Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, left, greets witnesses before a meeting where the FCC will vote on net neutrality, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)FCC to review rule on station ownership
The Federal Communications Commission is voting on party lines to kick off a review of how many TV stations one company can own.
The current limit, in place for more than a decade, says that one company can’t own TV stations that reach more than 39 percent of the U.S. population. The FCC will determine over the next several months if it should eliminate or change that cap.
Consumer groups worry that raising or getting rid of the cap will lead to more consolidation and fewer voices in local TV, including news broadcasts.
The ownership limit is also a contentious issue because right-leaning broadcaster, Sinclair Broadcast, wants to buy rival Tribune Media. That deal still needs regulatory approval. If cleared, the combined company would reach more than 70 percent of U.S. households.
VW had some role in Brazil dictatorship
Volkswagen said Thursday that a study into its role during Brazil’s 1964-85 military dictatorship concluded that some site security officials at its operations in Brazil cooperated with the regime but there was no clear evidence the collaboration was “institutionalized.”
The German automaker has faced accusations it collaborated with the military government and drew up black lists on employees. The company last year commissioned Christopher Kopper, a history professor at Germany’s Bielefeld University, to examine its role.
The company said Kopper concluded “there was cooperation between individuals of site security at Volkswagen do Brasil and the former military regime. But there is also no clear evidence found that the cooperation was institutionalized by the company.”
Kopper’s report said he found no clear evidence of “material assistance” for operating a military torture center.
Mortgage rate dips to 3.93 percent
The rate on 30-year fixed-rate U.S. mortgages slipped to 3.93 percent this week.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the benchmark 30-year home loan rate was down from 3.94 percent last week and 4.16 percent a year ago.
The rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular with those refinancing their homes, was unchanged this week at 3.36 percent. It was 3.37 percent a year ago.
The rate on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 3.36 percent from 3.35 percent last week and 3.19 percent a year ago.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates for the third time in 2017. “The market had already priced in the rate hike, so long-term interest rates, including mortgage rates, hardly moved,” said Len Kiefer, a Freddie Mac economist.
Delta orders 100 more Airbus jets
Delta Air Lines has picked Europe’s Airbus over Boeing for a huge order of new jets. Delta said Thursday that it will order 100 Airbus A321neo jets with a sticker price of $12.7 billion and take an option to buy another 100 jets, a deal that Chicago-based Boeing had hoped to land.
Financial terms of the order were not disclosed so it isn’t known how much Delta will actually pay Airbus. Airlines typically get huge discounts off the sticker price of new planes.