Business in brief: Americans’ net worth rises

Washington – Americans got wealthier for a second straight quarter in the fall, thanks to gains in stock investments and home values.

Net worth – the value of assets such as homes, bank accounts and investments, minus debts like mortgages and credit cards – rose 5 percent from the second quarter to $53.4 trillion, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

Yet even with that gain, Americans’ net worth remains far below the revised peak of $64.5 trillion reached before the recession began.

Net worth would need to rise an additional 21 percent just to return to its pre-recession peak.

Associated Press

GE wind turbines to spin in Oregon

New York – General Electric Co. on Thursday said it has received a $1.4 billion contract to supply wind turbines and related services for a massive wind farm project in north-central Oregon.

The 845-megawatt Shepherds Flat project, located near Arlington, Ore., has received most of the government permits it needs to run. General Electric said it will install 338 of its 2.5xl wind turbines at the site. Construction will start next year and is expected to be finished in 2012.

Independent power producer Caithness Energy is developing the Shepherds Flat project. Under three 20-year power purchase agreements, the Shepherds Flat wind farm will supply renewable energy to Southern California Edison. The project is expected to provide enough energy to supply about 235,000 households.

Associated Press

Mortgage rates up from records

McLean, Va. – Mortgage rates rose this week but still remained below 5 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The average fixed rate on 30-year mortgages was 4.81 percent, up from a record-low 4.71 percent last week. Last year at this time, the average fixed rate for 30-year mortgages was 5.47 percent.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.32 percent, from a record low of 4.27 percent last week.

Associated Press

Chinese become top auto buyers

Shanghai, China – China has overtaken the U.S. as the world’s biggest market for automobiles, the first time any other country has bought more vehicles than the nation that produced Henry Ford, the Cadillac and the minivan.

More than 12.7 million cars and trucks will be sold in China this year, up 44 percent from the previous year and surpassing the 10.3 million forecast in the U.S., according to J.D. Power and Associates.

China has long been expected to overtake the U.S. since its population of 1.3 billion is more than quadruple that of the United States.

But the increase in sales happened much faster than anyone expected.

Associated Press