30-year mortgages stay below 3%
Mortgage rates were flat to lower this week, with the average for the key 30-year home loan below 3% for the sixth straight week.
Uncertainty over the surging delta coronavirus variant and its potential effect on the U.S. economic recovery remained as a backdrop suppressing mortgage rates.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average for the 30-year mortgage fell to 2.77% from 2.80% last week. The benchmark rate, which reached a peak this year of 3.18% in April, stood at 2.88% a year ago.
The rate for a 15-year loan, a popular option among homeowners refinancing their mortgages, remained at a historically low 2.10%.
Concerns have been mounting in global financial markets around the delta variant's spread in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and especially in China, which is on high alert as it confronts hundreds of fresh cases.
Jobless claims drop by 14,000
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week by 14,000 to 385,000, more evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding briskly from the coronavirus recession.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that unemployment claims - a proxy for layoffs - dropped last week from a revised 399,000 the week before. The applications have more or less fallen steadily since topping 900,000 in early January.
Still, they remain high by historic levels: Before the pandemic slammed the United States in March 2020, they were coming in at around 220,000 a week.
FAA head wants charges against unruly passengers
The nation's top aviation regulator is asking local officials to consider filing criminal charges more often against people who act up during airline flights.
Federal Aviation Administration chief Stephen Dickson says airline crews often ask police to meet their plane when it lands because of unruly passengers. In some cases, flight attendants report being assaulted.
Dickson says many of the passengers are interviewed by police and then released without any charges. He calls that a missed opportunity to hold passengers accountable for dangerous behavior.
Stock market hits another record high
Stocks rose on Wall Street Thursday, notching more record highs for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Investors were encouraged by improving job market data and some solid corporate earnings reports.
The S&P 500 added 0.6% and the Nasdaq rose 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8%. Smaller company stocks far outpaced the broader market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.21%.
Trade deficit hits record $75.7 billion
The U.S. trade deficit increased to a record $75.7 billion in June as a rebounding American economy sent demand for imports surging.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the deficit rose 6.7% from a revised May deficit of $71 billion. The June deficit set a record, topping the old mark of $75 billion set in March.
The trade deficit represents the gap between what the country exports to the rest of the world and what it purchases from other countries. In June, exports edged up a modest 0.5% to $207.7 billion while imports surged 2.1% to $283.4 billion.
- Compiled by Dave Flessner