Latest mortgage rate

IT appears even the bright spots of this tired economy are still working against heavily indebted homeowners. Mortgage rates have hit new lows nearly every week, but many borrowers are
still unable to take advantage of them.Like it is in so many parts of today's sideways economy, relief is out of reach. Stimulus dollars are everywhere, but somehow never where they're needed
most.Last week, U.S. mortgage rates fell for the eighth consecutive week to a record low after the Federal Reserve said it would buy more government debt to help the economy recover. A 30-
year fixed-rate mortgage in the week ending Thursday dropped to 4.44% from 4.49%, according to Freddie Mac, which noted it was the lowest since the mortgage finance company began
collecting data in 1971. The 15-year rate averaged 3.92%.The fall in rates ostensibly means homeowners can lower their monthly loan payments by refinancing their existing loans. They're
certainly trying -- the Mortgage Bankers Association reported last week that 78.1% of all mortgage applications fell under the refinance category, up from 58.7% in April.But many of them are
filling out all that paperwork only to get a rejection letter in response. The mortgage association does not quantify how many of those who apply for refinance actually get approved, but
mortgage brokers say many homeowners are ineligible. Last year the Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, was created to help homeowners get new loans, but the program has only
resulted in a small fraction of the refinancings the government aimed to enable.

Recent company which dell took over

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Dell Inc. said Monday it has agreed to acquire data-storage company 3PAR for $1.15 billion, a
move the computer maker says could cut its data management costs by 50%.

Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) said Monday it will begin a tender offer to buy all of the outstanding common stock of 3PAR for $18 a
share in cash. The price is an 86.5% premium to 3PAR's closing price Friday of $9.65.
Shares of Fremont, Calif.-based 3PAR (PAR) shot up more than 85% in premarket trading to $17.89. Dell shares were flat.
"We have aligned our storage offerings over the last several years to provide our customers choice and value," said Brad Anderson,
senior vice president of Dell's enterprise product group.

The 3PAR purchase came after Dell's 2008 acquisition of data-storage company Equal Logic and a continued partnership with
storage network firm EMC.

Dell said the purchase of 3PAR should add to earnings in its fiscal year 

Seven out of top 10 Asian small-cap funds are Indian

Indian funds have grabbed seven out of the top 10 spots in the league table of leading small-cap funds across Asia, thanks to some canny stock-picking amid growing investor appetite for cheap stocks with
potential to deliver multi-bagger returns. 

An analysis of nearly 300 Asian small-cap schemes shows DSP BlackRock Micro Cap Fund leading the charge, delivering an 82% return over the past year. Managed by Vinit Sambre, who has been with DSP
BlackRock for a little over three years, this fund has also soundly beaten the 58% rise of BSE’s Small-Cap Index since August 2009. The 30-share benchmark Sensex has gained 20% during this period while the
wider BSE 500 Index is up 27%. 

The other six schemes — Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Small Cap, HSBC Small Cap, JPMorgan Smaller Companies, Franklin India Prima, Franklin India Smaller Companies and ING Vysya CUB — have given
investors returns between 44% and 57% on a trailing 12-month basis. These schemes manage anywhere between `46 crore and `954 crore. 

Four of these funds were launched during the peak of the previous bull run between January 2007 and March 2008, and investors in them have also had to endure a massive erosion in their initial investment in
the downturn that followed. 

Mutual fund tracking firm Value Research called the DSP fund as an impressive product in the entire “small-cap universe”, noting that the stocks held by it were “credible, known names and there is a marked
absence of momentum in the portfolio”. The fund’s holding includes companies with a high return on equity and strong leadership niches in their indust

China marches towards world's No. 2 economy

China is on track to overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy after the United States, figures released Monday show.

Japan's gross domestic product, or GDP, totaled $1.29 trillion for the three months ending in June, the nation's Cabinet Office announced. China's official figure for the same period was $1.34
trillioEconomist Frederic Neumann at HSBC in Hong Kong said China is forecast to overtake Japan by the end of the year -- making China the world's No. 2 economy. However, official annual
figures won't come until early 2011.

The International Monetary Fund expects China's output to reach $5.4 trillion by the end of 2010. By comparison, it estimates Japan's GDP at $5.3 trillion.

Another analyst says the whole matter is acad

"Basically, China's underlying growth rate is going to be about 8 percent over the next decade. Japan's underlying is going to be about 1 percent," said Jesper Koll, an economist with JPMorgan
in Tokyo. "In 10 year's time, the Chinese economy will be twice the size of the Japanese economy."

China vs. Japan: China's economy has been growing at a breakneck pace. It achieved a growth rate of 10.3% in the second quarter, according to official data.
Growth in Japan, on the other hand, has been sluggish. In the three months ended in June, growth slowed to just 0.4%.

China's economy has been driven by its exports -- its trade surplus hit an 18-month high of $28.7 billion in July -- and supported by its massive population.

By comparison, Japan has struggled with a strong currency, which has hurt exports. The yen touched a 15-month high against the dollar earlier this month. It also is coping with an aging and
shrinking population.
"Basically, China's underlying growth rate is going to be about 8 percent over the next decade. Japan's underlying is going to be about 1 percent," said Jesper Koll, an economist with JPMorgan
in Tokyo. "In 10 year's time, the Chinese economy will be twice the size of the Japanese economy."
Treasury yields sink to 17-month lows
Treasury yields dropped to 17-month lows Monday as fears about the global economic recovery continued to shake investor confidence.

What prices are doing: The yield on the 10-year note sank to the lowest level since March 2009, dropping to 2.59% after hitting a 16-month low of 2.68% late Friday. The yield on the 30-year
bond fell to 3.75% from 3.87%, also nearing a 17-month low.
Treasury yields dropped to 17-month lows Monday as fears about the global economic recovery continued to shake investor confidence.

What prices are doing: The yield on the 10-year note sank to the lowest level since March 2009, dropping to 2.59% after hitting a 16-month low of 2.68% late Friday. The yield on the 30-year
bond fell to 3.75% from 3.87%, also nearing a 17-month low.