Pitcher Adams agrees to two-year deal with Phillies

(Reuters) - The Philadelphia Phillies and relief pitcher Mike Adams have agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract, Major League Baseball's website said on Saturday.
The deal is pending a physical.
Adams, 34, posted a 5-3 record with a 3.27 earned run average in 61 appearances with the Texas Rangers last season.
Regarded as one of the major league's top setup men, Adams underwent surgery in October for a condition in which a rib bone presses against a nerve, causing pain and numbness in the arm. He is expected to recover in time for spring training.
In eight Major League seasons, Adams has an 18-15 record with a 2.28 earned run average.

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Hamilton to give Angels everything on and off field

during a news conference at the ESPNZone in Downtown Disneyland in Anaheim, California …more
(Reuters) - Josh Hamilton was introduced as a member of the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday and the slugger immediately promised to give everything he has to the team on and off the field.
A five-time All-Star who overcame drug and alcohol addictions to become one of Major League Baseball's most feared hitters, Hamilton signed a five-year, $125 million deal with the Angels earlier in the week, leaving the Texas Rangers after helping them to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
"Excited to be here, excited to think about the next five years, excited to think about this lineup and what it's capable of," Hamilton told reporters.
"It's going to be a good run and I'm going to give everything I've got to the organization on and off the field."
Hamilton joins a high-powered Angels lineup that includes three-time National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Albert Pujols, a 32-year-old slugger who signed a 10-year, $240 million deal with the team last year.
Hamilton, a 31-year-old hard-hitting outfielder, broke into the major leagues in 2007 with the Cincinnati Reds but was traded to the Rangers after the season.
Hamilton has a career .304 batting average, 553 runs batted in and 161 home runs, including a career-high 43 last season.
The Rangers stood by Hamilton as he battled to control his addictions, including a relapse before the start of last season.
But the slugger got the campaign off to a sizzling start and looked to be a Triple Crown threat after slamming 18 homers in the Rangers' opening 34 games.
Hamilton, however, saw his production fall off in the second half of the season finishing with a .285 batting average and 128 runs batted in.
"His qualities on the field really don't need much rundown -- five consecutive All-Star appearances, an AL MVP, batting champion, Silver Sluggers, you name it," said Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto. "But more importantly, a fascinating story. And we look forward to this being the next chapter in his life and our organization's history."
The Rangers had been hopeful of re-signing the 2010 American League MVP and admitted they were caught off guard by Hamilton's jump to their American League West division rivals.
Hamilton said he was just as surprised that the Rangers did not try harder to get his name on a contract.
"I gave (the Rangers) everything I had for five years," said Hamilton. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me a little bit that they didn't put the press on.
"The relationships I created in Texas, I love (manager Ron Washington), I loved spending time with him, talking to him.
"There's no reason I can't be in the offices with (manager Mike) Scioscia over here, spending time with him, talking to him, picking his brain - he's got a lot of knowledge about the game and I'm sure life as well."

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Baseball-Nationals convince LaRoche to extend Washington stay

Jan 8 (Reuters) - The Washington Nationals finally persuaded Adam LaRoche to put pen to paper on Tuesday after spending the first half of the off-season courting their lead slugger.
The free agent inked a two-year deal worth $24 million with an option for a third season, adding solidity to an improving Nationals team and rewarding the franchise for their patience.
The 33-year-old had earlier declined to re-sign with the Nationals as he sought out a three-year deal but the first baseman eventually opted to return to a team where he has spent the last two seasons.
"We were patient with Adam and his representatives," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told the team's website (washingtonnationals.mlb.com).
"At the end of the day, I think we both agreed (Washington) was the best place for Adam to be."
Last season, LaRoche was instrumental in helping lead the Nationals to their first post-season berth since the team relocated from Montreal in 2004.
He hit .271 and led the team with 33 home runs and 100 RBIs as Washington (98-64) captured the National League East Division with the best overall MLB record.
Washington were beaten 3-2 in the best-of-five NL Division Series by the St Louis Cardinals, giving up four runs in the top of the ninth inning to fall 9-7 in the series decider.

