Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 13, 1995 TAG: 9507140023
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CHICAGO - Minority mortgage applicants with marginal credit histories are less likely to get mortgage loans than white applicants with similar histories, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Wednesday.
A study found white applicants with a history of past-due loans were approved for mortgages 91 percent of the time, while black and Hispanic applicants with marginal credit were approved 82 percent of the time.
The study also found that race was not a significant factor for applicants with good credit records. Minority mortgage applicants with good credit histories were accepted 95 percent of the time, while white applicants with similar histories were approved 96 percent of the time.
Marginal applicants are defined as those with one or more accounts 60 days past due.
- Associated Press
Indicators slipping in Virginia region
RICHMOND - Most indicators of manufacturing, retailing and service-sector activity decreased last month in a five-state region that includes Virginia, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported.
The monthly survey of business conditions covers the Fifth Federal Reserve District, which includes Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and most of West Virginia.
In manufacturing, indexes for shipments and employment fell, while indexes for new orders and the work week were mostly unchanged. The backlog index rose.
Manufacturers reported that finished goods prices rose at an annual rate of 0.76 percent in June, compared with 0.74 percent in May. Prices for raw material rose at an annual rate of 1.39 percent in June, compared with 1.88 in May.
Finished goods prices are expected to rise in the next six months at an annual rate of 0.81 percent, down from May's prediction of 1.44 percent. Prices for raw material are expected to rise at an annual rate of 1.57 percent, compared with May's prediction of 2.15 percent.
In the retail and service sectors, respondents said prices rose slower than the general rate of inflation in June.
- Associated Press
Circuit City ranks as nation's 28th
RICHMOND - Consumer electronics giant Circuit City Stores Inc. is now the country's 28th-largest retailer and remains the largest retailer based in Virginia.
Best Products Co. Inc., a catalog showroom retailer also based in Richmond, was 88th in an annual ranking of the top 100 retailers prepared by the National Retail Federation. The company was 87th last year.
Circuit City moved up six places on the list. Its sales increased 35 percent last year.
The two companies were the only Virginia-based retailers on the list, which appears in the July issue of Stores magazine.
- Associated Press
Chinese car plant goes to Germany
BEIJING - China awarded a contract for a $1 billion minivan plant to Germany's Daimler-Benz AG Wednesday, passing over U.S. automakers Chrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Co.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said the decision was not connected to recent political friction between the United States and China. The U.S. companies lost ``for commercial reasons rather than Chinese restrictions against U.S. businesses in the country,'' Shen said.
- Washington Post
by CNB