Seller's market begins to wane

Three key indicators show that negotiating clout is beginning to shift from a home seller's market, with tight inventories, to a more balanced market of buyers and sellers across the United States with plenty of inventory in all price ranges, according to HouseHunt, an online resource for community information and home listings.  more...

Rising costs put mid-sized companies in a bind

Healthcare and insurance costs, utility bills and payroll are on the rise, and about one-third of midsize companies are really feeling the squeeze, according to a national survey conducted by J.H. Cohn, an accounting and consulting firm.  more...

Fidelity closes deal with outsourcing co.

Fidelity National Financial on Wednesday announced the closing of its purchase of 29 percent equity stake in Covansys, a global provider of strategic outsourcing and integration services that has operations in India.  more...

SoCal real estate sees mixed August

Despite an overall slowing, sales trends differed sharply in local Southern California markets last month as Orange County experienced its weakest August in eight years and the Inland Empire experienced its strongest August ever, according to real estate information service DataQuick.

A total of 31,131 homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in August, down 5.6 percent from July's 32,988 and down 9.6 percent from a near-record 34,437 for August last year, DataQuick reported.

Home sales in Orange County dropped 32 perc  more...

Overnight mortgage rates stand pat

Long-term mortgage interest rates were flat Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.16 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average remained at 5.36 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate stayed at 4.78 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down slightly at 3.21 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.96 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...