The Monitor from McAllen, Texas • A27

ARTIN RUTSINGER HE A SSOCIATED RESS WASHINGTON Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week after two consecutive increases, providing a break for potential home buyers and the beleaguered housing industry. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.37 percent this week, down from 6.42 percent last week. After hitting a high for this year of 6.73 percent in mid-July, rates have been trending lower as the worst slump in housing in 16 years has contributed to slower economic growth and fewer worries about inflation. Two weeks ago, the nationwide average for 30-year mortgages dipped to 6.31 percent, the lowest level since May 17. That decline reflected in part a flight to the safety of Treasury securities in August after a bout of turbulence in credit markets.

The Federal Reserve announced two weeks ago that it was cutting a key interest rate by a more-than-expected half- point in an effort to make sure that the housing slump and the most severe credit crunch in almost a decade push the economy into a recession. In the 12 months ending in July, the housing sector lost 260,000 jobs, reflecting continued cutbacks in construction as builders scramble to trim record levels of unsold homes in the face of falling sales. Rates take a tumble YLE A RNOLD KARNOLD THEMONITOR COM ulio Guerrero twists a steel handle, sliding the piece of steel ever so slightly back and forth over a milling machine. The piece working needs a slight pitch, less than a half a millimeter from side to side. Carefully, he slides the wheel as the machine mills off near microscopic slivers of steel that shoot into the air and disappear.

While many have trouble deciphering the difference between inches and centimeters, Guerrero and his crew work in worlds of millimeters or smaller. For weeks at a time, Guerrero, 53, and his ARTIN RUTSINGER HE A SSOCIATED RESS WASHINGTON Orders to U.S. factories fell in August by the largest amount in seven months, reflecting weakness across a wide swath of manufacturing. The Commerce Department said that orders dropped by 3.3 percent in August, even worse than the 2.8 percent decline that had been expected. It was the biggest setback since orders fell 4.2 percent in January.

The fall-off was led by a huge plunge in demand for commercial aircraft, which fell by 39.9 percent. However, orders were also weak in a number of other indus- tries, from autos to industrial machinery and home appliances. Orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, fell by 4.9 percent, while demand for nondurable goods, items such as food, clothing and gasoline, fell by 1.6 percent. Economists are worried that the steepest housing slump in 16 years and the biggest credit crunch in nearly a decade could push the country into a full-blown recession. The Labor Department said that the number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits shot up by 16,000 to a total of 317,000.

AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL latest accolade? The Emmy award winning actress has been named Hispanic Woman of the Year. 10D A ARON ELSEN HE ROWNSVILLE ERALD BROWNSVILLE Spanish language TV has long been perched atop the Rio Grande Valley market, but two new Eng- lish language newscasts are now in the fray. XRIO Fox 2 started a 9 p.m. news broadcast in March, and KVEO NBC 23 launched news broadcasts Monday at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. The local NBC affiliate had a place in the local news market more than 25 years ago, but make a go of it and went off the air altogether.

KGBT Action 4 News and KRGV Newschannel 5 soon took over the local English language news circuit. Now, KVEO is back in Brownsville with a new face, utilizing high-definition digital technology. Hadwal expects the channel to recapture its old audience and siphon a bit from its competitors too. Rio Grande Valley is one of the fastest-growing Fox 2, NBC 23 aim to capture their share of viewers LOCAL BRIEFCASE WESLACO H.E.B. and the city of Weslaco will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Regional Dry Grocery Facility at 1 p.m.

Oct. 12. The facility is located at Westgate Drive, south of Expressway 83. MISSION Department Stores opened a new location Thursday in Mission near Expressway 83 and Shary Road. The store is the third in the Rio Grande Valley.

also opened a location the same day in Brownsville. McALLEN South Texas Continuing Education Division and Sylvan Learning is set to offer a new business writing course beginning Oct. 28. The last day to register is Oct. 22.

For more information, call (956) 872-3585. MORE LOCAL BRIEFS INSIDE 4D BUSINESS ONLINE Read the local headlines on The Web site. www.themonitor.com/ See NEWS 4D See FAMILY 2D BUSINESS REPORTER Kyle Arnold 956.683.4410 THE MONITOR BORDERBUSINESS THE WATERCOOLER DOGGIE DAYCARE? Many workplaces offer childcare as part of their overall benefits packages. But how about a company-sponsored baby sitter for Fido? Some employers are beginning to offer professional pet-sitting and dog-walking services to their animal- loving employees in an effort to cut down on absenteeism and boost productivity. have become like said Paul Mann, founder and CEO of Fetch! Pet Care, a franchise that provides pet care benefits to businesses.

Such services free employees to work late or leave town for last- minute business trips, as well as cut down on workers having to arrange for pet care during business hours, Mann said. Professional pet sitting also prevents employees from missing work if their regular, less reliable dog walker show up, he said. Services include in-home visits, overnight sitting, boarding, private and group dog outings, and for the kitty on the run, even pet taxiing. Just make sure the sitter let Fluffy stay up past her bedtime. Jackie Farwell APBusiness Writer IN THE WORKS NEW VALLEY CONSTRUCTION CAPITAL ONE MMIISSSSIIOONN CCaappiittaall OOnnee bbaannkk iiss bbuuiillddiinngg aa nneeww bbrraanncchh oonn SShhaarryy nnoorrtthh ooff tthhee ffrroonnttaaggee iinn MMiiss-- TThhee nneeww ffaacciilliittyy iiss eexxppeecctteedd ttoo ooppeenn iinn tthhee wwiinntteerr Photo by James Colburn COMMODITIES COTTON 70.25 bales ORANGE JUICE September contract Closed at $137.45 DOW JONES 13,974.31 NASDAQ 2,733.57 MARKET WEEKLY OCT.

4 CLOSING VS. A WEEK AGO NYSE 10,142.93 AMEX 2,396.76 30-YEAR MORTGAGES orders are down by the biggest amount in seven months. TOP 10 P.M. NEWS BROADCASTS IN THE RGV BY TOTAL VIEWERS No. 1.

KNVO Univision TV 48 No. 2. KRGV ABC TV 5 No. 3. KGBT CBS TV 4 No.

4. KTLM Telemundo TV 40 MISSION BUSINESS PROVIDES KEY SUPPORT FOR MAQUILADORA INDUSTRY I NSIDE Stocks finish modestly higher ahead of September employment report AGE 2D FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2007 WWW.THEMONITOR.COM/BUSINESS Drop reflects weakness PHOTOS BY NATHAN LAMBRECHT Julio Guerrero, right, consults a calculator to figure out how much steel to take off a mold before his son, Felix Guerrero, cuts it on Wednesday at ALPHA XL Mold and Tool in Mission. The company creates molds from steel and other metals that are used in plastic injection molds that are used by fatories. Sparks fly as Felix, below, grinds a block of steel to fit into a mold. newscasts hit Valley airwaves.

ALL IN THE FAMILY.