Friday, December 14, 2012
LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY “We’re off to a fairly strong holidayspending season.” Millan Mulraine, senior U.S. strategist for TD Securities in New York Article,1D
App puts Google Maps back on iPhone
SAN FRANCISCO - Google Maps, the world’s most popular online mapping system, returned to the iPhone late Wednesday with the release of the Google Maps iPhone app.
The release comes nearly three months after Apple Inc. replaced Google Maps as the device’s built-in navigation system and inserted its own map software into the latest version of its mobile operating system.
Apple’s maps application proved to be inferior to Google’s, users said. The product’s failings prompted Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to make a public apology and recommend that iPhone owners consider using Google Maps through a mobile Web browser or seek other alternatives until his company could fix the problems. Cook also replaced the executive in charge of Apple’s mobile operating system.
Among other things, Apple’s maps misplaced landmarks, overlooked towns and sometimes got people lost.
Australian police derided Apple’s maps as “life-threatening” because the system steered people looking for the city of Mildura into a desert 44 miles from their desired destination.
Google Inc., in contrast, is touting its new iPhone app as an improvement over the one evicted by Apple.
“We started from scratch,” said Daniel Graf, mobile director of Google Maps.
The additional tools in the free iPhone app include turn-by-turn directions, something that Google’s previous iPhone app did not have.
WASHINGTON - Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this week near record lows, providing more incentive for Americans to buy homes and refinance.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan dipped to 3.32 percent. That’s below last week’s rate of 3.34 percent. And it’s just above the 3.31 percent that is the lowest rate on records dating to 1971.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage declined to 2.66 percent from 2.67 percent last week. The record low is 2.63 percent.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. The average doesn’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.7 point, unchanged from last week. The fee for 15-year loans also was steady, at 0.6 point.
The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage declined to 2.53 percent from 2.55 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable-rate loans ticked up to 0.5 point from 0.4 point.
The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 2.70 percent from 2.69 percent last week. The fee was flat at 0.6 point.
DALLAS - American Airlines pilots say their chief executive officer is making his case for remaining an independent company, but the union still wants a merger with US Airways.
The union says its board will meet with US Airways’ top two executives next week.
CEO Thomas Horton met for three hours Thursday with directors of the Allied Pilots Association.
Union spokesman Dennis Tajer says Horton detailed his plan for American’s parent company, AMR Corp., to emerge from bankruptcy protection on its own.
Tajer says the union board considered Horton’s comments but still thinks a merger is better for pilots and the company.
American is the nation’s third-biggest airline and US Airways is fifth-biggest. Combined they would be about the same size as industry leader United Airlines.
Business, Pages 26 on 12/14/2012