30-year mortgage rate near record low
The average U.S. rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen to near its record low set earlier this month.
The rate on the most popular mortgage dipped to 3.37 percent from 3.39 last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. Two weeks ago the rate reached 3.36 percent, its lowest level on records dating to 1971.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, often used for refinancing, set a record low of 2.66 percent, down from last week’s 2.7 percent.
Cheaper mortgages are helping fuel a modest but steady housing recovery.
The average rate on the 30-year loan has remained below 4 percent all year. And rates have fallen even further since the Federal Reserve started buying mortgage bonds in September to try to encourage more borrowing and spending.
Newsweek to cease print edition
NEW YORK » Newsweek will end its print publication after 80 years and shift to an all-digital format in early 2013.
Its last U.S. print edition will be the Dec. 31 issue. The paper version of Newsweek is the latest casualty of a changing world where readers get more of their information from websites, tablets and smartphones. It’s also an environment in which advertisers are looking for less expensive alternatives online.
Newsweeklies have been in an especially tough spot at a time when people don’t want to wait a week to read commentary and news digests of big stories, given a flood of instant content available online.
Google delivers letdown early as stock falls
SAN FRANCISCO » As far as unpleasant surprises go, Google hit Wall Street with a double whammy Thursday.
The Internet search leader that prides itself on organizing the world’s information lost control of its own data when a contractor released its third-quarter earnings report more than three hours before the numbers were supposed to come out.
As if that wasn’t jarring enough, the numbers alarmed investors because the company’s earnings and revenue fell well below analyst projections. The disappointment triggered an 8 percent drop in Google’s stock price that erased about $20 billion in shareholder wealth.
Gasoline prices head downward
NEW YORK » Gasoline prices have begun their seasonal slide.
The national average retail price has fallen for 10 straight days and is now $3.74 per gallon. It could mark the beginning of the usual autumn decrease that was delayed this year because of refinery problems and high oil prices.
China shows signs of economic recovery
BEIJING » China’s worst slump since the global financial crisis leveled out in the latest quarter and retail sales picked up in a sign an economic rebound is taking shape, adding to hopes for a global recovery.
The world’s second-largest economy grew 7.4 percent from the year before in the three months ending in September, data showed Thursday. That was slower than the second quarter’s 7.6 percent growth, but the decline was much gentler than in earlier quarters. Economists also pointed to quarter-on-quarter growth of 2.2 percent, the biggest such gain in a year, as a sign of recovery.
Microsoft profit plummets 22 percent
NEW YORK » Microsoft Corp.’s net income fell 22 percent in the latest quarter as it deferred revenue from the sale of its upcoming Windows 8 operating system to PC makers — and as PC sales in general took a dive.
The economic troubles in Europe also weighed on results, which missed Wall Street expectations.
The software company said Thursday that net income was $4.47 billion, or 53 cents per share, in the fiscal first quarter, which ended Sept. 30. That was down from $5.7 billion, or 68 cents per share, a year ago.
Analysts were on average expecting 56 cents per share, according to FactSet.
Measure of future economic activity is up
WASHINGTON » A measure of U.S. economic activity designed to give signals about the future posted a solid gain in September, rebounding after a dip in August. The index is still signaling weak growth, however.
The Conference Board said Thursday that its index of leading indicators rose 0.6 percent in September after falling 0.4 percent in August and rising 0.4 percent in July. The previous months were revised down slightly. The strength in September came from a big jump in applications for building permits, which the government reported Wednesday had climbed to a four-year high that month.
Philadelphia manufacturing index expands
WASHINGTON » Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded in October after five months of declines, a positive sign for a U.S. manufacturing sector that had been weakening for much of the year.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported Thursday that its index of regional manufacturing activity had a reading of 5.7 in October after a minus-1.9 reading in September. Any reading above zero indicates expansion.
On the Move
Kuakini Medical Center has announced the following:
>> Virginia Walker as its managing director for inpatient nursing services. She returns to Kuakini with nearly 10 years of health care management experience.
>> Edna Gappe has been appointed as patient care coordinator for the Progressive Care Unit and Acute Hemodialysis. She has 30 years of health care experience.
Hawaii First has appointed Albert Denys Jr. as chief operating officer. He has 38 years of progressive leadership and property management in the private and federal sectors, including working as a community association manager and senior vice president of government affairs.
