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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, June 22, 2000

30-year mortgages fall to 8.14 percent

McLEAN, Va. -- The average 30-year mortgage rate fell for a fifth straight week, reaching its lowest since April, Freddie Mac said today.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 8.14 percent this week after declining a week earlier to 8.22 percent.

The average rate on a one-year adjustable mortgage rose to 7.22 percent this week from 7.21 percent. The average 15-year mortgage rate fell to 7.85 percent from 7.91 percent.

Laura Ashley gains on 'Net plans

LONDON -- Laura Ashley Holdings Plc shares rose as much as 12 percent after the U.K. retailer known for its floral prints said it will introduce an online shopping service in the autumn to boost sales.

The Wales-based company joined up with Blueberry.net Ltd. to establish a Web site. Start-up costs will be "modest" as Blueberry agreed to defer a large part of the development costs. Laura Ashley, which made a loss over the last decade as its clothing designs fell out of favor, said sales are improving after it gave more space to the better-performing home furnishings unit, prompting it to retain home furnishings factories in Wales, Bloomberg News reported.

Japan bankruptcies climb to record

TOKYO -- Personal bankruptcies in Japan rose to an all-time high in fiscal 1999 as the nation's economic slump led to near-record unemployment, Kyodo News agency reported today.

Individual bankruptcies increased by about 19,000, or 18.3 percent, in the year that ended March 31, rising to 122,741, according to data released today by the Supreme Court.

It was the fourth straight record year for personal bankruptcies.

Japan's economy is showing signs of recovering from a decade-long slump that sent corporate bankruptcies and unemployment soaring.

"I think for ordinary people, economic recovery has not been realized," said Kiyoto Akiyama, a lawyer and personal bankruptcy expert.