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AP Exclusive: Richardson pressing NKorean test ban

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday that his delegation is pressing North Korea to put a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests and to allow more cell phones and an open Internet for its citizens.
Richardson told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang that the group is also asking for fair and humane treatment for an American citizen detained in North Korea. Also on the trip is Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt.
"The citizens of the DPRK (North Korea) will be better off with more cell phones and an active Internet. Those are the ... messages we've given to a variety of foreign policy officials, scientists" and government officials, Richardson said.
Most North Koreans have never logged onto the Internet, and the country's authoritarian government strictly limits access to the World Wide Web.
Richardson has said the delegation is on a private, humanitarian trip. Schmidt, who is the highest-profile U.S. business executive to visit North Korea since leader Kim Jong Un took power a year ago, has not spoken publicly about the reasons behind the journey to North Korea.
The visit comes just weeks after North Korea launched a long-range rocket to send a satellite into space. Washington has condemned the launch as a banned test of missile technology. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday "the trip is ill-advised," and another State spokesman reacted to Richardson's latest remarks by referring to Nuland's statement again.
Spokesman Peter Velasco also said from Washington that he also did not believe Richardson's delegation had been in contact with U.S. officials since they arrived in Pyongyang.
Schmidt, who oversaw Google's expansion into a global Internet giant, speaks frequently about the importance of providing people around the world with Internet access and technology. Google now has offices in more than 40 countries, including all three of North Korea's neighbors: Russia, South Korea and China, another country criticized for systematic Internet censorship.
He and Google Ideas think tank director Jared Cohen, who is also on the trip, have collaborated on a book about the Internet's role in shaping society.
Using science and technology to build North Korea's beleaguered economy was the highlight of a New Year's Day speech by leader Kim Jong Un. Still, the reality is that experts see North Korea as one of the least connected countries in the world.
On Tuesday, students at North Korea's elite Kim Il Sung University showed Schmidt how they use Google to look for information online. Surfing the Internet that way is the privilege of only a very few in North Korea.
Officials say students at the university have had Internet access since April 2010.
While university students at Kim Chaek University of Science and Technology and the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology also have carefully monitored Internet access — and are under strict instructions to access only educational materials — most North Koreans have never surfed the Web.
Computers at Pyongyang's main library at the Grand People's Study house are linked to a domestic Intranet service that allows people to read state-run media online and access a trove of reading materials culled by North Korean officials. North Koreans with computers at home can also sign up for the Intranet service. But access to the World Wide Web is extremely rare and often is limited to those with clearance to get on the Internet.
The U.S. delegation's visit takes place as the U.S. pushes to punish North Korea for launching a long-range rocket in December.
Pyongyang celebrates the launch as a peaceful bid to send a satellite into space. The U.S. and other critics, however, condemn it as a covert test of long-range missile technology, and are urging the U.N. Security Council to take action against North Korea.
Some conservatives in the United States have had harsh criticism of the Schmidt-Richardson trip.
Schmidt and Richardson "have joined the long list of Americans and others used by the Kim family dictatorship for political advantage," John Bolton, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration, wrote in the New York Daily News.
"North Korea has repeatedly welcomed prominent Americans to help elevate its stature. It is seeking direct negotiations with Washington, for in the distorted vision of the nation's leadership, this might lead to full diplomatic recognition and 'equal' status in the world community.

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Diminishing Returns: The Cold, Hard Truth for CES Smartphones

Sony has a new flagship phone at CES called the Xperia Z, and it is pretty decent. The company has another one, called the Xperia ZL, that’s also fairly nice. They’re both roughly as okay as the flagship Ascend D2 phone that Huawei was showing off in another part of the room.
If my descriptors seem lacking, that’s intentional. The truth is that none of these phones seem markedly better than last year’s holiday handsets. They’ve got a few perks that some older phones don’t, like 1080p displays and quad-core processors, but in real world use it’s hard to see the added benefit.
When I sampled another new phone this morning, Pantech’s Discover, the experience seemed practically as solid as Sony’s and Huawei’s flagship devices, despite a mere 720p display and a dual-core chip. The biggest difference is that Pantech’s phone will sell for $50 on AT&T, starting this Friday. Huawei’s and Sony’s phones will likely be more expensive if they ever reach the United States.
This is the bitter reality for Android phone makers right now. The improvements in the latest, most premium phones aren’t really that big of a deal. A 1080p display doesn’t look much different from a 720p display at normal viewing distances. A quad-core processor doesn’t provide much of a real-world benefit over a dual-core one. Photos from a 13-megapixel camera don’t look significantly better than photos from an 8-megapixel one, and shutter lag on most good smartphone cameras dropped to near zero a year ago.
As a result my brain feels a bit mushy as I look at the latest phones from CES. In the context of quick hands-on demos, there aren’t a lot of remarkable things to relay about the cream of the crop. At a glance, they’re all just pretty good phones. (Okay, let’s give the Xperia Z credit for one cool trick: It can survive up to 30 minutes dunked in water.)
Jared Newman / TIME.com
Google is partly to thank–or to blame–for this situation. Ever since Android 4.0, known as Ice Cream Sandwich, Android phones have become a lot smoother and more polished. It’s now hard to tell the difference between a phone with a top-of-the-line processor and one with the next-best thing. Software, for that matter, tends to be the source of most innovation in smartphones nowadays, and while Android phone makers tend to add some of their own software bells and whistles to their phones, I’ve yet to see any innovations from them on par with, say, Google Now.
This isn’t only the case with Android. As I wrote last March, diminishing returns seems to have hit Apple’s latest products as well. In general, spec boosts in mobile devices just don’t have the same wow factor as they did a couple years ago, when an increase in display resolution or processing power produced noticeable differences to the average user.
There’s a chance that some real innovation will happen at Mobile World Congress next month, where big shots like Samsung, LG and HTC may announce new phones. But I’m willing to wager the story will be a lot like it is here: A bunch of incremental improvements in tech specs that don’t make much of a difference. That’s not so tragic–there are worse things, after all, than a really solid smartphone with no defining traits. It’s just kind of boring.

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RIM conducting under-the-radar campaign to promote BlackBerry 10 at CES [video]

RIM (RIMM) isn’t conducting any big press conferences at the Consumer Electronics Show this year and it doesn’t even have a booth, but that doesn’t mean the company isn’t working hard to promote BlackBerry 10 in Las Vegas this week. Jeff Gadway, RIM’s senior manager for BlackBerry product marketing, took some time this week to talk with Forbes about his company’s upcoming new smartphone OS and how it will hopefully put RIM back on the map as a major player in the mobile industry.
[More from BGR: Is Samsung the new Apple?]
Among other things, Gadway showed off BlackBerry 10′s nifty multitasking capabilities that allow users to easily access all their important messages within the BlackBerry Hub messaging center without closing down any of the apps they currently have open. What makes this capability particularly cool is that Gadway performed it with just two finger swipes: A swipe up from the bottom of the screen to shrink the app window and a second swipe right to bring up a “peak” at his messages.
[More from BGR: iPhone 5 now available with unlimited service, no contract on Walmart’s $45 Straight Talk plan]
Gadway also showed off the BlackBerry Hub itself, which acts as a one-stop message center that lets users handle messages from multiple email accounts, BlackBerry Messenger, social networking sites and text messages all in one location. RIM has already signed up big-name social networks sites such as Facebook (FB), Twitter and LinkedIn (LNKD) for the Hub, and Gadway notes that the Hub will have an open API that will let developers easily hop on and add their own social networks to the service.
And finally, Gadway demonstrated RIM’s new keyboard technology that takes auto-complete suggestions to a whole new level by allowing users to simply swipe up on a suggested word hovering over the keyboard to insert it into a message.
All of these new functions seem very cool, and we’re very eager to see the complete BlackBerry 10 package once RIM unveils it later this month. A full video of the Forbes interview follows below.

