Santa Cruz Sentinel du lieu suivant : Santa Cruz, California • Page 18

B-6 Friday, Dec. 8, 1995 Sentinel Lending a hand DOW(lmJustrials) Florida firm buys KSBW NYSE AMEX NASDAQ THURSDAY'S CLOSING NYSE LISTINGS Close Chi. American Med. 30 Unc BankAmerica IBAC) -2 Comerica (CMA) V't -11 Dean Foods (DFI W'i -t Dow Jones Inc. (DJ) 3Vi -'( Gotlschaiks Inc.

(GOT) 6" Lockheed Martin ILMT) 75 -H Pacific Telesis IPAO 31' Plantronks IPLT) 35'4 i Safeway (SWYI 46H -1i Seagate Tech. (SEG) S3' Watkins-Johnson (WJ) 44', Wells Fargo IWFO 218H William J. Wrioley (WWY) 47 -V. NASDAQ LISTINGS Bid Ask Cfig. Apple Computer (AAPL) 38 38 Borland Intl.

I BORL I 18' Coast Bancorp (COST) LSI 12', Fractal Design (FRAC) Granite Const (GCCO) 27 17H Intel Corp. (INTO 6I 61 ti Mont Bay I2' I2' Unc Novell INOVL) I5'i I6' i Odwalla (ODWA) 19 Vi Orchard Supply (OSHC) 21 v4 22 -V. Pacific Capital Bancorp 24' i 26" Santa Cruz Op. ISCOC) 6 Unc TCI (TCOMA) 19V, TGV(TGVI) 8''i 9" Unc West Marine (WMAR) 34'i 35''i -Vi Courtesy: Baikie Alcantara, Inc. By DAN WHITE Sentinel staff writer MONTEREY A single Florida company now has control of two network affiliates that serve the Santa Cruz County area.

Two months ago. Smith Broadcasting Partnership in St. Petersberg announced it was buying KSBW-TV, the NBC affiliate in Salinas, from Elizabeth Murdoch and Elkin Pianim. This week, the same company confirmed it had reached agreement to manage the rival CBS affiliate KCCN TV in Monterey. Bob Smith, chief executive officer of Smith Broadcasting, said Federal Communications Commission regulations bar his company from purchasing both stations.

Smith said his company had bought a portion of KCCN in Monterey but could not be the outright owner. Instead, his company will operate KCCN under a management agreement. KSBW. which has about 120 employees, is the leading station in this television market, with viewers in Monterey. Salinas.

Santa Cruz, and surrounding areas. It regularly trounces KCCN in news ratings. Both stations also compete for viewers with a Fox network affiliate based in Salinas KCBA Fox 35. Smith paid a reported $30 million for KSBW. but declined to disclose any terms of the management agreement at KCCN.

The station is owed by Smith's former business partner and KCCN stall' members had been told it was going to be sold to a Sacramento-based broadcasting company. Smith refused to say whether his company planned a change of KCCN personnel or how much had been invested into that station. He said he hoped the management agreement is finalized by the end of the year. Smith Broadcasting Partnership also owns television stations in Santa Barba ra. Utica and Elmira in New York, and is in the process of buying three stations in Alaska and another in Watertown, N.Y.

Elizabeth Hood, program manager of KCCN. offered no details of the reported management change. "There is nothing official that can be released hut I am sure (Smith's company) has a plan," she said. "When you go into a (license management agreement) it usually indicates cutbacks and restructuring." Smith would not comment on any changes. He said he wanted to invest iii KSBW because it is one of the U.S.'s top NBC affiliates.

Asked about the more troubled KCCN. Smith said: "It is exciting because there is a wonderful opportunity to help that station." The station is now owned by Harron Communications which has headquartered in Frazier. Penn. Peter Boutell Conforming loans get lower rates '-4 Mortgage rates move lower Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7 18 percent this week, down trom 7.33 percent last week, according to a national survey released Thursday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. The latest reading was the lowest since Feb.

17. when rates averaged 7.11 percent. As recently as Nov. 23. rates were at about 9.25 percent before they started falling.

On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5 53 percent, down from 5.60 percent last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 6.74 percent this week, down from 6.85 percent a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. v.iw-M.mim Microsoft goes after Internet market The New York Times SEATTLE Seeking to convince Wall Street and millions of PC users that the world's largest software company can dominate the global computer Web just as it currently dominates desktop computing, Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates said Thursday that every effort at the company would now be directed toward the Internet.

