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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, December 14, 2000

Furniture Loft closes its doors in Kalihi

Furniture Loft by Futons Etc. in Kalihi has closed and laid off all 15 employees, and will auction off remaining inventory and equipment on Saturday, the company said.

The store, opened in 1989, cited sluggish sales that didn't recover when Hawaii's troubled economy started to improve. Furniture Loft already has sold $500,000 of its inventory, the company said.

30-year rates fall to 7.42 percent

WASHINGTON -- Mortgage rates declined this week with rates for 30-year and 15-year mortgages dropping to their lowest levels in 18 months. The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 7.42 percent, down from 7.54 percent last week. Fifteen-year mortgages declined to 7.11 percent last week, down from 7.19 percent the previous week. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 7.05 percent, down from 7.21 percent the week before.

In other news . . .

NEW YORK -- Chase Manhattan Corp. and J.P. Morgan & Co., which are combining to form one of the nation's largest banking companies, issued a joint fourth-quarter earnings warning today, citing higher expenses and difficult capital markets. The companies also said they plan to eliminate up to 5,000 jobs once the two banks are integrated, increasing the total from a previous estimate of 3,200 jobs.