30-year mortgage rate drifts below 4%
WASHINGTON -- Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell for a second straight week, with the key 30-year rate slipping below 4 percent.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 3.98 percent this week from 4.04 percent a week earlier. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages eased to 3.17 percent from 3.21 percent.
As in recent weeks, mortgage rates followed the yield on the key 10-year Treasury note, which fell. Bond yields for Treasurys were pushed lower by a rise in bond prices, as investors sought safety in U.S. Treasury bonds amid steep declines in global stock markets. The yield on the 10-year note declined to 2.29 percent Wednesday from 2.33 percent a week earlier. It held steady in trading Thursday morning at 2.29 percent.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., surveys lenders across the country at the beginning 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 a 30-year mortgage was unchanged from last week at 0.6 point. The fee for a 15-year loan also held steady at 0.6 point.
-- The Associated Press
Bombardier delays business jet until '18
Bombardier Inc. is pushing back the commercial debut of its Global 7000 business jet by two years, yet another setback for a planemaker that has seen debt balloon because of delays with the CSeries commercial program.
Bombardier said the Global 7000 will enter service in the second half of 2018. As recently as last year, Bombardier promised a 2016 debut for the 7000, with the smaller 8000 following in 2017.
The postponement adds to the strain on Bombardier, already shaken by more than two years of cost overruns and sales struggles for the CSeries, the suspension of the Learjet 85 program and the reduction in output of the Global 5000 and 6000 corporate aircraft. The 7000 will be able to fly nonstop from London to Singapore and retail for $72.8 million.
"Creating an aircraft of this unique caliber is challenging," the company said Thursday. "These challenges have impacted the program's schedule."
Montreal-based Bombardier said earlier this month that it was conducting a "full review" of the Global 7000 and 8000 program, including its schedule.
In the second quarter, Bombardier delivered 47 business aircraft, nine more than the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue in the unit increased 12 percent to $1.8 billion.
-- Bloomberg News
Hotel firm's shares up on merger reports
Shares of InterContinental Hotels Group Plc jumped in London trading Thursday after the Financial Times reported the company has held early-stage merger talks with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
Shares of Starwood were little changed at $83.25 in New York trading while InterContinental, Europe's second-largest publicly traded hotel company, gained as much 5.5 percent in London trading.
A merger would create a the world's largest hotel operator, with more than 1 million rooms in 100 countries. The talks are tentative and Starwood may chose a different partner or follow another strategy, the Financial Times reported, citing two people familiar with the discussions.
"We never comment on speculation, and if somebody makes an offer, we're a British company, and we'd consider it," InterContinental Chief Executive Officer Richard Solomons said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Thursday. Solomons made the comments following the company's first-half earnings release, before the Financial Times published its article.
Starwood spokesman Carrie Bloom and InterContinental spokesman Zoe Bird declined to comment on the article.
Buying InterContinental, owner of the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands, would expand Starwood's offering of midscale hotels and more than double its hotel rooms in the fast-growing Chinese market. InterContinental operates 722,600 rooms, including 79,000 in China. Starwood, whose brands include the Sheraton and W, has 358,400 rooms.
-- Bloomberg News
Activists cleared, icebreaker exits port
PORTLAND, Ore. — A Royal Dutch Shell icebreaker that was the target of environmental protesters left Portland, Ore., on Thursday bound for an Arctic drilling operation after a tense standoff ended with kayakers and people who had dangled from a bridge to block its path.
The Fennica left dry dock and made its way down the Willamette River toward the Pacific Ocean soon after authorities forced the demonstrators from the river and the St. Johns Bridge.
Several protesters in kayaks moved toward the center of the river as the ship began its trip, but authorities in boats and personal watercraft cleared a narrow pathway for the Fennica.
Portland police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson said earlier that safety was the main priority as authorities forced protesters from the area.
The Fennica arrived in Portland for repairs last week. It attempted to leave earlier Thursday but turned around when activists dangling from the bridge refused to let it pass.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 07/31/2015