Gates described a broad battle plan for integrating Internet components and communications links into every Microsoft product, including its popular Windows operating system, its suite of office productivity software and the more advanced tools used by businesses to link workers on public and private computer networks. Although it is far from certain whether Gates' strategy can succeed, the prospect of Microsoft directing its might to the Internet helped deflate the high-flying stocks of several Internet companies most notably Netscape Communications whose shares lost $28.75 each Thursday, closing at $132.50. "The Internet is the primary driver of all new work we are doing throughout the product line," Gates told an audience of more than 200 reporters and financial analysts. "We are hard-core about the Internet." The Internet is a rapidly growing network of computers that now links tens of millions of users worldwide, and that is becoming a Granite awarded contract Granite Construction has been awarded a $15.9 million contract by the California Department of Transportation to extend an existing freeway in Coachella, 20 miles east of Palm Springs. The scope of the work involves the construction of a new.

four-lane segment of Route 86. a distance of 4.5 miles. The contract also calls for the construction of five bridges, over 800,000 cubic yards of earthwork, concrete and asphalt surfacing and related drainage structures. Construction is scheduled to start in January and take approximately 15 months to complete. Mortgage delinquencies are up again The Associated Press WASHINGTON The percentage of home owners behind in their mortgage payments rose during the third quarter to the highest level in more than two years.

Delinquencies increased in all regions except the Northeast. The Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday its National Delinquency Survey showed the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate on one- to four-unit homes was 4.2-4 percent. The rate was up from 4.15 percent during the April-June quarter and the highest since a 4.26 percent rate in the second quarter of 1993. The increase was the second straight and may be signaling the recent downward trend has reached its cyclical bottom, said Paul S. Reid, the association president.

The rate stood at 3.91 percent from January through March. Reid blamed the rise partly on larger mortgages due to the recent influx of first-time buyers, who have no equity and who are especially vulnerable to financial emergencies. Also, he said, many of the mortgages that were refinanced in the early 1990s boom are now between two and four years old, when repayment problems typically begin to surface. Reid said a third factor was that borrowers who took out adjustable-rate mortgages last year are beginning to feel "payment shock" as the rates begin to adjust upward. Delinquencies are likely to continue to rise slightly for the next several quarters, he predicted.

"However, with interest rates near historic lows, we do not expect the increase to be of undue concern," he added. The survey found the delinquency rate climbed in two of the three loan types up to 2.88 percent from 2.68 percent for conventional loans and up to 7.45 percent from 7.36 percent for FHA loans. The rate for VA loans fell to 6.34 percent from 6.38 percent. The biggest past-due increase was in 30-day delinquencies, which rose to 2.86 percent from 2.75 percent in the second quarter. Delinquencies were mixed in the two more serious categories up to 0.64 percent from 0.63 percent for 60 -day delinquencies, but down to 0.74 percent from 0.77 percent for 90-day delinquencies.

Foreclosure rates also increased during the third quarter. The percentage rose to 0.67 percent from 0.65 percent for conventional loans; to 1.30 percent from 1.26 percent for VA loans, and to 1.48 percent from 1.39 percent for FHA loans. Regionally, the delinquency rate in the Northeast fell to 4.33 percent from 4.36 percent. But rates rose elsewhere to 4.79 percent from 4.67 percent in the South, to 3.69 percent from 3.59 percent in the North Central region, and to 3.69 percent from 3.67 percent in the West. The survey covered 19.5 million loans, about one-third of all residential mortgages.

Bill Gates Answers questions strategic communications tool for businesses and individuals. Some analysts have suggested that the Internet poses a significant risk to Microsoft, which built its fortunes by creating software for individual desktop computers. The recent, phenomenal rise of the Internet makes the network more strategically important than any individual computer, and Microsoft has been perceived as slow in recognizing this profound change. Taking direct aim at Netscape and other Internet rivals that have captured the imaginations of computer users from Wall Street to Main Street. Gates said Microsoft would leverage all of its power to make its software synonymous with the Internet, and Thursday's announcement pummeled the stocks of various upstarts besides Netscape.

Spyglass Inc. was down $14.75 to $95.25, and Netcom On-Line gave up $8.75 to close at $54.75. Microsoft eased 12.5 cents to close at $90.50. EACH YEAR the nation's two biggest investors in home loans, the Federal National Mortgage Corp. and the Federal Home I.oan Mortgage Corp.

commonly known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac establish the maximum loan amount they will provide to home buyers to buy residential properties (1 -4 units). This loan limit is referred to as the "conforming" loan amount and Freddie Mac has raised the limit for 1996 to $207,000 for a single-family home. That is up from $203,150 in this year. See the accompanying table. To everyone's surprise.

