Things To Do In SW Florida

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked down modestly this week, remaining in the same narrow range of the past two months.

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The average long-term mortgage rate fell to 6.18% from 6.21% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.85%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, rose this week. The rate averaged 5.50%, up from 5.47% last week. A year ago it averaged 6%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed higher and reached more records Wednesday on a holiday-shortened trading day.

The S&P 500 index rose 22.26 points, or 0.3%, to 6,932.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 288.75, or 0.6%, to close at 48,731.16, and the Nasdaq composite added 51.46, or 0.2%, to 23,613.31

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Trading was extremely light as markets closed early for Christmas Eve and will be closed for Christmas Thursday. Roughly 1.8 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, which is roughly a third of the average trading day.

Markets will reopen for a full day of trading on Friday; however volumes are expected to remain light this week with most investors having closed out their positions for the year. read more

By Ruth Sarreal, NerdWallet

Getting cash for opening a new bank account and meeting a few requirements can be an effortless money grab. But it could also present missed opportunities if you ignore the finer details.

I’m a bank bonuses expert and a consumer who’s taken advantage of bank promotions. Here’s what to know about the best and worst things about bank account bonus offers.

Best thing: Discovering a provider that works well for you

Trying out a new financial institution can provide a fresh start. You might discover that you can do banking tasks more easily within the institution’s mobile app, or have access to more branches or ATMs.

I’ve opened a savings account to take advantage of a bonus offer. What made it more enticing was that it was at a credit union, a type of financial institution I’d always wanted to try. I found that I liked using the credit union, which offered competitive rates on other products such as share certificates, which I ended up opening, too. Not only did I meet a goal of becoming a credit union member, but I also got a bonus for opening and using my first account there. read more

By MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week and remain at historically healthy levels despite some signs that the labor market is weakening.

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  Average US long-term mortgage rate ticks down to 6.18% this week

• 
  US stocks drift to more records on a holiday-shortened day of trading

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  These are the best and worst things about new account bonus offers

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  Health inspectors shut down 6 Central Florida restaurants last week

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U.S. applications for jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 20 fell by 10,000 to 214,000 from the previous week’s 224,000, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That’s below the 232,000 new applications forecast of analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

The weekly report was released a day early due to the Christmas holiday.

Applications for unemployment aid are viewed as a proxy for layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market. read more

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation shut down six Central Florida restaurants for health code violations during the week from Dec. 14-20.

Orange

King Cajun Crawfish Restaurant at 924 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando shut down on Dec. 17 after inspectors found five violations, including two deemed high priority. Those involved roach activity, with both live roaches and roach droppings found. Inspectors returned the same day and found only one violation that was not high priority and allowed the venue to reopen.

Cornerstone Pizza at 1513 E. Michigan St. in Orlando shut down on Dec. 17 when inspectors found 16 violations, including one deemed high priority. That was for 14 live roaches found near the cook line and wash area. Inspectors returned on Dec. 19, still finding eight basic violations but none that was a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards and reopened.

Lily’s Creole Restaurant at 607 Pine Hills Road in Orlando shut down on Dec. 17 when inspectors found seven violations, including one deemed high priority. That was for an employee who began working with food without first washing hands because the hand sink was not working. The sink was then repaired and the venue was allowed to reopen the same day. read more