California Home Loan 360

WASHINGTON - Mortgage rates around the country edged down this week, with rates on 30-year home loans sinking to their lowest point in a month, good news for prospective buyers.

Indymac to Make `Major Changes' to Mortgage Lending (Update1)Bloomberg - Aug 2, 2007The Pasadena, California-based company will stop making certain types of mortgages completely, he wrote. ``Unlike past private secondary mortgage market ...Indymac to Make `Major Changes' to Mortgage Lending (Update2) BloombergUPDATE: Parts Of Secondary Mortgage Market Freeze Up For Lenders CNNMoney.comall 13 news articles

Growth comes with a price tag. Just see how business has been on south county's two tollways, a decent indicator of economic oomph. Combined, the two roads (Foothill/Eastern and San Joaquin) took in $195 million in tolls in the fiscal year ended June 30, a 9.2% jump in a year -- or the second biggest bump since fiscal 2001. However, vehicles using these two roads made 98.6 million trips in fiscal '07, or just a 0.9% annual growth rate. That's the smallest rate of growth in the roads' history. So what's to blame for the growth gap? • Toll hikes seem to have taken their toll on tollway usage, with higher rates nudging some drivers onto freeway and streets.• Skyrocketing gas prices may have stopped some local drivers from taking unnecessary trips.• And other economic woes -- say, a dicey housing market -- may curtailed local spending, too.To the north, the 91 Express Lanes saw revenues grow 8.2% as trips grew 3.2% in fiscal 2007. That was down from the year before, where growth was 15.4% for toll dollars and 11.4% for trips.

Growth comes with a price tag. Just see how business has been on south county's two tollways, a decent indicator of economic oomph. Combined, the two roads (Foothill/Eastern and San Joaquin) took in $195 million in tolls in the fiscal year ended June 30, a 9.2% jump in a year -- or the second biggest bump since fiscal 2001. However, vehicles using these two roads made 98.6 million trips in fiscal '07, or just a 0.9% annual growth rate. That's the smallest rate of growth in the roads' history. So what's to blame for the growth gap? • Toll hikes seem to have taken their toll on tollway usage, with higher rates nudging some drivers onto freeway and streets.• Skyrocketing gas prices may have stopped some local drivers from taking unnecessary trips.• And other economic woes -- say, a dicey housing market -- may curtailed local spending, too.To the north, the 91 Express Lanes saw revenues grow 8.2% as trips grew 3.2% in fiscal 2007. That was down from the year before, where growth was 15.4% for toll dollars and 11.4% for trips.

Some bar withdrawals during market turbulence, potentially further undermining investor confidence. Some hedge funds that have suffered losses on investments are closing the gate on clients who want to pull money out, a move that could further undermine confidence in already shaky financial markets.

Shares fall to the lowest level in four years after Medicare decides to limit reimbursement.

Five are picked to address disputes between editors and Rupert Murdoch, the expected buyer of Dow Jones, the paper's parent.

Mexico City-based DF Casa employs artisans to create home furnishings and decorative accessories that merge traditional techniques with witty contemporary design. The firm first made a splash with its Forest Series, cast stoneware replicas of tree stumps and life-size animal trophy heads in crayon-colored glazes. Now, DF Casa has tapped into the rich kitsch of Mexican professional wrestling with Los Luchadores de Amsterdam, a set of piggy-bank busts depicting the masked lords of the ring. Each of the six designs is 7 1/2 inches tall, hand-painted and accented in glitter. The series also includes a female wrestler in a bat hood. Available for $65 each at Show, 1722 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 644-1960; www.showlifestyle.com .

Broader stock indexes also rally, though investor anxiety, here and abroad, remains evident.

Prudential California Realty says its sales of homes priced at $5 million-plus are up 48% vs. first half of 2006 (123 vs. 83.) The company said this '07 sales burst includes a property in Laguna Beach that went for $31.5 million. Prudential California, has more than 90 offices from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, with a sales staff of 4,600 making nearly $19 billion in sales in 2006. Its owned by famed investor Warren Buffet's HomeServices of America.