BANKING

Mortgage Rates Lowest Since ‘73: Interest charged on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell again this week, averaging 8.09%, according to a national survey. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said the average, down from 8.13% the week before, was the lowest since June, 1973. Just three weeks ago, the rate averaged 8.48%. It has fallen in most weeks since late March, when it hit a high for the year of 9.03. The declines caused a 71.5% jump in applications this week from the week ended July 10. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.50%, down from 5.56% last week and the lowest since the corporation began tracking ARMs in 1984.