Business briefs: Mortgage rates remain flat
Mortgage rates remain flat
Fixed mortgage rates were flat in the week leading up to Christmas, according to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac.
The 30-year fixed-rate average ticked down to 3.96 percent with an average 0.6 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.) It was 3.97 percent a week ago and 3.83 percent a year ago. The 30-year fixed rate has remained below 4 percent since late July.
The 15-year fixed-rate average was unchanged at 3.22 percent with an average 0.6 point. It was 3.1 percent a year ago.
Hybrid adjustable rate mortgages moved higher. The five-year ARM average rose to 3.06 percent with an average 0.4 point. It was 3.03 percent a week ago and 3.01 percent a year ago.
The one-year ARM average nudged up to 2.68 percent with an average 0.2 point. It was 2.39 percent a year ago.
Meanwhile, mortgage applications were higher, driven by refinance applications, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
US stocks drift to a mixed close in quiet pre-holiday trade
NEW YORK -- Stocks closed little changed in quiet trading ahead of the Christmas holiday.
The U.S. stock market closed three hours early on Thursday and will remain closed on Friday for Christmas.
Trading volume was extremely light.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 50 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,552.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged down three points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,060. The Nasdaq composite rose two points, less than 0.1 percent, to 5,048.
Bond insurer MBIA rose 8 percent after Puerto Rico's struggling power authority reached an agreement with its creditors to restructure part of its debt.
The price of crude oil rose two percent to $38 a barrel in New York.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.24 percent.
Delta wants to charge more fees for amenities
ATLANTA -- If you want extra amenities while flying, Delta Air Lines and other carriers increasingly want you to pay extra -- or to buy a higher-priced seat.
A Delta executive, speaking at investor conference recently, said the Atlanta airline wants to boost the revenue it collects from selling amenities to customers to $15 on average, up from about $8.30 per passenger now.
The carrier aims to do that in part by more clearly dividing the different levels of service it offers, selling varying tiers of fares like "Comfort Plus" and "Main Cabin" and "Basic Economy" -- and by offering additional services for extra fees.
Part of that effort includes actual physical dividers on planes: Over the next several years Delta plans to install dividers between the main cabin and the higher-priced Comfort Plus seats -- usually the first several rows of coach -- to emphasize the difference between them. That would be in addition to the divider for first class.
Delta says the "optional services" revenue category includes fees for things like first class, Comfort Plus seats with extra legroom, Sky Club, priority boarding, on-board purchases, trip insurance and hotel/rental car packages.
It doesn't include baggage fees, the add-on most fliers are familiar with, because that isn't considered an amenity.
Herald wire reports
This story was originally published December 25, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Business briefs: Mortgage rates remain flat ."