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Iran shipping line masks 'arms vessels'
WASHINGTON, July 29 (UPI) -- Average interest rates for long-term mortgages slid to record lows for the sixth consecutive week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.
Rates have gone lower, despite fears the cessation of a mortgage securities purchasing program by the Federal Reserve would trigger a rise in interest rates.
In the latest weekly survey, Freddie Mac said interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate contracts dropped from 4.56 percent with an average of 0.7 points, to 4.54 percent, a record low for the 39-year interest rate survey.
Average interest rates for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell from 4.03 percent to 4 percent. Points for 15-year mortgages also averaged 0.7 during the week.
Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said the records were set during a period of "mixed" economic data.
"The number of local markets experiencing annual increases in home prices appears to be growing. However, existing home sales in June slowed," he said. "Moreover, although new home sales jumped by almost 24 percent to 330,000 dwellings, it represented the second lowest rate since 1963."
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TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 8 (UPI) --
Israel is reported to be seeking to deploy fighter aircraft in Cyprus, its partner in developing a natural gas bonanza under the eastern Mediterranean, to protect these vital energy resources.
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) --
Thousands of tiny unmanned aircraft or drones flying into civilian airspace over the United States can pose a security threat as they may be difficult to monitor in the long run and some craft may fall into enemy hands, security analysts say.
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Despite predictions that home prices are close to bottom, the leading provider of home equity protection sees its customer base exploding in 2012 because of changing consumer attitudes towards homeownership....
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With union workers protesting in the street, leaders in Greece met to hash out details of spending cuts that long ago crossed into draconian territory.
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