FOX First At Ten Business News

US rate on 30-year mortgages rises to 3.59 pct.

By MARCY GORDONAP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Average rates on fixed mortgages rose for the third straight week, hitting their highest levels since mid-March. Still, mortgage rates remained close to historic lows, a trend that should help sustain the housing recovery. Mortgage buyer Freddie

ECB official: New bank authority 'indispensable'

By DAVID McHUGHAP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - A top European Central Bank official is calling for quick creation of an agency with powers to restructure and wind down busted banks, in an apparent pushback against Germany's insistence that such fundamental changes should take time

Applications for US unemployment aid fall to 340K

By PAUL WISEMANAP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 23,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, a level consistent with solid job growth. The less volatile four-week average ticked down just 500 to 339,500, the Labor Department

Stricken Japan nuke plant struggles to keep staff

By YURI KAGEYAMAAP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) - Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper