The Fossil Chronicles: How Two Controversial Discoveries Changed Our View of Human Evolution
A scientist who studies brain evolution examines fossil finds ? the Taung child and hobbits ? that are changing views of human evolution.
Univ. of California, 2011, 259 p., $34.95
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WASHINGTON ? The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has dropped to 3.94 percent, the record low set in October.
Low rates offer a historic opportunity for those who can afford to buy or refinance. Still, many people either can't take advantage of the record-low rates or have already done so.
The rate on the 30-year home loan fell from 3.99 percent the previous week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. This week's 3.94 percent average matches the lowest on records dating to the 1950s.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.21 percent from 3.27 percent. That's also a record.
Rates could fall further still. Many economists think the yield on the 10-year Treasury note could creep lower in 2012. Long-term mortgage rates tend to track the 10-year Treasury yield.
Should the Federal Reserve launch a new program of bond purchases in the coming months to try to help the economy, that could further drive down mortgage rates.
Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks this year. Even so, this year could end up as the worst for home sales in 14 years.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said that despite the super-low loan rates, foreclosures and falling home values have created a "rough environment for housing."
Sales of previously occupied homes are just slightly ahead of last year's dismal sales figures ? and those were the worst in 13 years. New-home sales appear headed for their worst year on records dating back half a century.
Mortgage applications have risen slightly in recent weeks but are up from extremely low levels, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Last week, refinancings rose more than 9 percent, while loan applications to buy homes fell more than 8 percent.
Some lenders have reported an increase in applications through the Obama administration's refinancing program. That program was broadened in October to allow up to 1 million more homeowners lower their mortgage payments. But the MBA said such government-assisted loans account for just a small portion of refinancing.
High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many Americans don't want to sink money into a home that could lose value over the next three to four years.
The average on the 30-year fixed loan has been below 5 percent for all but two weeks in the past year. And many homeowners who have the necessary credit and home equity to refinance already have.
To calculate average the rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for the 30-year loan rose to 0.8 from 0.7; the average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 0.8.
For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate fell to 2.86 percent from 2.93 percent. The average on the one-year adjustable loan ticked up to 2.81 percent from 2.8 percent.
The average fee on the five-year loan rose from 0.5 to 0.6. And the fee on the one-year adjustable loan was unchanged at 0.6.
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(Reuters) ? Elizabeth Taylor's script for the movie "National Velvet" -- which made her a star at age 12 -- sold for more than 50 times its estimate on Friday as the New York auction of the actress's jewels, clothes, art and memorabilia neared its close.
Christie's auctioneers said the 1944 "National Velvet" script, bound in lilac leather, was sold to a private U.S. buyer for $170,500 on Friday. It's pre-sale estimate was $2,000 - $3,000.
A drawing of lips inscribed to Taylor by Andy Warhol sold for $242,500, and was among the priciest items bought on the fourth day of the auction.
Friday's total sales were $4.4 million, including commission, taking the auction sales so far this week to $154.2 million. An online-only sale of some 1,000 lower-priced items from Taylor's estate continues through Saturday.
Christie's chairman Marc Porter said the response to the auction so far had been "nothing short of overwhelming with multiple bidders competing for every lot."
Taylor, regarded as one of the last great Hollywood legends, died of congestive heart failure in March at age 79.
Her fabled collection of ruby, diamond and emerald jewelry -- many of them gifts from two-time husband Richard Burton -- attracted the biggest interest, selling for a total of $116 million earlier this week.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Federal Reserve on Tuesday warned that turmoil in Europe presents a big risk to the U.S. economy, leaving the door open to possible further steps to boost growth even though it noted a somewhat stronger labor market.
The central bank said the U.S. economy was "expanding moderately" despite an apparent slowing in the world economy. But while there had been "some" improvement in the job market, unemployment remained elevated and housing depressed, it said.
"Strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook," the Fed said after a policy meeting, alluding to pressures stemming from the debt crisis in the euro zone, which has raised concerns about tighter credit in the United States.
Some investors had speculated that the Fed might show more urgency about moving ahead with new measures to help the economy.
U.S. stock prices fell, while prices for government debt rose. The dollar, which has been pressured by the Fed's huge-bond-buying programs, gained against the euro.
