Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 24, 1993 TAG: 9309240413
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
WASHINGTON - The Teamsters union told United Parcel Service late Wednesday it will not extend its contract with the carrier beyond next Wednesday, dramatically raising the chances of a strike against the nation's largest transportation company.
UPS said it was surprised by the move but had no plans to turn away shipments or tell its 1.2 million regular customers to find alternate transportation services.
Fearing the worst, however, nervous traffic managers began leafing through their files for contingency plans Thursday.
The Teamsters invoked a clause in a July 30 agreement that allows either side to cancel the contract by providing advance notice of five business days. The agreement was signed the day before the current contract was set to expire.
Both sides were still negotiating Thursday and said they intended to continue talking throughout the weekend. - Journal of Commerce
Home loan rates still below 7 percent
WASHINGTON - Interest rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell slightly this week, remaining below 7 percent for the fifth consecutive week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.
This week's average was 6.95 percent, down from 6.96 percent the previous week but above the 25-year low of 6.82 percent two weeks ago.
The rate started 1993 at 8.07 percent and declined for most of the year, except briefly during the spring when investors became temporarily nervous about inflation.
On one-year adjustable rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 4.34 percent, down from 4.36 percent last week.
Fifteen-year mortgages, an increasingly popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 6.47 percent this week, down from 6.49 percent last week. - Associated Press
by CNB