30-year mortgage rate rises again

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. rose for the sixth straight week, returning to its highest level since early July.

The rate ticked up to 6.79% from 6.72% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s still down from a year ago, when the rate averaged 7.5%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, also edged higher this week. The average rate rose to 6% from 5.99% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.81%, Freddie Mac said.

When mortgage rates increase they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, reducing homebuyers’ purchasing power at a time when home prices remain near all-time highs, even though the housing market remains in a sales slump going back to 2022.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to price home loans. Bond yields have been rising following encouraging reports on inflation and the economy.

Jobless claims tick up, but layoffs low

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid ticked up last week but layoffs remain at historically low levels.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claim applications rose by 3,000 to 221,000 for the week of Nov. 2. That’s fewer than the 227,000 analysts forecast.

The four-week average of weekly claims, which softens some of the week-to-week fluctuations, fell by 9.750 to 227,250. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs in a given week.

Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, rose by 39,000 to 1.89 million for the week of Oct. 26. That’s the most since late 2021.

Amazon workers get third union vote

Amazon workers in Alabama will decide for the third time in three years whether to unionize after a federal judge ruled that the retail giant improperly influenced the most recent vote in which employees rejected a union.

Administrative law judge Michael Silverstein on Tuesday ordered the third vote for Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Birmingham, after determining that Amazon committed six violations leading up to the second election in March 2022.

Amazon managers surveilled employees’ union activities and threatened workers with plant closure if they voted with the union, Silverstein said in an 87-page decision. Amazon managers also removed pro-union materials from areas where anti-union materials were available, the judge determined.

FTX exec Ellison begins 2-year sentence

A former top executive in Sam Bankman-Fried’s fallen FTX cryptocurrency empire has begun her two-year prison sentence.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons says Caroline Ellison reported Thursday to the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. She had pleaded guilty for her role in a massive fraud that cost investors, lenders and customers billions of dollars.

She also testified extensively against former boyfriend Bankman-Fried. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Both the judge and prosecutors said Ellison deserved credit for her cooperation.

Compiled from Associated Press reports.