Freddie Mac: 30-year mortgage rate rises slightly to 3.56%

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed home loan was 3.56% early this week, according to the giant mortgage finance company Freddie Mac. The low rates are helping to spur more construction of new homes. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

By E. Scott Reckard

February 21, 2013, 8:01 a.m.

Lenders were offering 30-year fixed mortgages at an average 3.56% this week, up slightly from last week, while the 15-year fixed loan held steady at 2.77%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey.

Start rates on adjustable mortgages were flat to slightly higher, Freddie Mac said in the survey, released Thursday.

The 30-year rate, pegged at 3.53% for the three previous weeks, is now up about a quarter of a percentage point from its record lows late last year.  

QUIZ: How much do you know about mortgages?

The favorable rates have helped to drive housing demand, pushing prices higher. The online real-estate site Zillow Inc. said Thursday that nearly 2 million U.S. homeowners were freed from negative equity in 2012, meaning their mortgages were no longer larger than the value of their homes.

The low rates also are encouraging new-home construction, although new-home starts slipped slightly in January compared to December.

Freddie Mac asks lenders each week what terms they are offering borrowers on popular types of loans. In the latest survey, the borrowers would have paid an average 0.8% of the loan amount in upfront fees and discount points to the lenders.

US Total Construction Spending data by YCharts

ALSO:

Refinances surge thanks to help for underwater borrowers

Gary Winnick asking $225 million for 8.4-acre Bel-Air estate

Banks have provided $45.8 billion in aid under mortgage settlement

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Grapevine on Interstate 5 closed due to ice

By Hailey Branson-Potts

February 20, 2013, 7:19 a.m.

The California Highway Patrol shut down a stretch of Interstate 5 through the Grapevine early Wednesday because of ice.

The freeway was closed about 6:35 a.m. between Castaic and Grapevine Road, said CHP Officer Ed Jacobs. No motorists were stranded, he said.

“Until further notice, it’s Mother Nature’s call” on when to reopen the highway, Jacobs said.

Lingering rain, snow showers and gusty winds were expected to affect mountain regions until midday, according to the National Weather Service. Up to three inches of snow could fall Wednesday at elevations as low as 2,000 feet.

The additional precipitation could create hazardous icy roadways, the National Weather Service said. Snowfall, coupled with heavy winds, could reduce visibility to zero.

A stretch of California 58 in Kern County, which was shut down Tuesday night because of snow, remained closed, according to the California Highway Patrol.

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Autopsy confirms Mindy McCready's death as suicide

HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — Authorities in Arkansas say preliminary autopsy results confirm country music singer Mindy McCready's death was a suicide.

The Cleburne County sheriff said in a statement Wednesday that preliminary autopsy results from Arkansas' state crime lab show McCready's death was a suicide from a single gunshot wound to the head.

Investigators have said McCready apparently shot and killed her late boyfriend's dog before she turned the gun on herself Sunday at her home in Heber Springs, Ark. Authorities found McCready's body and the dog on the front porch where her longtime boyfriend, musician David Wilson, died last month of a gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities are investigating Wilson's death as a suicide but haven't determined an official cause of death yet.

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Ask an Expert: Questions About Hearing Loss? A Help Desk

This week’s Ask the Expert features Neil J. DiSarno, who will answer questions about hearing loss. Dr. DiSarno is the chief staff officer for audiology at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. From 1998 to 2012 he was chairman of the department of communication sciences and disorders at Missouri State University. Following are the types of questions that Dr. DiSarno is prepared to answer.

Neil J. DiSarno of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

¶My wife has told me she believes I’m not hearing as well as I used to. What sort of specialist should I see and what can I expect?

¶I’ve been told that I should consider using hearing aids. If I decide to, how much better am I likely to hear?

¶I’ve noticed that my 2-year-old granddaughter’s speech is not developing properly. Neither her mother or the pediatrician seem to be concerned, but I suspect there is a problem. What do you suggest?

¶I use hearing aids, but still have great difficulty hearing conversation in restaurants and in large group settings. Is this common and is there something more that I can do to improve my ability to function in those settings?

Please leave your questions in the comments section. Answers will be posted on Wednesday, Feb. 27. (Unfortunately, not all questions may be answered.)

