Interest Rates

Looking for a mortgage that exceeds $729,750? Not long ago, you would have been charged about 8% interest on a loan that large -- if you could find a lender willing to grant you one. Now, rates on these "jumbo" loans are much more affordable, having settled in the low 6% range, on average, for the last few weeks. But taking advantage of the lower rates remains tough.

Rising long-term interest rates are making it more expensive for home buyers, corporations and the U.S. government to borrow money, threatening to further stifle an already weak economy. In just the last two weeks, the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has risen to 5.6% from 4.9%, ending a boom in refinancing and working against a budding recovery in the housing market. Rates on corporate borrowing have also risen, making it more expensive for companies to expand.

NEW YORK -- With the stock market in a bit of a news lull, investors weren't making any big moves. Stocks fell today in absence of any major corporate or economic developments. Investors are also cautious ahead of earnings reports from major retailers and a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve on interest rates that starts Tuesday. The day's modest action wasn't surprising after major indicators jumped 1 percent last week, including a surge Friday in response to the government's stronger-than-expected jobs report.

Fast-money lender CashCall Inc.-- known for TV ads featuring faded child star Gary Coleman talking about his financial problems -- agreed Monday to pay $1 million to settle state prosecutors' allegations that the company ran deceptive ads and used "loan shark tactics" to collect debt from customers. CashCall specializes in making loans in as little as one day with only a signature needed to get cash. But the Anaheim company charges most customers extremely high interest rates while advertising that its rates are low, according to a civil complaint filed by the California attorney general's office.

If the stock market's seemingly unstoppable march higher is to be believed, the economy is firmly on the road to recovery. Several key events on the economic calendar this week may help determine whether that conviction holds up. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's prediction last week that the worst of the recession was "likely over" helped sustain the markets' gains, which brought the Standard & Poor's 500 index up 2.5% through Friday....

NEW YORK -- Stocks are rising in early trading as commodities rebound ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates. Commodities like oil and gold are also bouncing back Tuesday from the previous day's sell-off amid a weaker dollar. The gains in stocks and commodities come as the Fed prepares for a two-day rate-setting meeting. Investors are hoping the Fed will offer up a clearer picture of the economic recovery, as well as some indication of when it may decide to raise interest rates, though it's expected to keep rates near zero for the time being.

The Federal Reserve today maintained short-term interest rates at near zero and offered no indication of any imminent change in that policy, even as the central bank gave a more upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy. Since its previous monetary policy meeting in mid-August, "economic activity has picked up following its severe downturn," the Fed said in a statement. Moreover, the panel noted, activity in the long-struggling housing sector has increased. However, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues on the 12-member group said that consumer spending, while apparently stabilizing, continued to be constrained by job losses and sluggish income growth.

NEW YORK -- Stocks are little changed in early trading as investors await the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. The U.S. central bank is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low of near zero, but investors are hoping for a clearer indication of when the Fed may raise rates in the future. Investors will also be looking for more clues about the strength of the economy's recovery in the statement to be released at the conclusion of the Fed's two-day policy meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The home mortgage market, propped up by more than $1 trillion in government money, is flashing a strong "buy" sign to house hunters. Extending a summer-long slide, the average interest rate on new 30-year fixed-rate loans nationwide has broken through the 5% barrier to 4.97%, nearing the lowest level in decades, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. reported this week. And mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac, which separately tracks rates, reported Thursday that the average fixed rate on a 15-year home loan had dropped to 4.46%, the lowest level on record.

Mortgage rates sank near all-time lows this week, according to giant home-loan buyer Freddie Mac -- at least for those borrowers who have survived the recession with their credit ratings still solid and who are able to put 20% down. For those lucky people, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage during the week ending Thursday was 4.94%, with borrowers paying 0.7% of the loan amount in upfront fees and points to the lender. (Paying points, each one equivalent to 1% of the loan, can reduce the interest rate on the mortgage.