A matter of interest: The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has risen this week after falling to new record lows in each of the past 13 weeks. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reports the rate on the 30-year loan jumped to 3.55%. That’s up from 3.49% last week, which was the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, increased to 2.83%. That’s also above last week’s record low of 2.80%.
In all their summer fashions: Hot weather and clearance sales drew Americans into stores in July, giving retailers solid sales gains and helping to offset worries about jobs and the economy. Results came in better than expected for many retailers: an encouraging sign as the back-to-school season, the second-biggest shopping season behind the holidays, kicks off. Reuters reports this morning that three-quarters of retailers are saying their sales beat expectations in July. Get all the details in the full story here.
Looking far off into the east: China’s Twitter was raucous this morning with horn-tooting over Beijing’s gold rush at the London Olympics, a digital reflection of the nation’s exuberant mood—embellished with flashing emoticons. Launched in 2009, China’s leading microblog site, Sina Weibo, has given a digital megaphone to more than 300 million Chinese, prompting many to wonder if it might drive Arab Spring-style political change and democratic reforms. Others see the platform as a brilliant new surveillance tool for the communist government in Beijing. Read the full feature from The Associated Press here.