Booming: Living Through the Middle Ages offers news and commentary about baby boomers, anchored by Michael Winerip. You can connect with Michael Winerip on Facebook here. You can follow Booming via RSS here or visit nytimes.com/booming and reach us by e-mail at booming@nytimes.com.

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Stocks slip following homebuilding slowdown

Associated Press

February 20, 2013, 8:54 a.m.

Stock indexes are slipping in midday trading after the government reported that housing construction slowed down during the first month of the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 33 points to 14,001 as of noon Eastern Wednesday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped seven points to 1,523. The Nasdaq composite fell 20 points to 3,193.

The Dow closed at its highest level of the year Tuesday, bringing it within one percent of 14,164, the record high reached more than five years ago.

GPS device maker Garmin plunged 9 percent after the company's results missed analysts' forecasts.

Boeing rose 1 percent. An investigation into the overheating of a battery that caused a Boeing 787 to make an emergency landing in Japan last month found that it was incorrectly wired.

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Four dead, including suspect, in series of Orange County shootings

Orange County sheriff's officials said they don't know what prompted a series of shootings across multiple cities early Tuesday morning that left at least four people dead and others wounded.

Authorities believe the violence began in Ladera Ranch, south of Mission Viejo.

The first call came at 4:45 a.m. reporting a shooting on Red Leaf Lane, where deputies discovered a woman shot dead at the scene.

The suspect, described as a man in his 20s, fled the area in an SUV.

Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said “multiple incidents” then occurred in Tustin and another at the Santa Ana border before the suspect apparently shot and killed himself in Orange.

“There’s a lot to sort out,” he said.

Tustin Police Lt. Paul Garaven said the suspect attempted to carjack multiple vehicles in Tustin, with  each shooting occurring a few minutes apart.

Police received a report about 5:30 a.m. of a carjacking near Red Hill Avenue and Nisson Road near the 5 Freeway in Tustin, Garaven said.

The carjacking suspect opened fire and wounded a bystander, he said.

Soon after that, another carjacking was reported near the 55 Freeway, Garaven said. The victim of that carjacking was killed, Garaven said. A body lay covered by a yellow tarp on Village Way near the McFadden Avenue freeway entrance.

Another shooting was reported on Edinger Avenue near the Micro Center in Tustin, Garaven said. Officers confirmed that another carjacking had taken place, he said.

One person was killed and another was taken to a hospital. Officers spotted the suspect in a stolen vehicle, followed him into the city of Orange and initiated a traffic stop near the intersection of East Katella Avenue and North Wanda Road, Garaven said.

The suspect then shot and killed himself, Garaven said. Garaven said there is “no threat to the community” because the suspect is deceased.

Bill Myers, who works at Allied Refrigeration at Edinger Avenue in Tustin, said he passed numerous police vehicles on his way to work early Tuesday.

The Micro Center, across the street from Allied Refrigeration, was roped off, and police were at the scene, Myers said.

Myers arrived at work at about 6:20 a.m. and said there was "a bunch of activity going on. It was pretty crazy."

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Clive Davis reveals in memoir that he's bisexual

NEW YORK (AP) — Record executive Clive Davis says he's bisexual.

In his new memoir, out Tuesday, the 80-year-old, who is twice divorced, reveals that he had sex with a man in the 1970s. Davis writes in "The Soundtrack of My Life" that he hadn't been repressed or confused during his marriages and that sex with a man "provided welcome relief."

He also writes that he started dating a man from 1990 to 2004, which he says was a "tough adjustment" for his son Mitchell. He says after "one trying year," he and his son worked things out. Davis is the father of three children.

Davis is the chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment. He writes that he's been in a "strong monogamous relationship" with a man for the last seven years.

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Well: Susan Love's Illness Gives New Focus to Her Cause

During a talk last spring in San Francisco, Dr. Susan Love, the well-known breast cancer book author and patient advocate, chided the research establishment for ignoring the needs of people with cancer. “The only difference between a researcher and a patient is a diagnosis,” she told the crowd. “We’re all patients.”

It was an eerily prescient lecture. Less than two months later, Dr. Love was given a diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukemia. She had no obvious symptoms and learned of her disease only after a checkup and routine blood work.