Fannie Mae has not yet followed suit. If Fannie doesn't match Freddie, it will be the first time ever. Conforming Loan Limits Year Loan Limit 1985 $115,000 19SH $133,250 1987 $153,100 1988 $168,700 1989 $187,600 1990 $187,450 1991 $191,250 1992 $202,300 1993 $203,150 1994 $203,150 1995 $203,150 1996 $207,000 The vast majority of 15- and 30 year fixed-rate loans are sold to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae because they have the lowest rates. Loans over the conforming limit are called "jumbos" and must be sold to other investors whose rates are typically percent higher than conforming loans. The lower rate translates to approximately a $70 per month savings for a $207,000 loan.

The conforming loan amount is set at the end of each year for the following year and is based on a percentage of the price of the average home sold nationwide in October. This year's increase represents a slight increase in home prices. The conforming loan amounts are higher in Hawaii and Alaska at $310,500. If California were included in that same "expensive home" category, home loans would be cheaper for thousands of Californians. It is interesting to note that Fannie Mae's underwriting guidelines are more stringent than Freddie Mac's.

And, as might be expected, Fannie's rates often are slightly lower. So remember, when you are shooting for the lowest rates, expect stricter guidelines for loan approvals. We have been shopping for a house as well as a real-estate agent and a lender and want to know why there is so much attention around that $203,000 price? Will we get a lower rate on our mortgage if we buy a house for less than A I'm glad you are shopping but I hope that your priorities are not in the same order as your question. I am a firm believer in knowing what you can afford before you go shopping, and that holds true for houses as well as anything else that represents a significant purchase. Meet with at least one lender before doing any serious house shopping.

Your question is not uncommon and as I have stated above, it is only the loan amount that is critical. It doesn't matter what the sales price is. If your loan amount is under $207,000 you will get a lower fixed rate. Peter Boutell is a loan officer and a principal with a local mortgage company. Send your questions to: Lending a Hand, do Santa Cruz County Sentinel, 207 Church Santa Cruz, Calif.

95061, or fax to 429-9620. Oops, wrong number Shady telemarketers across the country thought they had potential victims on the line for their latest scam. In reality, they were talking to retirees who had volunteered to be bait in an FBI crackdown. The FBI began arresting 422 people in 15 states Thursday on suspicion of preying on tne elderly through telephone sales scams. The retirees had tape-recorded their conversations with the telemarketers.

Chrysler declares dividend Chrysler Corp. declared a 20 percent increase in the company's stock dividend and said it had finished a $1 billion stock repurchase program announced a year ago. Dissident shareholder Kirk Kerkorian, who tried to take over the automaker in April and has been pressing it to share more wealth with stockholders, called Thursday's action "another small step in the right direction." Staff and wire reports Economic reports indicate growth is still sluggish The Associated Press WASHINGTON The first drop in factory orders in three months and rising first-time claims for jobless benefits provided fresh evidence of a sluggish economy. But some analysts said the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates this month unless a key employment report today shows a drastic slowing in job creation. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that orders to U.S.

factories slipped 0.3 percent in October after two months of rising demand. The Labor Department said the number of American workers filing first-time claims for jobless benefits shot up by 14.000 last week, the biggest jump in a month. "The economy is not setting the world on fire," said Raymond Wor-seck, chief economist at A.G. Edwards Sons a St. Louis investment firm.

"If we don't get a substantial increase in payrolls, the pressure will be on the Federal Reserve to cut rates." Clouding the picture of economic weakness, the Federal Reserve said consumer credit soared in October, surpassing the $1 trillion mark for the first time. Borrowing rose at a 12.7 percent annual rate, more than twice as rapidly as September and the largest increase since June. Robert Brusca of Nikko Securities Co. International Inc. said analysts may be underestimating economic strength and consumer spending.

"The economy doesn't look dead to me. Consumer confidence is up. It means St. Nick comes down the chimney with gusto this year," he said. The Labor Department announces its employment report for November today.

Many analysts believe 150,000 jobs were created last month and unemployment remained at 5.5 percent. Every Sentinel gift subscription starting Christmas Eve morning will be boxed, ribboned and hand delivered to the porch with a hand crafted AA Fix your mortgage now! No fee options. holiday ornament and your gift card. What a great way to say "Merry Christmas Happy Mews Year!" P4 Financial, Inc. Call For Information 5161 Soquel Soquel Rates of 12795 Real Estate Broker.

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