Fixed mortgage rates hold steady

Fixed mortgage rates hold steady

WASHINGTON

Fixed mortgage rates were mostly unchanged this week, hovering near their annual lows.

The average rate on the 30-year loan rose slightly to 4.51 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday. It hit its lowest level of the year three weeks ago, at 4.49 percent.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, stayed at 3.69 percent. It reached its low point of the year two weeks ago, at 3.67 percent.

Rates typically track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which has been rising in the past week.

That could change this week when the Federal Reserve’s $600 billion bond-buying program ends.

The Fed has purchased around $75 billion worth of bonds each month since November. That drove the yield on the 10-year Treasury note lower than 3 percent this spring. As a result, rates on mortgages and other loans also fell.

Jobless tax for employers expiring

WASHINGTON

Nearly every private employer in the U.S. will get a tax cut today.

It won’t affect workers’ paychecks. But the expiration of a 35-year-old “temporary” unemployment tax — about $14 a year per worker — will mean real money for some big companies at a time when President Barack Obama is pushing Congress to raise taxes on businesses by closing some loopholes.

Amid a fierce debate over whether higher taxes should be part of a deal to reduce annual deficits — in exchange for letting the government go further into debt — the small cut in federal unemployment taxes has received little attention on Capitol Hill. Most employers probably don’t even know they are getting it, especially those who are being hit with bigger increases in state jobless taxes.

But business groups say every little bit helps, whether you’re a small employer struggling to make a payroll or a huge company such as Wal-Mart, with more than 1.4 million U.S. workers. That’s nearly $20 million a year in savings for Wal-Mart.

Dow climbs 480 points in 4 days

NEW YORK

Four days, 480 points.

That’s how the Dow Jones industrial average closed the final four days of June. The Dow added more than 150 points Thursday alone after Greece cleared the final hurdle needed to receive its next installment of emergency loans. A pickup in manufacturing around Chicago also pushed indexes higher.

The weeklong rally began Monday when Nike Inc. reported quarterly results that showed that consumers were spending more than expected. The stock market’s gains put it on track for the best week since July of last year.

It was a stunning reversal from the beginning of the month, when the Dow dropped nearly 280 points in one day. The first day of June, reports showed that auto sales fell sharply in May and that private companies were hiring far fewer people than expected.

From wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .62, 21.98 .09

Avalon Holdings,2.7499.00

Clear Channel, .63 58.79 .68

Cortland Bancorp, 7.15.15

Farmers Nat., .12, 4.94 .13

First Energy, 2.20, 44.15.20

FirstMerit Corp., .64,16.51 —.03

First Niles Financial, .32,7.17.00

First Place Fin., 1.15—.01

FNB Corp., .48,10.35—.01

General Motors,30.36.06

General Electric, .60,18.86.30

Motors Liquidation, .0422.00

Huntington Bank, .04, 6.56.02

JP Morgan Chase, 1.00,40.94.49

Key Corp, .12,8.33.04

LaFarge, 15.54 .30

Macy’s, .40, 29.24.48

Parker Hannifin, 1.48, 89.742.82

PNC, 1.40,59.61.67

RTI Intl. Metals,38.37.56

Rural/Metro, 17.24 —.01

Simon Prop. Grp.,3.20,116.23.49

Stoneridge 14.74 —.01

United Community Fin. 1.27.03

Selected prices at 4 p.m. Thursday. Provided by Stifel Nicolaus. Not to be construed as an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security.