ThyssenKrupp picks Chicago for HQ

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Updated: March 4, 2012 8:16AM

A German industrial conglomerate with companies that manufacture products including automotive parts and elevators has agreed to open its North American headquarters in Chicago.

At a news conference Thursday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the CEO of ThyssenKrupp North America announced the headquarters will open this summer and ultimately employ about 100 people.

Long-term mortgage rates fall again

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the past year.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.87 percent this week. That was below the previous record of 3.88 percent hit two weeks ago.

The average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.14 percent, also a record low. Records for mortgage rates date to the 1950s.

Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.

Rates have been low for more than a year, and the average rate on the 30-year loan has hovered near 4 percent for more than three months.