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Fixed mortgage rates rise above record lows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates rose slightly this week off their record lows. The year ends much like it began, with few people able to take advantage of the best rates in history.
Freddie Mac says the average on the 30-year home loan increased to 3.95 percent from 3.91 percent. Last week's rate was the lowest average on records dating to the 1950s.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.24 percent. That's up from 3.21 percent, also a record low.
Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks in 2011. Even so, this year is shaping up to be one of the worst ever for home sales.

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Fixed mortgage rates end year above record lows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates rose slightly this week off their record lows. The year ends much like it began, with few people able to take advantage of the best rates in history.
Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year home loan increased to 3.95 percent from 3.91 percent. Last week's rate was the lowest average on records dating to the 1950s.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.24 percent. That's up from 3.21 percent, also a record low.
Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks in 2011. Even so, this year is shaping up to be one of the worst ever for home sales.
Previously occupied homes are selling just slightly ahead of last year's dismal pace. And new-home sales appear headed for their worst year on records going back half a century.
Next year could be better. More than 5 percent of households said this month they plan to purchase a home within the next six months, according to the Conference Board.
Builders are also hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. Low mortgage rates were cited as a key reason the National Association of Home Builders survey of builder sentiment rose in December to its highest level in more than a year.
But so far, rates are having no major impact. Mortgage applications have fallen slightly in recent weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many Americans don't want to sink money into a home that they fear could lose value over the next few years.
To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for the 30-year loan was unchanged at 0.7; the average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 0.8.
For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate rose to 2.88 percent from 2.85 percent. The average on the one-year adjustable loan ticked up to 2.78 percent from 2.77 percent.
The average fees on the five- and one-year adjustable-rate loans were unchanged at 0.6.

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First Person: What My College Degree Means to Me

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.
My college degree helped me pursue a successful 30-year career in advertising and public relations. However, it only happened after I realized I had not made the right decision in choosing my college major.
Pursuing The Major Course I Wanted
It all began when I had earned four years of tuition under the GI Bill of Rights by serving in the U.S. Navy. Ever since childhood, I had wanted to be an artist, and that was my chance to enroll as a fine arts freshman at the Philadelphia Museum College of Art (now the University of the Arts).
An Enjoyable Fine Arts Education
Throughout my undergraduate years, I appreciated the challenges and encouragement of the school's excellent teaching staff. My courses consisted of drawing, painting, sculpture and other fine arts classes. Some of my paintings were accepted for exhibition at local galleries. I was graduated with top honors and the degree of bachelor of fine arts.
Then it was time for me to earn a living from what I had learned in four years of college. I made the rounds of the many galleries in Philadelphia and New York selling my art, and had some moderate success. However, the sales were few and far between, and my income wasn't nearly enough to support myself.
Had I Made an Error in Judgment?
After a year, I came to the conclusion that I had chosen a field that, while traditionally attractive, wasn't practical in the reality of today's business world. While I hadn't wasted my four years of fine arts studies, they had not prepared me for the necessity of making a living.
I had several choices. I could go on painting, get some kind of part-time job to pay my bills, and hope I'd eventually become a successful exhibiting artist. The other choice was to go back to college and major in practical business subjects.
Fortunately, an application I'd sent to the University of Pennsylvania earned me a lab assisantship and free tuition at the Annenberg Graduate School of Communications there. I majored in mass communications and public relations, with a minor in graphic arts. After two years, and armed with a much more practical resume, I began another job search.
A Favorable Career Turn
Another fortunate opportunity coincided with earning my Master of Arts in Communications degree. Prudential Financial, Inc. was just establishing an Eastern regional office in a Philadelphia suburban area, and hiring a staff of more than 3,000 employees. I applied for the newly-created position of Public Relations and Advertising Manager, and was hired to direct the 30-person creative staff.
I recently retired after 30 years with Prudential. Today I consider my education choices and experiences may be of value to college students in the same situation I was after earning my bachelor's degree. Looking back, I had not realized then the impracticality of attempting a fine arts path in the real world where income opportunities are very limited.
Business-related degrees are essential in finding practical career promises. I believe my decision to enhance my education goals beyond fine arts to communications offered me those opportunities. For today's students, armed with the right credentials and personal determination, there's no limit to the heights that talent, hard work and ambition can earn for them.

