A long wait: Louisiana is one of 13 states in which progress on closing the gender wage gap is so slow that a girl born in 2017 will not see equal pay during her working life, a new state analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research says. The gender income gap is an oft-discussed topic in Louisiana, where women on average earn just 66 cents for every dollar a man earns. Nationally, the report notes that women make 80 cents for every one dollar a man makes. The disparities are even greater for women of color in the U.S. and in the state. The wage gap in Louisiana is not projected to close until 2115. Read the full report.
Stepping back: The founding family that controls the Frank’s International oilfield services firm is reducing its ownership stake. FuelFix.com reports the company, which operates out of Houston, was founded by Frank Mosing in 1938 in Louisiana and went public in 2013. But the Mosing family retained about 85% of the company after it began trading on Wall Street. The company revealed today that Mosing family members sold 5.6 million shares to Morgan Stanley, reducing their controlling ownership down to about 75%. Morgan Stanley intends to sell much of the stock to third parties. Read the full story.
Downward slide: Long-term U.S. mortgage rates slid this week from their highest levels of 2017, The Associated Press reports. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the rate on 30-year, fixed-rate home loans fell to 4.23% from 4.30% last week. The benchmark rate stood at 3.71% a year ago and averaged 3.65% in 2016, lowest in records dating to 1971. The rate on 15-year mortgages tumbled to 3.44% from 3.50%. Last week’s rates were the highest of 2017. Mortgage rates rose sharply after the Nov. 8 election. Investors bid rates up because they expect President Donald Trump’s plans to cut taxes and increase spending on defense and infrastructure to push economic growth and inflation higher. Read the full story.
