Free Republic

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level on record, giving consumers added incentive to lock in low payments on home purchases and refinancings. Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.69 percent, from 4.75 percent last week. That's the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. The previous record of 4.71 percent was set in December. Rates for 15-year and five-year mortgages also hit lows. Mortgage rates have fallen over the past two months. Investors wary of the European debt crisis and the turbulent stock...

NEW YORK - Baseball had a brownout this year, with home runs dropping to their lowest level in eight years. Is there a link between the power outage and tougher steroid testing? "A lot of guys who were hitting them haven't been hitting them," Florida's Lenny Harris said. "I think the drug policy had a lot to do with it. It changed a lot of guys' diets. There are too many people having off years." An average of 2.06 homers per game were hit through Sunday, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, down 8 1/2 percent from last season's final...