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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Surge To Three-month High

Michael Kitchen

MarketWatch Pulse

NEW YORK -- Mortgage rates bounded higher this week, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate soaring from 6.32% to 6.77%, according to a Bankrate.com weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage had an average of 0.39 discount and origination points, it said. The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage jumped to 6.46%, while the average jumbo 30-year fixed rate climbed to 7.95%. Adjustable mortgage rates were mixed, with the average one-year ARM dipping to 6.09%, and the average 5/1 ARM increasing to 6.67%.

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Same-Store Sales

Most folks judge the health of a business by the revenue that comes in through sales. But not all revenue is equal. Companies can grow their sales by buying other companies, which means you don't get a clear view of how the real sales trends are moving.

So, many analysts, particularly those who look at retail, try to gauge what¿s known as "organic" growth, by looking at same-store sales. These are sales only at outlets open more than a year, so the metric can exclude any sales jump that comes from opening new locations. Retailers release same-store sales (which are frequently called "comps" since they're a true comparison from the previous period) every month.

Retail, incidentally, isn't the only industry to look at same-store sales. Hospital companies, also use the metric, to gauge how existing hospitals are performing compared to ones they just built or acquired.