Mortgage rates fall for fourth straight week

Mortgage rates around the country tumbled to new lows this week, good news for people looking to buy homes or refinance.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to a record low of 5.26 percent for the week ending June 5, Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, reported Thursday in its weekly nationwide survey.

It marked the fourth straight week and the ninth time this year that rates on this benchmark mortgage fell to an all-time weekly low.

The previous low rate of 5.31 percent was set last week.

Labor

Jobless numbers rise

The number of American workers filing new claims for jobless benefits climbed to a five-week high last week as companies coped with an economy that is struggling to regain firm footing.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 16,000 to 442,000 for the work week ending May 31. The increase pushed claims to their highest level since the week ending April 26.

In another report, orders to U.S. factories fell 2.9 percent in April from March, marking the largest decline in 17 months, the Commerce Department said. The decrease was a lot deeper than the 1.8 percent drop economists were forecasting.

Topeka

Payless sales fall short

Topeka-based Payless ShoeSource warned that it would miss second quarter and full year sales expectations after May same-store sales dropped more than twice as much as anticipated.

The company announced sales for the month fell by 10 percent, far wider than the 4.2 percent decrease expected by Wall Street analysts. Payless, Thursday, did not offer new earnings guidance.

Shares of Payless fell 95 cents, or 6.4 percent, to close at $13.90 at the New York Stock Exchange.

Publishing

Inadequate bids prompt AOL to keep division

AOL Time Warner Inc. has decided not to sell its book division after failing to receive what it thought were adequate bids, a company spokeswoman said Thursday.

The company had received several offers, but none that reflected the value of the AOL Time Warner Book Group, spokeswoman Mia Carbonell said.

AOL Time Warner had been reviewing the bids as part of a companywide effort to reduce debt.