U.S. mortgage applications fell last week, driven by a steep decline in home purchasing loans even as interest rates dropped. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended May 19 decreased 6.0 percent to 552.6 from the previous week.
The group's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications decreased 4.3 percent to 1,480.5. A year earlier the index stood at 2,167.9. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 35.7 percent of total applications from 35.0 percent the previous week.
Reuters
Delphi hearings remain on track
A bankruptcy court judge denied General Motor Corp.'s request to delay hearings on whether Delphi Corp., its largest auto parts supplier, can nullify its own union contracts as it struggles to emerge from bankruptcy protection. GM earlier had urged the judge to adjourn the hearings for up to 60 days so it can use the time to negotiate an out-of-court settlement and avert a threatened strike by Delphi's 33,000 unionized plant workers in this country. The hearings started earlier this month and resumed as scheduled yesterday.
The Washington Post
Illumina underwriters buy shares
San Diego-based Illumina said that underwriters of its public offering of common stock exercised in full their option to purchase up to 525,000 shares. The shares' public offering price was $25.50. Four million shares were sold in the offering. Estimated net proceeds to the company from the offering, including the additional shares, totaled $96.2 million.
Retired Delta pilots oppose deal
Delta Air Lines Inc.'s pilots union said it would oppose an effort by some retired pilots to block the union's wage concession deal with the bankrupt carrier. The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents Delta's 5,930 active pilots, said that the agreement reached last month is in the best interest of the airline, its pilots and its creditors.
On Tuesday, a group that represents some retired Delta pilots asked a bankruptcy court judge to reject the wage concession agreement.
The Delta Pilots' Pension Preservation Organization said in its objection that if the agreement is approved it would set the stage for drastically reducing certain pension benefits of the airline's 5,800 retired pilots.
A hearing on the objection is scheduled for May 31, the same day Delta's active pilots are scheduled to complete their voting on the agreement, which the nation's third-largest carrier says would save it an average of $280 million a year.
Associated Press
Cablevision hit with lawsuit
Hollywood studios and the major television networks filed a copyright suit seeking to prevent Cablevision Systems Corp. from launching an “on-demand” service that aims to replace the living room digital video recorder. The federal court suit says Cablevision would run afoul of copyright law with its plan to allow subscribers to store and play back TV programs through computer servers controlled by the cable TV operator.
By contrast, conventional digital video recorder devices sold by such companies as TiVo Inc. let viewers store programs on individual hard drives built into their own home set-top boxes.
Reuters
Bank of China prices its IPO
Bank of China Ltd., the nation's No. 2 lender, priced its initial public offering in Hong Kong near the top of the expected range as investors brushed off recent volatility in Asian markets and flocked to buy the IPO – the world's largest in six years. The IPO raised $9.7 billion for the bank, which promises to be a key player in China's booming economy that's due for explosive growth in credit cards, auto loans and home mortgages.
Associated Press
