50 million charge for discontinuing a movie that was in the works, Jay Rasulo said. The film write-down will trim profits by 2 cents per share in the three-month period that ends this month, Disney’s final quarter of its fiscal year.

The write-down was for an untitled stop-motion animation movie directed by Henry Selick, director of the spooky 2009 hit "Cora­line." The movie had been slated for release in October 2013. Its cancellation marks one of the first big decisions by Disney’s new studio chairman, Alan Horn, who was hired in May.

Nordstrom to expand into Canada in 2014

NEW YORK » Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc. is heading to Canada starting in the fall of 2014, its first move outside the U.S.

The announcement, made at a press conference Thursday in Toronto, comes as a slew of other retailers flock across the border to compete for Canadian shoppers’ dollars.

The Seattle-based chain said Thursday it will team up with Canadian mall developer Cadillac Fairview to open four stores, in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. Cadillac Fairview operates shopping centers across Canada.

On the Move

Waikiki Aquarium has announced:

>> Heather R. Down as its new monk seal program manager and research associate. She has more than 12 years’ experience, including as a project assistant on fish predation studies at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

>> Charles W. Laidley is the new curator of the live exhibits. He has more than 30 years of experience in working and conducting research in environmental and aquatic sciences.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association has named Dee Okahara as its new communications officer. She has 12 years of experience in the non-profit sector and seven years in communications and development fields, including an executive assistant and special projects manager for Blood Bank of Hawaii, vice president of campaign at Aloha United Way and director of graduate admissions at Hawaii Pacific University.