RECORD LOW ON AVERAGE 30-YEAR FIXED MORTGAGE
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates have sunk to a record low, giving many homeowners an opening to refinance their loans to free up money to spend or save.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit a record low of 3.29% this week, down from 3.45% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
The decline is being driven by investors shifting money out of the stock market and into the safety of U.S. Treasurys as the coronavirus outbreak has deepened.
Productivity increased in fourth quarter.
W A SHINGTON» U.S. productivity rebounded during the final three months of last year, but by a smaller amount than initially reported, while labor costs increased at a slower pace than first thought.
The Labor Department said Thursday that productivity grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.2% in the fourth quarter.
That was down slightly from an initial estimate of a 1.4% gain but still an improvement over a productivity decline of 0.3% in the third quarter.
Eyeing turnaround, Gap selects Old Navy executive as new CEO.
NEW YORK» Gap on Thursday named an executive at its Old Navy brand as its new CEO in the hopes that she can turn the struggling company around.
Sonia Syngal, who has overseen the Old Navy brand since 2016, will start later this month. The clothing company has been looking for a permanent CEO after Art Peck left in November.
Old Navy has been a bright spot for Gap, and the company had planned to spin it off into a separate company. But those plans were scrapped this year because of high costs.
“Simple greed”: Ex-UAW leader Jones charged. DETROIT» Prosecutors on Thursday charged the former president of the United Auto Workers with corruption, alleging that he plotted with others to embezzle more than $1 million to splurge on private villas, golf outings, boozy meals and horseback rides on beaches.
The federal government has been marching toward Gary Jones for months, after an embarrassing search of his Detroit-area home and a series of guilty pleas in a wide-ranging investigation of UAW leaders living the high life while representing bluecollar workers.
Jones was charged with conspiring to embezzle, to aid racketeering and to defraud the government.
Gas driller pulls out of talks in lawsuit against resident. One of Pennsylvania’s largest gas drillers pulled out of talks aimed at resolving its $5 million lawsuit against a resident whose drinking water was contaminated and who has spent years bashing the energy industry.
Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. sued Dimock resident Ray Kemble and his former lawyers in 2017, claiming they tried to extort the company through frivolous litigation. Cabot also claims Kemble violated a 2012 settlement agreement by repeatedly “spouting lies” about the company in public. Kemble, a high-profile fracking opponent who has traveled the country talking about his experiences with the gas industry, charges that Cabot is trying to shut him up.
OPEC calls for big production cut, but will Russia
agree? » The VIENN A
OPEC oil cartel is calling for a deep production cut to keep crude prices from falling further as disruption to global business from the coronavirus slashes demand from air travel and industry.
Oil ministers from the 14 OPEC countries decided at a meeting Thursday to push for a cut of 1.5 million barrels per day, or about 1.5% of total world supply.
Russia’s agreement is not certain, however. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh noted that Russia has been reluctant to go along with cuts. Asked whether OPEC had a Plan B if Russia does not go along, he replied: “No, we have no other plan.”