30-year mortgage rate rises to 3.91%
WASHINGTON -- Long-term mortgage rates rose for a second-straight week as the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 3.91 percent from 3.85 percent a week ago.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the 15-year home loan, frequently used by homeowners who refinanced their mortgages, also jumped, rising to 3.21 percent from 3.15 percent.
Mortgage rates have picked up a bit in the past month. The average 30-year rate fell to 3.78 percent in early September, its lowest level this year.
Rates on home loans typically track the yield on 10-year Treasury notes, which have increased in recent weeks. Federal Reserve policymakers indicated in a meeting last month that they are likely to raise short-term rates for the third time this year in December, a move that can also lift longer-term rates.
The average fee for a 30-year mortgage was unchanged from last week at 0.5 point. The fee on 15-year loans also remained at 0.5 point.
-- The Associated Press
U.S. producer price gauge climbs 0.4%
WASHINGTON -- Rising energy costs led prices at the wholesale level to climb 0.4 percent in September -- a bout of inflation that happened after Hurricane Harvey closed a critical number of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.
The sharp rise is expected to be temporary as the effects of the hurricane fade.
The Labor Department said Thursday that its producer price index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, has risen 2.6 percent over the past 12 months. September's burst of inflation is likely the result of oil refineries shuttering along the Gulf of Mexico toward the end of August. As a result, gasoline prices surged 10.9 percent in September.
The jump in producer prices is occurring after years of subdued inflation.
-- The Associated Press
Jobless-aid claims fall 15,000 in week
WASHINGTON -- Fewer people sought unemployment benefits last week as the effect of last month's hurricanes on the U.S. economy fades.
Applications for U.S. unemployment aid fell 15,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 243,000. Applications fell in Texas and Florida, where Hurricanes Harvey and Irma inflicted heavy damage in late August and September.
The number of people receiving benefits nationwide fell 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.89 million, the lowest level since late December 1973.
Applications had spiked to 298,000 after Harvey hit Texas in late August but have mostly fallen since then.
-- The Associated Press
6 California pot farms go up in smoke
For many businesses in Northern California, it will take years to rebuild from the wildfires that have decimated the region. For many legal cannabis growers, the destruction could be insurmountable.
At least six marijuana farms have been destroyed, said Hezekiah Allen, executive director at the California Growers Association. That number is likely to rise significantly as communications come back online and people who have evacuated the area are allowed to return and assess damages.
The growers face a challenging outlook because they don't have access to a key lifeline in the world of agriculture: crop insurance. They also have little, if any, access to loans as banks continue to shy away from businesses selling a product that's illegal under federal law. If the region receives federal relief, pot farmers can't get that either. So their cost of rebuilding will be entirely out of pocket.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency across eight counties as 22 large fires have burned about 170,000 acres, according to Cal Fire, the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The size of the marijuana fields destroyed were about a quarter of an acre on average, Allen said. One farm was burned in the Atlas Fire in the Napa Valley, three were lost in the Santa Rosa area and at least two were destroyed in Mendocino.
-- Bloomberg News
No gas-powered cars by '30, Paris says
PARIS -- The noise of car engines enveloping the streets of the French capital might in the future become a memory for Paris pedestrians.
In its latest initiative to reduce pollution, Paris City Hall is planning to ban gas-powered cars by 2030. The move follows Mayor Anne Hidalgo's plan to ban all diesel cars from the city by 2024, when Paris will host the Summer Olympics.
Speaking on France Info radio, the Paris deputy mayor in charge of transport, Christophe Nadjovski, said "we have planned the end of thermic vehicle use, and therefore of fossil energies, by 2030."
Hidalgo has angered many Parisians with her efforts to make Paris a greener city, notably by adding cycling paths that have slowed vehicle traffic along the Seine River.
-- The Associated Press
New wealthiest person in China named
HONG KONG -- Property tycoon Xu Jiayin has vaulted to the top of a Chinese rich list after his wealth quadrupled, knocking Wang Jianlin off his longtime position at No. 1.
The Hurun Report, China's best-known list of its wealthiest people, estimated that wealth held by Xu, founder of developer Evergrande, surged to $43 billion, moving him up nine places from last year.
Another property mogul, Yang Huiyan of developer Country Garden, rose 18 spots to fourth place as her fortune more than tripled to $24 billion.
Wang, head of real estate and leisure conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, fell from first to fifth place as his wealth shrank 28 percent to $23 billion, the report said. He had held the top spot since 2013.
The changes reflect how savvy real estate investors have benefited from soaring Chinese property prices that have driven apartment sales even as China has sought to cool the market, Hurun Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hoogewerf said.
"They've put a lot of their eggs in that basket and they're reaping their rewards," Hoogewerf said.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 10/13/2017