Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 6, 1993 TAG: 9302080249
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
IN BUSINESS
Fixed-rate mortgages hit new 20-year lowWASHINGTON - Interest on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to a new 20-year low this week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Friday. The average rate was 7.8 percent, down from 7.86 percent last week. It was the lowest weekly average since 7.76 percent in the week ended June 29, 1973.
The decline, the eighth in nine weeks, is drawing buyers into the housing market and encouraging refinancing by homeowners who did not get a chance to refinance earlier.
Mortgage rates declined much of last year, hitting 7.84 percent in the week ended Sept. 11. As financial market traders grew nervous about the prospect of Democrat Bill Clinton winning the presidency, rates started climbing.
"The fundamentals point to lower long-term interest rates," said economist James A. Christian, a Boerne, Texas, consultant. "How much, I don't know, but it would not astound me to see mortgage rates . . . in the low 7s before this year is over."
On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, rates averaged 5.06 percent this week, the same as last week.
James Dean group sues McDonald's
INDIANAPOLIS - The company that owns the rights to James Dean's likeness has filed a lawsuit against McDonald's for using a look-alike in an Australian commercial.
"James Dean's popularity has been increasing in Australia and New Zealand the last couple of years," said Dean T. Barnhard, attorney for the Indianapolis-based Curtis Management Group, which also represents Dean's relatives.
The suit, which seeks more than $1 million in damages, was filed Thursday against McDonald's operations in Australia and the United States. It also names DDB Needham Sydney PTY, an Australian advertising company.
American Airlines has cutback plans
American Airlines, the nation's biggest carrier, said Friday it will scale back within two years, possibly closing hubs and reducing the number of planes it flies.
"We will very likely become a smaller airline, not overnight but eventually," said Chairman Robert Crandall.
American will decide by March the future of about 140 aircraft and of unprofitable hubs in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and San Jose, Calif., said American chief financial officer Michael Durham. Layoffs would be a possibility, he said.