“Little did I know I was talking about myself,” she said in an interview. “It was really out of the blue. I was feeling fine. I ran five miles the day before.”

Dr. Love, a surgeon, is best known as the author of the top-selling “Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book” (Da Capo Press, 2010) now in its fifth edition. She is also president of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, which focuses on breast cancer prevention and research into eradicating the disease. But after decades of tireless advocacy on behalf of women with breast cancer, Dr. Love found herself in an unfamiliar role with an unfamiliar disease.

“There is a sense of shock when it happens to you,” she said. “In some ways I would have been less shocked if I got breast cancer because it’s so common, but getting leukemia was a world I didn’t know. Even when you’re a physician, when you get shocking news like this you sort of forget everything you know and are scared the same as everybody else.”

Because Dr. Love’s disease was caught early, she had a little time to seek second opinions and choose her medical team. She chose City of Hope in Duarte, Calif., because of its extensive experience in bone marrow transplants. At 65, Dr. Love was startled to learn she was considered among the “elderly” patients for this type of leukemia.

She was admitted to the hospital and underwent chemotherapy. Because her blood counts did not rebound after the treatment, her stay lasted a grueling seven weeks.

She went home for just two weeks, and then returned to the hospital for a bone-marrow transplant, with marrow donated by her younger sister, Elizabeth Love De Garcia, 53, who lives in Mexico City.

Although the transplant itself was uneventful, the next four weeks were an ordeal. Dr. Love developed pain and neuropathy from the chemotherapy drugs. Dr. Love’s wife, Dr. Helen Cooksey; daughter, Katie Love-Cooksey, 24; and siblings offered round-the-clock support. Ms. Love-Cooksey slept in the hospital every night. “I wasn’t very articulate during that time, but I always had my family there,” Dr. Love said. “They were great advocates for me.”

The transplant “is quite an amazing thing,” Dr. Love said. Her blood type changed from O positive to B positive, the same type as her sister. She also has inherited her sister’s immune system, and a lifelong allergy to nickel has disappeared. “I can wear cheap jewelry now,” she said. She returned to work last month.

Dr. Love has been told her disease is in remission, though her immune system remains compromised and she is more susceptible to infection. So she avoids crowds, air travel and other potential sources of cold and flu viruses.

While Dr. Love has always been a strong advocate for women undergoing cancer treatment, she says her disease and treatment has strengthened her understanding of what women with breast cancer and other types of cancer go through during treatments.

“There are little things like having numb toes or having less stamina to building muscles back up after a month of bed rest,” she said. “There is significant collateral damage from the treatment that is underestimated by the medical profession. There’s a sense of ‘You’re lucky to be alive, so why are you complaining?’ ”

Dr. Love says her experience has emboldened her in her quest to focus on the causes of disease rather than new drugs to treat it.

“I think I’m more impatient now and in more of a hurry,” she said. “I’ve been reminded that you don’t know how long you have. There are women being diagnosed every day. We don’t have the luxury to sit around and come up with a new marketing scheme. We have to get rid of this disease, and there is no reason we can’t do it.”

People who remain skeptical about the ability to eradicate breast cancer should look to the history of cervical cancer, she said. Decades ago, a woman with an abnormal Pap smear would be advised to undergo hysterectomy. Now a vaccine exists that can protect women from the infection that causes most cervical cancers.

“We need to focus more on the cause of breast cancer,” she said. “I’m still very impressed with the fact that cancer of the cervix went from being a disease that robbed women of their fertility, if not their lives, to having a vaccine to prevent it.”

Dr. Love, who wrote a book called “Live a Little!,” said illness has also made her grateful that she didn’t put off her “bucket list” and that she has traveled the world and focused on work she finds challenging and satisfying.

“It just reminds you that none of us are going to get out of here alive, and we don’t know how much time we have,” she said. “I say this to my daughter, whether it’s changing the world or having a good time, that we should do what we want to do. I drink the expensive wine now.”

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12 non-U.S. billionaires pledge half their fortune to charity

Britain's Richard Branson is among 12 billionaires from outside the U.S. who have signed on to the Giving Pledge. (Adrian Dennis / AFP/Getty Images)

By Alejandro Lazo

February 19, 2013, 8:33 a.m.