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Nats bolster pitching staff with deal for Haren

(Reuters) - The Washington Nationals bolstered their already strong pitching rotation by agreeing to a one-year, $13 million contract with right-hander Dan Haren, Major League Baseball's (MLB) website reported on Tuesday.
Haren, pending a physical, will join a rotation that boasts Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez, effectively replacing Edwin Jackson from a staff that helped the Nats to an MLB-best 98-64 record last season.
Three-time All-Star Haren played the last two-plus seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. Haren, 32, missed time because of back and hip injuries but still made 30 starts and won 12 games for Los Angeles last season.
Haren, who has a career 119-97 record, began his career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003 before playing three seasons with the Oakland Athletics and two and a half seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Australian league is next move, says NZ head

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Entering a team in Australia's Baseball League by 2014 and building a permanent facility was now in the sights of Baseball New Zealand after their credible performance at last month's World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament, according to the sport's chief executive.
The Diamondblacks, a team of locals, expatriates and North Americans with New Zealand heritage, made the final of the four-team tournament but were beaten by seventh-ranked Taiwan 9-0.
New Zealand had been unranked prior to the tournament, but after a 12-2 win over Thailand and 10-6 over the Philippines they were given a world ranking of 29 by baseball authorities, something that Ryan Flynn said had vindicated their leap of faith in inviting the team to the tournament.
"They took a gamble," Flynn told Reuters in a telephone interview from Auckland. "We were unranked. We came out of nowhere but ... they trusted we could put a team on the field that would represent the tournament, country and global baseball and we did.
"I think everybody around the world is quite pleased with jumping up to 29 in the world."
The two losses to Taiwan, 10-0 in pool play and then 9-0 in the final, had been a lot closer than the scorelines suggested Flynn said, with the Taiwanese scoring eight runs in the fifth innings of the first game and six in the fourth innings of the final.
"Taiwan are one of the true super powers of the sport, and we matched them for half of two games before our inexperience and lack of depth showed through.
"But I (have never been) as proud of a group of men in my life. Our staff, and coaches were world class and our players believed they could play with anyone in the world and used it to showcase their talent."
AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE
The impact of the qualifying tournament had been even more far reaching for the sport that struggles for attention in rugby-mad New Zealand.
People in the United States had "come out of the woodwork" asking Flynn if he wanted help with coaching and development, while the ABL were receptive to allowing an Auckland-based team to enter their competition.
"There is talk that our performance will speed up that process to have a franchise in Auckland," he said.
"I would say (by) 2014 at the latest. I used to say at the earliest but we have momentum that we do not want to let die."
The ABL currently has six teams, with Major League Baseball contributing about $3.2 million a year to offset operational costs and the cross-Tasman leagues in other sports that already operated were successful models they could emulate, he said.
New Zealand-based teams play in Australian's National Rugby League, A-League soccer competition and Australian Basketball League, while a joint netball competition also operates.
"The model is there (and) ...we think out of the gate we would be one of the best supported teams in the league.
"We would also have an advantage in that we would have just one team that makes it easier for us to coalesce talent, resources and sponsors."
The second priority for BNZ was to find a permanent, purpose-built venue that would house the potential ABL team, host international games and provide training and conditioning facilities.
The organization was looking at three possible sites for the facility already, which could cost between NZ$3-$5 million ($2.46-$4.1 million) to construct.
Once a team was established and it was attracting regular revenues, a bigger facility could be in the pipeline within three to five years, Flynn said.
"We'd like to get to a NZ$12 to NZ$15 million facility, which isn't Yankee Stadium but it's enough to scale up for bigger tournaments, host international teams, maybe even host the next WBC qualifier here.
"We believe Major League Baseball will help with their Baseball Tomorrow Fund in helping to build a stadium.
"That will be pretty crucial for this country to see a stadium. It's important for that to happen."

