30-year mortgage rate edges up to 3.66 percent

WASHINGTON » Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose slightly this week after four straight weeks of declines, while remaining near historically low levels.

Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday the nationwide average for a 30-year mortgage edged up to 3.66 percent from 3.63 percent last week. The new average rate is still at its lowest level since May 2013.

The rate for the 15-year loan, a popular choice for people who are refinancing, increased to 2.98 percent from 2.93 percent last week.

A year ago the average 30-year mortgage stood at 4.32 percent and the 15-year mortgage at 3.40 percent. Mortgage rates have remained low even though the Federal Reserve in October ended its monthly bond purchases, which were meant to hold down long-term rates.

Treetops Restaurant to reopen Monday

After a year’s worth of renovation, Treetops Restaurant in Manoa Valley’s Paradise Park will reopen for service Monday.

Treetops will offer a daily luncheon buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will take reservations for a 5-8 p.m. dinner buffet.

The restaurant first opened for business in 1968 and closed at the end of 2013.

Mark Gedeon has been named executive chef. His resume includes working with Roy’s restaurants in Hawaii Kai and Wai­kiki, as well as Tiki’s Grill and Bar in Wai­kiki.

Mike Boersema will serve as dining manager, overseeing a dining room that can seat up to 250 people. His previous experience includes management of fine-dining restaurant Matteo’s and the former Zanzabar nightclub.

The reopening of Treetops is part of the plan to reopen Paradise Park as a Hawaiian Cultural Center. Hula performances will start this spring or in early summer, said spokes­man James Boersema.

Newark tops Honolulu in popularity

Honolulu has dropped three spots to No. 40 on the Hotels.com list of most popular U.S. destinations, behind 39th-ranked Newark, N.J.

The travel website’s Hotel Price Index for 2014 lists the top 50 destinations in the U.S. as well as the top 50 international cities for American travelers for the calendar year.

Las Vegas, New York and Orlando, Fla., were the three top cities on the U.S. list, while London, Paris and Toronto topped the international list.

Among U.S. destinations, Cali­for­nia, Texas and Florida are home to nearly half of the 25 most popular domestic cities, while Denver and Charlotte, N.C., saw the most growth over the year.

Mexico saw the most growth among foreign destinations.

Many households exhaust their salaries

WASHINGTON » Despite signs that the economy is returning to health, two new reports suggest that most Americans are walking a dangerous financial tightrope.

An analysis of federal survey data by the Pew Charitable Trusts finds 47 percent of U.S. households say they spend all of their income, go into debt or dip into savings to meet their annual expenses.

The Pew analysis found that if a typical middle-class household had to weather a period of joblessness without any income, its available savings would be exhausted within 21 days. And if that same family also cashed in all its retirement investments to get by, it would burn through those assets within four months.

A separate economic scorecard released Thursday reported that 55.6 percent of U.S. consumers have subprime or near-prime credit scores, meaning they must pay a premium to borrow if they qualify at all for traditional loans and credit cards. Roughly 20 percent of households must routinely depend on "fringe financial services" such as payday lenders, according to the report by the nonprofit Corporation for Enterprise Development.

Google spending cuts profit as rivals lurk

Google Inc. is ramping up spending to invest in new technologies and fend off competition on mobile devices, even as its maturing Web-advertising business posted quarterly profit and sales fell short of estimates.

Fourth-quarter profit, excluding some items, was $6.88 a share on revenue of $14.5 billion compared with analysts’ average projections for $7.11 and $14.7 billion.

Expenses jumped as Google added more staff and real estate, while currency fluctuations dented revenue.

Fourth-quarter net income rose 41 percent to $4.76 billion from $3.38 billion a year earlier.

While Facebook Inc. and other Internet companies are seeking to lure away users and advertisers on tablets and smartphones, Google’s shares were buoyed in late trading, rising $10.47 to $523.70, amid signs of strength in the search provider’s main businesses and optimism that the company will use its cash pile to enter new markets to secure future growth.

On The Move

» Ward Village has announced the following new additions and promotions for its Hono­lulu team: Robert Sugi­yama, assistant general manager; Carrie Gorospe, director of residential marketing; Mary Hakoda, director of sales operations; Erika Strawn, senior assistant general counsel; Larry Schenk, senior director of construction; Jon Moore, director of construction; and Tony Gaston, director of site development. The following employees have been promoted: Bobbie Lau to senior general manager from general manager; Katie Ka‘a­napu to director of community and retail marketing from senior marketing manager; and Melisa Preus to director of leasing from senior leasing manager.

» Premier Eye Care has named Stacie Somlak as its new market director for its Hawaii office. She has more than 20 years of experience and expertise in health care and office management, team building, marketing, event planning and field support coordination. Prior to joining the Premier team, Somlak’s experience included working with Genesis Healthcare, where she handled a wide range of marketing and administrative tasks as well as managing doctor education programs.

Ship Ahoy!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures: