Neil Cavuto, a business journalist who hosts a weekday afternoon show on Fox News Channel and has been with the network since its inception in 1996, is leaving after Thursday’s show, Fox said.

A workhorse at the network, Cavuto also hosts programs at Fox’s sister, the Fox Business Network, and is not considered one of the stable of opinion hosts.

“His programs have defined business news and set the standard for the entire industry. We wish him a heartfelt farewell and all the best on his next chapter,” the network said.

Unlike many at Fox, he has not interviewed President-elect Donald Trump since 2017 and sometimes has angered him. Trump said on social media that Cavuto “is one of the WORST on television” after the TV host said on his show that Trump had “decisively lost” his debate with Democrat Kamala Harris.

Cavuto, 66, has stayed on the job despite a number of health issues through the years. He has multiple sclerosis, underwent heart surgery and had bouts of long COVID.

There’s no immediate word on who will replace Cavuto on Fox’s schedule, a coveted slot before the network’s most popular show, “The Five.”

Big Lots sale fails, liquidation looms

Big Lots does not expect to complete a planned sale of its business to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management LP, putting the discount retailer that employs more than 27,000 people at risk of liquidation.

The company said it continues to work toward completing an alternative transaction with Nexus or another party, and aims to complete that by early January, it said in a release.

A valuation appraisal of the bankrupt company’s inventory came in lower than expected, which threatened the economics of the sale of the chain to Nexus, Bloomberg reported earlier on Thursday. At the same time, landlords had demanded that Big Lots explain why it hadn’t closed the deal with Nexus, which agreed to buy the company after it filed for Chapter 11 in September.

An official committee of unsecured creditors on Monday demanded that the company either pay tens of millions of dollars in back rent, or be liquidated by a court-approved trustee. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge J. Kate Stickles is scheduled to hear a status report on that dispute during a court hearing Thursday.

30-year rate snaps 3-week slide at 6.7%

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. rose this week to its highest level since late November, reflecting a recent uptick in the bond yields that lenders use as a guide to price home loans.

The rate rose to 6.72% from 6.6% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. The rate is now higher than it was a year ago, when it averaged 6.67%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, also rose this week. The average rate increased to 5.92% from 5.84% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.95%, Freddie Mac said.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now the highest it’s been since Nov. 27, when it was at 6.81%.

Elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices have kept homeownership out of reach of many would-be homebuyers. While sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November for the second straight month, the housing market remains in a slump and on track for its worst year since 1995.

— Compiled from The Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.