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Baseball: Rays extend Longoria contract until at least 2022

(Reuters) - Evan Longoria pledged his loyalty to the Tampa Bay Rays by signing a multi-year contract extension that could keep him in uniform through 2023, the team said on Monday.
The 27-year-old's original deal was through 2016, but the third baseman has signed a six-year extension worth $100 million with an option for one additional year.
"In signing this contract, I kind of wanted to show that I'm committed to this organization," Longoria told the Rays website (http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com).
"I told them from the beginning that I didn't want to be the one sucking up all the payroll so we can't afford anybody else, because it's not giving us the best chance to win.
"There's no telling what the market is going to look like in five years," added Longoria, now looking set to finish his career with the Rays.
"Obviously contracts are going up and they are probably going to continue to go up."
Longoria was drafted by the Rays in 2006 and helped the team reach the World Series in 2008.
A three-time All Star, Longoria played in just 74 games last season because of a left hamstring ailment and also missed extended time in 2011 because of injury.
Longoria is supposed to be over his health woes and is expected to be ready for spring training.

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US rate on 30-year mortgage rises to 3.71 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average rates on fixed mortgages rose this week, the first increase in seven weeks. But mortgage rates remain near historic lows, boosting prospects for home sales this year.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan increased to 3.71 percent. That's up from 3.67 percent last week, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, rose to 2.98 percent. That's up from 2.94 percent last week, also a record low.
The rate on the 30-year loan has been below 4 percent since early December. Low rates are a key reason the housing industry is showing modest signs of a recovery this year.
In April, sales of both previously occupied homes and new homes rose near two-year highs. Builders are gaining more confidence in the market, breaking ground on more homes and requesting more permits to build single-family homes later this year.
Low rates could also provide some help to the economy if more people refinance. When people refinance at lower rates, they pay less interest on their loans and have more money to spend.
Still, the pace of home sales remains well below healthy levels. Economists say it could be years before the market is fully healed.
Many people are still having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks. Some would-be home buyers are holding off because they fear that home prices could keep falling.
The economy is growing only modestly and job creation slowed sharply in April and May. U.S. employers created only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year.
Mortgage rates have been dropping because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis has led investors to buy more Treasury securities, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increase, the yield falls.
To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.7 point, unchanged from last week. The fee for 15-year loans also was unchanged at 0.7 point.
The average rate on one-year adjustable rate mortgages slipped to 2.78 percent from 2.79 percent last week. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans was 0.5, up from 0.4.

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US fixed mortgage rates fall to new record lows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed U.S. mortgage rates fell again to new record lows, providing prospective buyers with more incentive to brave a modestly recovering housing market.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.62 percent. That's down from 3.66 percent last week and the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.89 percent, below last week's previous record of 2.94 percent.
The rate on the 30-year loan has fallen to or matched record low levels in 10 of the past 11 weeks. And it's been below 4 percent since December.
Cheap mortgages have provided a lift to the long-suffering housing market. Sales of new and previously occupied homes are up from the same time last year. Home prices are rising in most markets. And homebuilders are starting more projects and spending at a faster pace.
The number of people who signed contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose in May, matching the fastest pace in two years, the National Association of Realtors reported last week. That suggests Americans are growing more confident in the market.
Low rates could also provide some help to the economy if more people refinance. When people refinance at lower rates, they pay less interest on their loans and have more money to spend. Many homeowners use the savings on renovations, furniture, appliances and other improvements, which help drive growth.
Still, the pace of home sales remains well below healthy levels. Many people are still having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks.
And the sluggish job market could deter some would-be buyers from making a purchase this year. The U.S. economy created only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year. The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent last month, up from 8.1 percent in April.
The government reports Friday on June employment.
Mortgage rates have been dropping because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. A weaker U.S. economy and uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis have led investors to buy more Treasury securities, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increase, the yield falls.
To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.8 point, up from 0.7 percent last week. The fee for 15-year loans also was 0.7 point, unchanged from the previous week.
The average rate on one-year adjustable rate mortgages fell to 2.68 percent, down from 2.74 percent last week. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans rose to 0.5 point, up from 0.4 point.
The average rate on five-year adjustable rate mortgages was unchanged at 2.79 percent. The fee stayed at 0.6 point.

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W.Va. teachers to attend 'Finance University'

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University's business school is teaming up with the state auditor's office and a nonprofit economic literacy group called the West Virginia Jump$start Coalition to present a conference for educators to learn personal finance — and how to teach it to their students.
This year's Finance University is the 10th annual event for middle- and high-school teachers. It will be held Monday through Friday at the Charleston Conference Center.
Conference organizers say that participants will take a course to prepare for teaching their students personal-finance topics, including credit-card use, saving and investing, insurance, retirement plans, and more. Fifteen financial experts also are expected to give presentations.

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South Africa: Nelson Mandela's recovery is good

 South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela has recovered from his recent lung infection and a surgical procedure to remove gallstones, according to an announcement Sunday by President Jacob Zuma.
Doctors say that Mandela, 94, has made "steady progress and that clinically, he continues to improve," according to a statement issued by Zuma's office. Mandela was hospitalized for nearly three weeks in December before going home on Dec. 26.
Zuma's statement said Mandela "continues to receive high care" at his home in the Houghton suburb of Johannesburg and that "his daily routine is being gradually re-established."
Zuma congratulated Mandela on his recovery and said the anti-apartheid icon has "the love and support of all South Africans."
Mandela has been reading newspapers, sitting up in bed and receiving visitors, according to reports in the South African media.
The news that Mandela has recovered from the recurring lung infection and the minor surgery will reassure many in South Africa concerned about the health of the aged leader, who has become increasingly frail over the years.
A year ago, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985.
Under South Africa's white-minority apartheid regime, Mandela served 27 years in prison, where he contracted tuberculosis, before being released in 1990. He later became the nation's first democratically elected president in 1994 under the banner of the African National Congress. He served one five-year term before retiring.
He last made a public appearance on a major stage when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.

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7 killed, 7 wounded in northwest Nigeria attacks

KANO, Nigeria (AP) — A government official says suspected armed robbers terrorizing northwest Nigeria raided three villages there, killing at least seven people and wounding seven more.
Zamfara state Information Commissioner Ibrahim Birnin Magaji said Sunday that the attacks focused on the villages of Akuzo, Makera and Usu in the rural region. Magaji said the gunmen attacked the villages Saturday morning as people left the mosque following morning prayers.
The assault appeared to be the work of a violent gang blamed for several mass casualty attacks in the region in recent months as they raid rural villages in Zamfara and neighboring Kaduna state.
In June, gunmen killed at least 27 people in Zamfara state in attacks on villages preparing for a local market day. Another 20 were killed in an October attack.

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Ivory Coast report: Many factors caused stampede

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Officials say that the New Year's stampede in Ivory Coast which killed 64 people was caused by a combination of several factors including unofficial tree trunk barricades, the narrowing of a major thoroughfare, bad lighting and a shortage of police officers.
Abidjan prosecutor Simplice Kouadio announced the preliminary findings of a police investigation on state television Saturday night.
According to the report, a "human wave" of people leaving a New Year's fireworks display was confronted by a group of people going in the opposite direction on the Boulevard de la Republique by the Houphouet Boigny stadium.
Police interviewed 31 people including the injured, families of victims, firefighters, doctors, the district governor of Abidjan and the Commissioner of Police. The prosecutor said criminal proceedings will be initiated against any perpetrators.

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