Mortgage rates fall below 3 percent for first time

The average rate for a 30-year-fixed mortgage fell below 3 percent last week for the first time, according to the government-sponsored mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac.

The falling rates are making homes more affordable for buyers and spurring a wave of refinancing as homeowners seek to lower monthly payments. Freddie Mac estimates that at current rates, most homeowners with mortgages could save money by refinancing — a financial boon for potentially tens of millions during a recession.

“That’s a big deal,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Freddie Mac reported the rate for a 30-year loan averaged at 2.98 percent for the week ending July 16, down from 3.81 percent a year earlier. That means a new homeowner buying an average-priced home, which in the Houston area is about $320,000, with 20 percent down would save $117 a month.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Mortgage-rates-fall-below-3-percent-for-first-15412975.php

US threatens to cut off Chinese banks' access to dollars

WASHINGTON – Chinese banks seen as complicit in Beijing's clampdown on Hong Kong face being cut off from much of the global financial system under wide-ranging sanctions that are a part of newly enacted U.S. legislation.

The Hong Kong Autonomy Act, signed Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump, sets out punitive measures against lenders that do business with sanctioned officials, including bans on receiving loans from American banks, participating in foreign-currency and banking transactions, and investing in equity or debt. The government may also freeze the assets of designated institutions or restrict exports to them.

While the sanctions are not specifically limited to Chinese institutions, the law was drafted with the likes of Bank of China (BOC), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and China Construction Bank in mind.

China's economy "for the foreseeable future will be dependent on U.S. dollar transactions," Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said in May, around when the bill was introduced.

"When business and financial interests realize that this is a tool that can be deployed, I think there's going to be a whole new level of pressure on the government," he said.

The prospect of losing access to the international reserve currency is a potent threat. China's four largest state-owned banks held about $1.1 trillion in dollar-denominated liabilities at the end of 2019, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. These institutions not only handle trade transactions for Chinese businesses, but also serve as sources of financing for Beijing's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Finance/US-threatens-to-cut-off-Chinese-banks-access-to-dollars

>>9984406

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Man accused of punching NYPD chief, cops on Brooklyn Bridge released without bail

The Bronx man who allegedly punched NYPD Chief Terence Monahan and two other officers during protests on the Brooklyn Bridge Wednesday has been released without bail.

Quran Campbell, 25, is accused of socking the highest-ranking uniformed cop several times in the face as Monahan tried to arrest him after Campbell had allegedly punched another NYPD officer and lieutenant near the Manhattan approach to the bridge.

Campbell was arraigned on assault charges in Manhattan criminal court and was granted supervised release.

A second Bronx man, Banks Shaborn, 25, was also arraigned Thursday after allegedly clocking the same lieutenant, Richard Mack, of the department’s Strategic Response Group, multiple times in the face during the scuffle.

The suspects allegedly broke both of Mack’s orbital bones, sending him to the hospital for 12 stitches on his face after the melee. Monahan said he suffered some bruises and jammed fingers, but was otherwise fine.

https://nypost.com/2020/07/16/man-accused-of-punching-chief-monahan-released-without-bail/

>>9984559

Fat Al