The Fed's statement was little changed from the one made after its last meeting in early November, although the U.S. central bank pinned uncertainty for the U.S. economy more squarely on events in Europe.
While in November it said risks to the outlook included global strains, on Tuesday it cited only the risk of volatility abroad.
Most economists have said the Fed's next meeting on January 24-25 would be the more likely occasion for any new moves to add to the U.S. central bank's already extraordinary push to bring down borrowing costs and help growth.
FOCUSING ON RISKS
Tuesday's statement touched only lightly on signs of improvement in the economy's performance.
"They are certainly ready to lean against the wind should the economy falter," said Cary Leahey, managing director at Decision Economics in New York.
The Fed offered no new guidance on the changing way it communicates its policies to financial markets; Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has made increased transparency a hallmark of his six years in charge of the central bank.
It also repeated that it expects inflation to settle at levels at or below those consistent with its price stability mandate.
For a second time running, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans dissented against holding policy steady, saying he favored additional easing now.
The U.S. central bank has held overnight interest rates near zero since December 2008 and has bought $2.3 trillion in government and mortgage-related bonds in a further attempt to stimulate a robust recovery.
Fed officials are divided among those who think high unemployment and sluggish growth require more action and those who view the central bank's already-aggressive efforts as bordering dangerously on an invitation to inflation.
Some influential policymakers, including Vice Chair Janet Yellen, have suggested they would be inclined to take additional steps if growth fails to pick up.
LOOKING TO 2012
Changes to the Fed's voting line-up for 2012 will remove three policymakers known to favor a hard line against inflation, while adding only one such "hawk," suggesting support for further easing may strengthen in coming months.
The Fed's activist approach to pulling the economy out of recession and buoying a tepid recovery stands in contrast to the European Central Bank, which has been more tentative. The ECB held interest rates steady until November before delivering two rate cuts as the euro zone began to slide toward economic contraction.
Moreover, ECB President Mario Draghi disappointed financial markets last week by downplaying prospects the central bank would launch an aggressive bond-buying program to ease strains in the region.
So far, the U.S. economy has shown little impact from the events in Europe.
The jobless rate tumbled 0.4 percentage point to 8.6 percent in November, factory activity has quickened and businesses are restocking depleted shelves.
Consumer spending also appears reasonably solid, although a softer-than-expected report on November retail sales on Tuesday offered a hint that spending could be flagging.
The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.0 percent annual rate in the third quarter, a welcome acceleration from a sub-1 percent pace over the first half of the year. Forecasters hope growth will top a 3 percent rate in the current quarter.
However, analysts say the recovery's current strength is partly a snapback from the weakness earlier in the year and caution that a return to more sluggish growth is likely, particularly with a European recession brewing.
INTERNAL DEBATE
Many observers believe the Fed will take steps to stimulate growth in 2012, first through communications measures that drive home the expectation that interest rates will not rise for a long time and then possibly through more bond buying.
Yellen has said the Fed could reinforce its ultra-accommodative monetary stance by publishing policymakers' forecasts for the path of interest rates. Officials are also debating whether to adopt an explicit target for inflation.
The first step would reassure skittish markets that the Fed is not about to tighten policy any time soon. The latter would aim to dispel any doubts about the central bank's commitment to keeping inflation low.
Top officials have also remained open to adding bonds to the central bank's already-bloated portfolio.
Some have said the Fed should resume purchases of mortgage-backed securities to help revive the depressed housing market; others would prefer to stick with purchases of U.S. government debt.
(Additional reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Andrea Ricci, Tim Ahmann and Dan Grebler)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111214/bs_nm/us_usa_fed
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PARIS ? The exiled son of the toppled shah of Iran plans to ask the United Nations to bring Iran's supreme leader before an international court on charges of crimes against humanity.
Reza Pahlavi's father, the late Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was ousted in Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. The ultimate leader of the government that runs the country now is a cleric, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Pahlavi is among exiles working for regime change in Iran. He said at a Paris news conference Thursday that Khamenei must be held responsible for executions, jailing and torture of political dissidents.
Pahlavi says he will submit a complaint about Khamenei to the five permanent U.N. Security Council members along with a report of the cleric's alleged crimes that will be constantly updated.
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