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson is among the first group of billionaires from outside the U.S. who have signed up to donate at least half of their wealth to charitable causes as part of the Giving Pledge initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates.

The 12 foreign billionaires who have signed on to the pledge bring the total of signatures to 105 families, according to Bloomberg News. The initiative asking billionaires to pledge at least half of their fortune to philanthropy has largely been focused on the wealthy in the U.S.

“As a young man, I never set out to make money,” Branson wrote in his pledge letter. “We set out to create things that we could be proud of and try to make a difference.”

Other international billionaires pledging include mining magnet Andrew Forrest, Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk and German entrepreneur Hasso Plattner.

ALSO:

Financial planning for the average investor

Daring investors are betting on 'frontier markets'

Anxious investors are day-trading with retirement accounts

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Jerry Buss dies at 80; Lakers owner brought 'Showtime' success to L.A.

Longtime Lakers owner Jerry Buss has died at the age of 80. Last week, it was revealed that he was hospitalized with an undisclosed form of cancer.

When Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979, he wanted to build a championship team. But that wasn't all.

The new owner gave courtside seats to movie stars. He hired pretty women to dance during timeouts. He spent freely on big stars and encouraged a fast-paced, exuberant style of play.

As the Lakers sprinted to one NBA title after another, Buss cut an audacious figure in the stands, an aging playboy in blue jeans, often with a younger woman by his side.

PHOTOS: Jerry Buss through the years

"I really tried to create a Laker image, a distinct identity," he once said. "I think we've been successful. I mean, the Lakers are pretty damn Hollywood."

Buss died Monday of an undisclosed form of cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, according to his longtime spokesman, Bob Steiner. Buss was 80.

Lakers fans will remember Buss for bringing extraordinary success — 10 championships in three-plus decades — but equally important to his legacy was a sense of showmanship that transformed pro basketball from sport to spectacle.

Live discussion at 10:30: Reflect on the legacy of Jerry Buss

"Jerry Buss helped set the league on the course it is on today," NBA Commissioner David Stern said. "Remember, he showed us it was about 'Showtime,' the notion that an arena can become the focal point for not just basketball, but entertainment. He made it the place to see and be seen."

His teams featured the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard. He was also smart enough to hire Hall of Fame-caliber coaches in Pat Riley and Phil Jackson.

"I've worked hard and been lucky," Buss said. "With the combination of the two, I've accomplished everything I ever set out to do."

A Depression-era baby, Jerry Hatten Buss was born in Salt Lake City on Jan. 27, 1933, although some sources cite 1934 as his birth year. His parents, Lydus and Jessie Buss, divorced when he was an infant.

His mother struggled to make ends meet as a waitress in tiny Evanston, Wyo., and Buss remembered standing in food lines in the bitter cold. They moved to Southern California when he was 9, but within a few years she remarried and her second husband took the family back to Wyoming.

His stepfather, Cecil Brown, was, as Buss put it, "very tight-fisted." Brown made his living as a plumber and expected his children (one from a previous marriage, another son and a daughter with Jessie) to help.

This work included digging ditches in the cold. Buss preferred bell hopping at a local hotel and running a mail-order stamp-collecting business that he started at age 13.

Leaving high school a year early, he worked on the railroad, pumping a hand-driven car up and down the line to make repairs. The job lasted just three months.

Until then, Buss had never much liked academics. But he returned to school and, with a science teacher's encouragement, did well enough to earn a science scholarship to the University of Wyoming.

Before graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, when he was 19 he married a coed named JoAnn Mueller and they would eventually have four children: John, Jim, Jeanie and Janie.

The couple moved to Southern California in 1953 when USC gave Buss a scholarship for graduate school. He earned a doctorate in physical chemistry in 1957. The degree brought him great pride — Lakers employees always called him "Dr. Buss."

He was hired by Douglas Aircraft Co. in February 1958, part of a team that developed rocket fuel and other classified material. But the idea of a career in the aerospace industry did not appeal to Buss. As the 1950s drew to a close, he and a Douglas colleague, Frank Mariani, decided to try their hand at real estate.

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