Flat for weeks, 30-year loan at 4.10%
WASHINGTON -- Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week, breaking a holding pattern that prevailed for more than a month.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on 30-year, fixed-rate loans declined to 4.10 percent from 4.16 percent last week. The benchmark rate stood at 3.64 percent a year ago and averaged 3.65 percent through 2016, the lowest level in records dating to 1971.
The rate on 15-year mortgages slipped to 3.32 percent from 3.37 percent last week.
Mortgage rates fell at the start of the year after rising for nine-straight weeks after President Donald Trump's election in November. Rates have moved little in recent weeks after the initial decline.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., surveys lenders across the country between Monday and Wednesday 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 a 30-year mortgage was unchanged this week at 0.5 point. The fee on 15-year loans also remained at 0.5 point.
-- The Associated Press
Leifeste new leader at Texarkana Gazette
Terri Leifeste has been named general manager of the Texarkana Gazette, a WEHCO Media Inc. newspaper.
Leifeste will relocate from Jefferson City, Mo., to Texarkana.
Leifeste will remain president of WEHCO Media's Palmer Newspapers Group, which includes Central Missouri Newspapers Inc., but she will step down as general manager of Central Missouri Newspapers.
Leifeste has been in the media for almost 40 years, including stints as general manager of Middle Tennessee Community Newspapers and vice president of Horizon Publications, where she served as publisher of the Saline Courier in Benton.
Todd Frantz will become president and general manager of Central Missouri Newspapers, which publishes the Jefferson City News Tribune, Fulton Sun and California Democrat. Frantz has more than 30 years of experience in the media.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette also is a WEHCO Media newspaper.
-- David Smith
Judge tosses SEC suit against Texas AG
AUSTIN, Texas -- A federal judge on Thursday dismissed claims by the U.S. government that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton duped wealthy investors before taking office, giving the Republican a key victory two months ahead of his criminal trial that carries a possible prison sentence.
Paxton, who has spent most of his two years as attorney general under felony indictment, has now twice prevailed over accusations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he had a duty to tell investors he was paid by a high-tech Texas startup while he recruited more than $840,000 for the company.
The dismissal of the civil lawsuit filed by federal regulators has no bearing on Paxton's criminal trial that is to begin in May near Dallas.
But the cases are nearly identical, and the decision Thursday by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant may hint at hurdles special prosecutors will have to overcome before a jury.
Mazzant last year tentatively dismissed the SEC's case but gave the agency another chance to strengthen its arguments. He wasn't swayed by the second try.
"I have maintained all along this whole saga is a political witch hunt," Paxton said in a statement.
"Today's ruling to dismiss the charges with prejudice confirms that these charges were baseless when the SEC initially brought them and they were without merit when SEC re-filed them," he said. "Someone needs to hold the SEC accountable for this travesty."
-- The Associated Press
Hard Rock group to redo ex-Trump casino
Hard Rock International said it plans to renovate and reopen the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J., at a total cost of $300 million that includes the purchase of the property.
Hard Rock, a casino and restaurant operator controlled by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, will be majority owner of the rebranded Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City in partnership with the Morris and Jingoli families, according to statement late Wednesday.
The group acquired the property this week from billionaire Carl Icahn, who is whittling down his holdings in the gambling market. The new owners plan a complete remodel and rebranding of the property, which is on 17 acres along the Atlantic City boardwalk. They said the renovation would create 3,000 jobs.
Closely held Hard Rock International operates 174 cafes, 24 hotels and 11 casinos in 74 countries, according to the statement. The Morris family is led by Jack Morris, chief executive officer of Edgewood Properties in Piscataway, N.J. The Jingolis are led by Joseph Jingoli Jr. and Michael Jingoli, whose interests include Jingoli Construction and DCO Energy.
Icahn Enterprises LP acquired the Taj Mahal through a bankruptcy court restructuring in early 2015 and closed the property in October after failing to reach agreements with striking workers over pay and benefits.
-- Bloomberg News
Virgin Galactic spins off launch provider
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Virgin Galactic's California-based small satellite launch provider is now a separate company.
Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson announced Thursday that the new company based in Long Beach is called Virgin Orbit.
The company has been developing an air-launch system for small satellites called LauncherOne.
The LauncherOne rockets will be released from a Boeing 747 jet named Cosmic Girl.
Virgin Orbit says it already has substantial launch orders for the system, which is in an advanced phase of hardware testing.
The new company's first president is veteran aerospace executive Dan Hart. He was formerly Boeing Co.'s vice president of government satellite systems.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 03/03/2017