Chrysler to repay $7.5B in bailout
Chrysler to repay $7.5B in bailout
DETROIT
Chrysler will soon repay $7.5 billion in bailout money from the U.S. and Canadian governments, another sign that the company is recovering from its near-collapse two years ago.
The company will pay back that government debt later this quarter using money from new bank loans and an upcoming bond sale. Chrysler has been negotiating a loan-refinancing deal with Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America. Details could be disclosed Monday.
The refinancing would allow Chrysler to repay a big chunk of the bailout from the U.S. and Canada that helped the company get through bankruptcy in 2009. It also would help the automaker save millions by lowering interest payments and bolster its case for a public stock offering as early as the end this year.
More signed home contracts in March
WASHINGTON
More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in March, but sales were uneven across the country and were not enough to signal a rebound in the housing market.
Sales agreements for homes rose 5.1 percent last month to a reading of 94.1, according to the National Association of Realtors’ pending home-sales index released Thursday.
Signings are about 24 percent above June’s index reading, the low point since the housing bust. Still, the index is below 100, which is considered a healthy level. The last time it reached that point was in April, the final month people could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit of up to $8,000.
30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.78%
NEW YORK
Fixed mortgage rates dipped this week, with the rate on the 30-year loan staying under 5 percent and the 15-year loan falling below 4 percent.
Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.78 percent from 4.80 percent the previous week. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage slipped to 3.97 percent from 4.02 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.
Microsoft earnings grow 31 percent
Microsoft Corp.’s latest quarterly earnings rose 31 percent even as sales of its Windows operating system sagged.
The fiscal third-quarter results released Thursday exceeded analyst estimates.
Still, it marks the second- straight quarter that revenue in Microsoft’s Windows division has dropped from the previous year.
That may heighten investor worries that Microsoft’s lucrative franchise of licensing software for personal computers may be heading into a gradual decline.
Revenue in Microsoft’s Windows division fell 4 percent, slightly worse than the fall-off in PC shipments tracked by the research firm IDC for the same three0month stretch ending in March.
Associated Press