WASHINGTON >> Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week but remain lower than they were a year ago. The five-year adjustable-rate mortgage rate hit the highest level since mid-2011.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 3.94 percent, up from 3.93 percent last week. It stood at 4.30 percent a year ago. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular among homeowners who are refinancing, rose to an average 3.38 percent, highest since March and up from 3.36 percent last week but still down from 3.52 percent a year ago.
The rate on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 3.39 percent, highest since June 2011 and up from 3.36 percent last week. It was 3.32 percent a year ago. The Federal Reserve last week raised short-term interest rates for the third time this year.
The Freddie Mac survey was taken before Congress passed a sweeping tax-cut bill, sending other long-term rates higher.
“If those rate increases stick, we’ll likely see higher mortgage rates in next week’s survey,” said Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s deputy chief economist.
Papa John’s CEO exiting after NFL remarks
NEW YORK >> Papa John’s founder John Schnatter will step down as CEO next month, about two months after he criticized the NFL leadership over national anthem protests by players — comments for which the company later apologized.
Schnatter will be replaced as chief executive by Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie on Jan. 1, the company announced Thursday. Schnatter, who appears in the chain’s commercials and on its pizza boxes, remains chairman of the board. He is also the company’s biggest shareholder.
Earlier this year Schnatter blamed slowing sales growth at Papa John’s — an NFL sponsor and advertiser — on the outcry surrounding football players kneeling during the national anthem. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had knelt during the anthem to protest what he said was police mistreatment of black men, and other players started kneeling as well.
“The controversy is polarizing the customer, polarizing the country,” Schnatter said Nov. 1 during a conference call about the company’s earnings.
Papa John’s apologized two weeks later, after white supremacists praised Schnatter’s comments. The Louisville, Ky.-based company distanced itself from the group, saying that it did not want them to buy its pizza.
ON THE MOVE
Anthology Marketing Group has announced two new employees:
>> Katlin Lemos-Cilliers is the new receptionist/office clerk for Anthology’s Administrative Group. She was previously an ESL teacher at Cultura Inglesa in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
>> Robert Washington has joined the firm’s Public Relations Group as a senior account executive. He previously served as an Oahu-based senior communication specialist for Kiewit Corp.
Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa has appointed Sarah Brown the new director of the resort’s restaurants and bars. She has more than 10 years of beverage and food experience with Marriott International. Brown was previously director of beverage at Renaissance Orlando at Sea World in Orlando, Fla., as well as restaurant manager at Frenchman’s Reef and Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Accel Event Rentals, the largest event rentals company in Hawaii, has hired Aulani Kekuna as its regional sales manager. She was previously a chief operating officer of Cooper Enterprises in Spokane, Wash., as well as an account manager at Pro- Service Hawaii and vice president of business development at Pacific Event Services.
