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Fewer Americans File For Jobless Claims As Applications Remain At Elevated, But Not Troubling Levels

Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but applications remained at recently elevated, though not troubling levels. Jobless claims for the week ending July 20 fell by 10,000 to 235,000 from 245,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It’s the ninth straight week claims came in above 220,000. Before that stretch, claims had been below that number in all but three weeks so far in 2024. Weekly unemployment claims are widely considered as representative of layoffs, and though they have been slightly higher the past couple of months, they ...

Average Rate On 30-Year Mortgage Inches To 6.78%, First Uptick In Three Weeks

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mortgage rates inched higher this week, keeping the average rate on a 30-year mortgage essentially flat and near the 7% range it’s been in most of this year. The rate rose to 6.78% from 6.77% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.81%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also edged up this week, pushing the average rate up to 6..07% from 6.05% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.11%, Freddie Mac said. “Mortgage rates essentially remained flat ...

NY Community Bancorp Subsidiary Selling Residential Mortgage Servicing Business For $1.4B

A subsidiary of New York Community Bancorp, Flagstar Bank, is selling its residential mortgage servicing business to Mr. Cooper Group Inc. for about $1.4 billion. The sale includes mortgage servicing rights and the third-party origination platform. NYCB has struggled in the past year with its acquisition of Signature Bank, one of a pair of banks that failed in early 2023 due to rising interest rates. The bank has had to get multiple lifelines from investors, and in exchange the bank is restructuring its entire business and balance sheet to make both the Signature purchase, as well as ...

Small Stocks Are About To Take Over? Wall Street Has Heard That Before

NEW YORK (AP) — Suddenly, smaller stocks seem to be making bigger noise on Wall Street. After getting trounced by their larger rivals for years, some of the smallest stocks on Wall Street have shown much more life recently. Hopes for coming cuts to interest rates have pushed investors to ...

Styling On A Budget

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart has spent three years overhauling its mix of adult apparel to make it stylish as well as sensible for middle America. Now, the nation’s largest retailer is seizing the back-to-school shopping season to take another shot at fashion respectability. The company plans ...