Brooks Resources 

funds chamber music

Real estate developer Brooks Resources Corp. will fund for three years the High Desert Chamber Music educational outreach programming. The programming is free to students, teachers or schools in Central Oregon and focuses on allowing young children to experience music performance, and cultivate an interest in the performing arts, according to Brooks Resources. Brooks Resources has a 55-year history of construction. It built Black Butte Ranch, Bend neighborhoods NorthWest Crossing, North Rim, Awbrey Butte, Awbrey Glen, Mount Bachelor Village Resort and Discovery West, and IronHorse in Prineville. The developer did not say how much money it invested in the programming. The High Desert Chamber Music mission is to bring chamber music and musicians to Central Oregon. It is in its 17th season.

Average mortgage

inches back up

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. moved higher for the third week in a row and reached the highest level since late August. The rate rose to 6.44% from 6.32% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.63%. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including how the bond market reacts to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions. That can move the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.09% Thursday, up from 3.62% in mid-September.

Shoppers spent

more last month

Americans stepped up their purchases at retailers last month as low unemployment, steady pay gains and rising stock and home values helped sustain their willingness to spend despite higher prices. Retail sales rose 0.4% from August to September, up from 0.1% the previous month and the third straight increase. Online retailers, restaurants, and grocery stores all reported higher sales. With the presidential election in its final weeks, Thursday’s figures provided the latest sign that household spending is fueling a steady economic expansion even while inflation has cooled.

Jobless claims

return to normal

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week came back down to more recent ranges after a big jump the week before due to hurricanes in the Southeast. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims fell by by 19,000 to 241,000 for the week of Oct. 12. That’s well below the 262,000 analysts were expecting. Applications for jobless benefits are widely considered representative of U.S. layoffs in a given week. The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits rose by 9,000 to about 1.87 million for the week of Oct. 5.

— Bulletin staff and wire reports