| Fed's rate cuts ignite a rush to refinance
A positive note in the chorus of bad economic news sounds loudly, like a call to arms. Or, as happened after the Federal Reserve dropped short-term interest rates three-quarters of a percentage point Tuesday, a race to refinance. The refinancing frenzy began right after the Fed's announcement, local brokers and bankers reported. The 10-year Treasury bond rates on which fixed mortgages are based also fell, and interest rates for 30-year loans plunged as far as 5.125 percent, the lowest level since spring 2004. On Jan. 1, the 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.07 percent; it has ranged between 6 percent and 6.5 percent for two years. Though the number of refinancing applications will not be available until Wednesday from the Mortgage Bankers Association, newspaper and television accounts from Bangor, Maine, to Los Angeles described a boom in activity.
AMR Corporation Reports a Third Quarter Profit of $175 Million
FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, Inc., today reported a net profit of $175 million for the third quarter of 2007, or $0.61 per diluted share. As disclosed in AMR's Sept. 21 investor update, the results for the third quarter of 2007 include the impact of a $40 million charge, or $0.13 per diluted share, to reflect an adjustment for additional salary and benefit expense accruals related to years 2003 through 2006 and the first six months of 2007. The current quarter results compare to a net profit of $15 million for the third quarter of 2006, or $0.06 per diluted share. The year-ago results included a $99 million non-cash charge in Other Income (Expense) to reduce the book value of certain outstanding fuel hedge contracts.
Seattle Investor Group Calm as Markets Swing
It certainly could be. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages have been dropping since Christmas. The average is now 5.5 percent, quite low by historical standards. So if you have an adjustable rate mortgage that's going to reset, now could be an excellent to time to swap into a fixed-rate loan. Lending standards have changed since the "anything goes" days of the housing bubble that burst last fall. "Here's why," says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with bankrate.com, a personal finance Web site. "There are actually standards now. Instead of the loan requirement being the ability to fog a mirror, the people now in the best position to get mortgages have good credit, proof of income and either money for a down payment or equity in an existing house." Lower interest rates will take some of the sting out of adjustable rate loans that are resetting higher.
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