ECONOMY

Mortgage Rates Down Again: Fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.62% this week, down from 8.70% last week, according to a national survey released Friday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. It was the lowest rate since mortgages averaged 8.53% during the week ending April 12, 1974. On one-year adjustable rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.29%, down from 6.34% last week and the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking ARMs in 1984. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.