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February 12, 2010 in Business
In brief: Toyoda to visit U.S. in March
Washington – Toyota’s top executive is expected to visit the United States in early March amid pressure from a House Republican that the company’s leader testify before Congress about the automaker’s safety lapses.
Toyota confirmed Thursday that Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s president and the grandson of the company’s founder, was expected to visit the U.S. in early March to meet with government officials and members of Congress but said his schedule was still under discussion.
Toyoda’s trip is intended to reassure rattled car owners and company employees following a global recall of 8.5 million vehicles, which has hurt the reputation of the world’s No. 1 automaker and raised questions about how quickly Toyota responded to the safety problems.
Associated Press
30-year rates drop to 4.97
McLean, Va. – Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell slightly this week, dipping below 5 percent, the mortgage financier Freddie Mac said Thursday.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.97 percent this week, down from an average of 5.01 percent last week. Last year at this time, the rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 5.16 percent, Freddie Mac said.
The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.34 percent from 4.40 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.
Associated Press
Sale of BNSF to Buffett OK’d
New York – Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. shareholders have approved the railroad’s sale to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, paving the way for the Oracle of Omaha to complete his biggest acquisition yet.
The $26.3 billion purchase of the nation’s second-largest railroad is expected to officially close today.
Burlington Northern CEO Matt Rose said 70 percent of shares cast that Berkshire didn’t already own voted in favor of the deal. The acquisition needed two-thirds approval to pass.
Associated Press
Home prices rise in more cities
Washington – Home prices rose in more than 40 percent of U.S. cities in the fourth quarter of last year, as massive federal spending helped the housing market show signs of stability.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that the median sales price for previously occupied homes rose in 67 out of 151 metropolitan areas in the October-December quarter versus a year ago. That’s a sharp improvement from the third quarter, when prices rose in only 20 percent of cities.
The national median price was $172,900, or 4.1 percent below the fourth quarter last year.
Associated Press
Northwest wheat 
flathead on February 12 at 6:37 a.m.
Toyoda?
flathead on February 12 at 6:40 a.m.
Never mind