Applications decline for jobless benefits

WASHINGTON – The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week, the latest evidence that a sharp economic slowdown earlier this year hasn’t caused employers to cut jobs.

Weekly unemployment benefit applications fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 312,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 2,000 to 314,000.

The average has fallen 9 percent since the beginning of this year. Applications are a proxy for layoffs, so the declines indicate that companies are cutting fewer jobs.

The figures come a day after the government said the economy shrank at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, the worst reading since early 2009, when the U.S. was mired in the depths of the recession.

The number of people actually receiving benefits inched up by 12,000 to 2.57 million. But the small increase comes after the level fell to a six-year low in the previous week.

Investors send GoPro’s stock up 30 percent

NEW YORK – Investors sent shares of GoPro Inc. up more than 30 percent in their stock market debut Thursday, following an initial public offering that valued the sports camera maker at about $3 billion.

The company makes wearable sports cameras that are used by skydivers, surfers and other extreme sports fans to film themselves as they create first-person videos that capture the experience as they saw it. The cameras, which are light and waterproof, cost between $200 and $400. The compay also sells accessories such as cases, battery packs and mounts that help users attach their cameras to surfboards, helmets or their wrists.

With its IPO, GoPro and selling shareholders raised $427 million after selling 17.8 million shares at $24 each. The San Mateo, California, company plans to use its share of the money raised to pay down debt.

GoPro shares rose $7.73, or 32 percent, to $31.73 in afternoon trading Thursday after rising as high as $33 earlier. The stock is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol “GPRO.”

Mortgage rates drop to near historic lows

WASHINGTON – Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages declined this week, hovering near historically low levels.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for a 30-year loan eased to 4.14 percent from 4.17 percent last week. The average for the 15-year mortgage fell to 3.22 percent from 3.30 percent.

The average fee for a 30-year mortgage fell to 0.5 point from 0.6 point a week earlier. The fee for a 15-year loan was unchanged at 0.5 point.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable mortgage fell to 2.98 percent from 3.00 percent. The fee declined to 0.3 point from 0.4 point.

Marlboro HeatSticks coming to Japan, Italy

RICHMOND, Va. – Philip Morris International Inc. is hoping to capitalize on the growing appetite for alternatives to traditional smokes like e-cigarettes with a new Marlboro-branded product that heats tobacco rather than burning it.

The world’s second-biggest tobacco company on Thursday detailed its plans to release the Marlboro HeatSticks in cities in Japan and Italy later this year, with further expansion plans in 2015.

The short, cigarette-like sticks are heated to maximum of 660 degrees Fahrenheit in a hollow pen-like device called iQOS to create a tobacco-flavored nicotine vapor. Unlike popular e-cigarettes that use liquid nicotine, HeatSticks contain real tobacco, a point the company believes will make them more attractive to cigarette smokers.