NATION

NATION

Thanksgiving week saw rise in mortgage activity

WASHINGTON — Mortgage application volume more than doubled during the shortened Thanksgiving week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly application survey.

The trade group’s application index surged to 857.7 in the week ended Nov. 28, up from 404.4 a week earlier. The heightened activity in a holiday-shortened week came as average rates on some fixed-rate mortgages tumbled more than a half percentage point.

Refinance volume more than tripled, while purchase volume increased 38 percent during the week. Refinance volume accounted for 69.1 percent of all applications, up from 49.3 percent the previous week.

Bally Total Fitness files for bankruptcy protection

NEW YORK — Bally Total Fitness Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday for the second time in less than two years, hindered by debt and limited refinancing options amid the credit crunch.

The Chicago-based gym operator will use existing cash reserves to continue operating. Bally, which again filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, plans to sell itself or reorganize under Chapter 11.

Early last year, faced with more than $800 million in debt and $45 million in cash, Bally defaulted on its debt. The company’s shares were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange for failing to meet minimum price and market capitalization requirements.

Associated Press