Business Briefs

Stocks indexes fall on dour jobs data

NEW YORK — A dour report on job losses in June sent stocks sharply lower Thursday.

Major stock indexes fell more than 2.6 percent after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate hit a 26-year high. The Dow Jones industrials closed at their lowest level in six weeks.

Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was extended until 4:15 p.m. Eastern time in order to execute customer orders affected by system irregularities, an NYSE spokeswoman said.

As investors sold off stocks amid fresh concerns about the economy, they moved into the safety of bonds, pushing Treasury yields lower.

Investor optimism has been shaken in recent weeks amid a barrage of mixed economic reports, making for an erratic market.

Mortgage rates fall to average 5.32%

McLEAN, Va. — Rates for 30-year home loans inched downward this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.32 this week, down from 5.42 percent last week. The rate on a 15-year loan fell to 4.77 percent, down from 4.87 percent.

Rates on 30-year mortgages fell to a record low of 4.78 percent earlier this year. But then they rose as high as 5.6 percent in June after yields on long-term government debt, which are closely tied to mortgages rates, climbed. Since then, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note has fallen from 4.01 percent in June to 3.51 percent Thursday.

Bank of America OKs TARP payouts

CHARLOTTE — Bank of America said its board Thursday authorized roughly $713 million in dividend payments to the U.S. government under the troubled asset relief program.

The company also said its board authorized dividends on nearly 20 preferred stocks.

Shares of Bank of America fell 41 cents to close at $12.64 Thursday.

Tech issues create delays for United

CHICAGO — A computer problem temporarily disrupted United Airlines flights at O'Hare International Airport Thursday, causing long delays and lines for travelers headed out for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The outage caused about 100 flights to be canceled as of Thursday afternoon, said airline spokeswoman Robin Urbanski.

The problem with the check-in computers ran from 3 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., she said. The glitch affected the boarding pass system and the computers that tell pilots the number of passengers on board and weight of the plane, which affect how much fuel an aircraft can carry.

The ground stop order was lifted shortly before 8 a.m., when the airline began resolving the issues.

Georgetown is site of foreclosure help

Family Services Inc., a North Charleston nonprofit, will hold a one-day foreclosure counseling event for struggling Georgetown County homeowners.

The July 11 event offers clinics that start at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. It will be held at the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments at 1230 Highmarket St. in Georgetown. Attendees are encouraged to bring a recent mortgage bill, any foreclosure-related documents, a pay stub, a recent bank statement, tax returns and a utility bill.