LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY "No matter how challenging the environment,
the FDIC has ample resources to continue protecting insured depositors as we have for the last 75 years." Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair Article, 1DUp a bit, mortgage rates still near lows
WASHINGTON - Rates for 30-year home loans edged up this week but remain close to record lows reached over the spring.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.14 percent, up from 5.12 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday. Rates, while above the record low of 4.78 percent hit in the spring, are still at attractive levels for people looking to buy a home or refinance.
Despite government efforts to prop up the mortgage market, qualifying for a loan is still tough. Lenders have tightened their standards over the past year, so the best rates are available to those with solid credit.
Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day.
The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.58 percent, from 4.56 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.
Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.67 percent, down from 4.57 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages were unchanged at 4.69 percent.
The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The nationwide fee for all loans in Freddie Mac's survey averaged 0.7 point for 30-year and 15-year loans, and 0.6 point for five-year and one-year loans.
Reserves high, natural gas prices tumble
NEW YORK - Natural gas prices slumped to their lowest level in seven years Thursday after the government reported that salt caverns, aquifers and other underground areas where it is stored are filling up.
Levels of natural gas have been building because heavy-use industries like manufacturing have cut back severely on production.
Natural gas tumbled 6.7 cents to settle at $2.843 per 1,000 cubic feet. The price dropped as low as $2.692 per 1,000 cubic feet earlier in the day, a price not seen since Aug. 7, 2002. The contract is scheduled to end Thursday, however, and most of the trading already has switched to the October contract that gave up 4.6 cents to trade at $3.248.
Natural gas prices plunged early in the day when the Energy Information Administration reported a surge in natural gas placed into storage.
There is so much natural gas in storage, it has begun to test the country's storage capacity. But administration economist Jose Villar said that storage facilities have added about 100 billion cubic feet of extra space, giving suppliers more places to put it. The Energy Information Administration will include details of the added capacity in a report to be published in the next few weeks, Villar said.
Court rejects tomato growers' Facet case
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that some Arkansas tomato farmers who claimed their crops were damaged by drift of the rice pesticide Facet onto their tomato fields waited too long to challenge the registration of the chemical with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled Thursday that a sixyear statute of limitations on challenging chemical registrations with the agency had expired long before Randy Hardin of Grady and Vernon Blasingame of Harrisburg filed their suit on Aug. 3, 2004.
Hardin and Blasingame sued Michael Leavitt, administrator of the EPA and BASF Corp., the maker of Facet.
"Plaintiffs had discovered that Facet 50 was being used and was potentially damaging their crops in the 1990s," Motz said in his ruling. He cited a decision in another case specifying that "discovery of the injury ... is what starts the clock."
A group of 25 other tomato farmers in Arkansas sued BASF in 2000, but the case was settled out of court in 2006.
Grant to aid Newton County's 911 system
Newton County will receive a $34,000 grant, part of a $54 million federal program for 46 rural community projects in 24 states.
The grant will be used to help Newton County set up an enhanced countywide Emergency 911 System.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or "stimulus fund," that President Barack Obama signed in February, is the source of the funds, which are being distributed through the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Rural Development's Community Facilities program. The program has funded child-care centers, health-care facilities, fire and rescue stations, police stations, community centers, public buildings and transportation projects across the nation.
Electric co-op's credit rating stays A-plus
Fitch Ratings reaffirmed a rating of A-plus to Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp.'s credit, the New York-based firm said.
A-plus means the cooperative's credit is investment grade and rated high, and there is relatively low to moderate credit risk for an investor, Fitch says on its Web site. The higher the rating, the lower the cost for the issuer of debt.
Fitch also affirmed the cooperative's rating for its commercial paper at F1, a strong rating that is just below the firm's highest rating of F1-plus. Commercial paper is a short-term unsecured debt issued by a corporation, typically for financing inventories, accounts receivable or for meeting short-term liabilities. The commercial paper is typically issued for no more than 270 days.
Arkansas Electric Cooperative issued up to $210 million in commercial paper last year.
Fitch said Arkansas Electric Cooperative's line of credit gives it sufficient support for the commercial paper rating.
Harley-Davidson to sell bikes in India
NEW YORK - Harley-Davidson Inc. said Thursday that it will begin selling motorcycles next year in India, the world's second largest motorcycle market, where the company hopes its iconic, heavyweight bikes will find a niche among the country's rising middle class.
The Milwaukee-based company said it has established a subsidiary near Delhi and begun scouting the country for dealers.
India is the world's largest market for motorcycles behind China, but it is overwhelmingly dominated by smaller, inexpensive bikes used primarily for transportation, said Dilip Chenoy, director general of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
Still, Harley said the country's growing economy, rising middle class and expanded highway construction has created a market for leisure motorcycle riders.
Harley's entry in India marks a major win for the motorcycle maker, which has been seeking a foothold in that market for years.
The company first launched plans to enter the Indian market in 2007, but the venture was delayed by two obstacles: emissions standards and tariffs on imported motorcycles as high as 60 percent.
Spokesman Bob Klein said a change in Indian emissions standards has paved the way for the company's entry.
Shares of Harley-Davidson fell 6 cents to $21.89 in morning trading on Thursday.
Business, Pages 30 on 08/28/2009