Mortgage rates fall for second week
Mortgage rates moved lower again this week, only the second time this year that rates have fallen in back-to-back weeks.
According to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 4.54 percent with an average 0.5 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.) It was 4.56 percent a week ago and 3.89 percent a year ago.
The 15-year fixed-rate average fell to 4.01 percent with an average 0.4 point. It was 4.06 percent a week ago and 3.16 percent a year ago. The five-year adjustable rate average dropped to 3.74 percent with an average 0.4 point. It was 3.80 percent a week ago and 3.11 percent a year ago.
The hangover from global events surrounding Spain and Italy lingered into this week, which moderated mortgage rates. But the pause seems short-lived. Indications are that rates will resume their upward march, particularly after the Federal Reserve meets next week when the central bank is widely expected to raise its benchmark rate.
-- The Washington Post
Retailers want say on credit-card rules
Lobbyists for Walmart and other retailers are joining forces with companies that process payments in the latest battle over the $90 billion that U.S. merchants pay banks annually to process credit and debit-card charges.
Trade groups including the National Retail Federation announced Thursday that they've joined with Washington advocates for companies such as First Data Corp. They want regulators and lawmakers to give more companies a say in setting standards for card security and new payment technologies.
"We want a seat at the table," said Doug Kantor, a lobbyist at Steptoe & Johnson who is leading the new group, called the Secure Payments Partnership. "We are not looking to start another fight but if that's what happens, then that's what happens." Retailers say networks like Visa and Mastercard make decisions such as which industry is on the hook when cards are stolen. Financial firms counter that retailers and tech companies do have representatives who weigh in on rules for credit cards. They say retailers are just trying to pay less in so-called swipe fees.
-- Bloomberg News
Walmart sues ex-tax chief who left firm
Walmart sued its former chief tax officer for violating her employment agreement by defecting to online rival Amazon.com, the latest broadside in the slugfest between the two retail giants.
Lisa Wadlin, Walmart's senior vice president and top tax executive, wrongfully left the Bentonville, Ark.-based chain last month to move to Amazon's headquarters in Seattle, Walmart officials said Wednesday in a lawsuit. They're seeking to stop Wadlin from taking the Amazon position until May 2020 and bar her from handing over "sensitive business information obtained at Walmart."
"Wadlin's pursuit of employment with Amazon eviscerates the contractual terms Walmart bargained for" in her employment pact, Walmart's lawyers said in the Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit. Walmart said it's seeking to protect its rights to lawfully restrict "senior employee's ability to work for its direct competitor."
Wadlin replied to a request for comment in a message on LinkedIn, writing: "No comment."
-- Bloomberg News
Consumer borrowing slowed in April.
WASHINGTON -- Americans increased their borrowing in April at the slowest pace in seven months, dragged by a big slowdown in the category that covers auto and student loans.
Consumer debt rose $9.3 billion in April after a gain of $12.3 billion in March, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday. It was the smallest monthly increase since a rise of $8.6 billion in September.
The category that includes credit cards climbed $2.3 billion in April after falling by $1.1 billion in March. But the category that includes auto loans and student loans rose $7 billion in April, just about half of the $13.4 billion March increase.
Consumer borrowing trends are closely monitored for clues they can provide about the willingness of consumers to borrow more to support their spending.
-- The Associated Press
N.C. Senate wants to shield hog farms
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Senators in the country's No. 2 hog-growing state sought Thursday to further shield industrial-scale hog operations from lawsuits by neighbors who have long complained that open-air animal waste pits comparable to city sewage plants are a blight on their daily lives.
North Carolina's Senate tentatively approved legislation to make it more difficult to successfully file lawsuits that claim a new or expanded agricultural operation created a nuisance for existing neighbors.
Lawmakers acted weeks after neighbors won a $51 million jury verdict from pork giant Smithfield Foods after decades of complaints about horrible smells and other nuisances to politicians friendly to the pork industry. That was cut to about $3 million because North Carolina law limits damages meant to punish misdeeds.
Republican senators defended new barriers to nuisance lawsuits, saying they imperiled farm owners with Smithfield contracts and therefore rural economies.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 06/08/2018