A7
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021
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WASHINGTON — U.S.
long-term mortgage
rates rose this week in an
indication that the long
period of record-low rates
could soon be over.
Home loan rates
touched new record lows
last week.
Mortgage buyer Fred-
die Mac reported Thurs-
day that the average
rate on the benchmark
30-year fixed-rate home
loan jumped to 2.79%
from 2.65% last week. By
contrast, the rate stood at
3.65% a year ago.
The average rate on
15-year fixed-rate loans,
popular among home-
owners seeking to refi-
nance their mortgages,
increased to 2.23% from
2.16%.
Economists forecast
modest increases in
mortgage rates this year.
While that’s unlikely to
derail the red-hot hous-
ing market, it could make
it tougher for would-be
homebuyers.
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Unemployment in America
BRIEFING
Long-term
mortgage rates
int he U.S. rise
p
Claims jump to 965K as virus takes toll
BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
number of people seeking un-
employment aid soared last
week to 965,000, the most
since late August and a sign
that the resurgent virus has
likely escalated layoffs.
The latest figures for jobless
claims, issued Thursday by the
Labor Department, remain at
“While prospects for the economy later in 2021 are upbeat,
the labor market recovery has taken a step backward, and
we expect claims to remain elevated, with the risk that they
rise from last week’s levels.”
— Nancy Vanden Houten, an economist at Oxford Economics
levels never seen until the virus
struck. Before the pandemic,
weekly applications typically
numbered around 225,000.
They spiked to nearly 7 million
last spring, after nationwide
shutdowns took effect.
Applications declined over
the summer but have been
stuck above 700,000 since Sep-
tember.
The high pace of layoffs co-
incides with an economy that
has faltered as consumers have
avoided traveling, shopping
and eating out in the face of
soaring viral caseloads. More
than 4,300 deaths were re-
ported Tuesday, another record
high. Shutdowns of restau-
rants, bars and other venues
where people gather in Califor-
nia, New York and other states
have likely forced up layoffs.
Some states and cities are re-
sisting shutdowns, partly out
of fear of the economic conse-
quences but raising the risk of
further infections.
See Unemployment / A8
ELGIN
ECONOMIC FORECAST
GRIM IF MILL CLOSES
Google muscles up
with Fitbit deal
SAN RAMON, Calif. —
Google has completed its
$2.1 billion acquisition of
fitness-gadget maker Fit-
bit, a deal that could help
the internet company
grow even stronger while
U.S. government regula-
tors pursue an antitrust
case aimed at undermin-
ing its power.
Thursday’s comple-
tion of the acquisition
comes 14 months after
Google announced a deal
that immediately raised
alarms.
Google makes most
of its money by selling
ads based on informa-
tion it collects about its
billions of users’ interests
and whereabouts. Pri-
vacy watchdogs feared
it might exploit Fitbit to
peer even deeper into
people’s lives.
But Google wound up
entering a series of com-
mitments in Europe and
other parts of the world
pledging it won’t use the
health and fitness data
from Fitbit’s 29 million us-
ers to sell more ads. It in-
sists it is more interested
in adding Fitbit to its
expanding arsenal of in-
ternet-connected prod-
ucts.
Petco goes
public again
Petco, the pet store
chain, went public again
Thursday, hoping to cash
in on people’s obsessions
with their furry pets.
Petco’s stock, which
opened at $18 Thursday,
soared 63% to close at
$29.40, valuing the com-
pany at more than $6 bil-
lion. It raised $864 million
after selling 48 million
shares in its initial public
offering. The company
plans to use that money
to pay off debt.
Dick Mason/The Observer, File/La Grande Observer
Vapor trails through the air at Boise Cascade’s plywood plant in Elgin. The wood products company has announced it could reduce workers’ hours or even close the plant,
at least temporarily, in 2021. A new economic analysis predicts major losses in Union County and Eastern Oregon if the mill shuts down.
BY KALEB LAY • The Observer (La Grande)
I
f the Boise Cascade plywood plant in Elgin closes this year, it could cost Eastern Oregon 446 jobs, nearly $21 million in labor
income and more than $78 million in economic output within a year. That’s according to an economic impact analysis conducted
by the Eastern Oregon Center for Economic Information, a division of the Eastern Oregon University College of Business.
“The reason I wanted to do some-
thing on this is really just to bring
people to the table so that they can
figure something out, because it
would be catastrophic for our re-
gion,” said Scott McConnell, an eco-
nomics professor at EOU who led
the forecasting project.
Boise Cascade announced it may
close or reduce hours at the plywood
plant in Elgin — which employs 230
people — after a permitting dispute
with the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality over diox-
in-contaminated wastewater broke
out in late October 2020.
The university’s analysis found the
closure of the Elgin facility would
have far-reaching effects across
Eastern Oregon, but Union County
would bear the brunt of the blow.
“Not only will the economic ef-
fects affect the lumber and plywood
industry, but local area restaurants,
schools and grocery stores will feel
the economic impacts of this closure
as well,” the report stated.
See Mill / A8
— Bulletin wire reports
Instacart, others push incentives For first time in 5 years, U.S. gas
to get employees vaccinated
mileage down, emissions up
BY ALEXANDRA OLSON
AND DEE-ANN DURBIN
The Associated Press
As vaccinations continue
across the U.S., some com-
panies are offering financial
incentives to encourage their
workers to get the shots.
Instacart Inc., the grocery
delivery service, announced
Thursday that it would provide
a $25 stipend for workers who
get the COVID-19 vaccine. It
joins others, including Trader
Joe’s and Dollar General, which
plans to pay workers extra if
they get vaccinated.
“Our goal with the introduc-
tion of our new vaccine sup-
port stipend is to ensure that,
when the time comes, Instacart
shoppers don’t have to choose
between earning income as an
essential service provider or
getting vaccinated,” Instacart
CEO Apoorva Mehta said in a
statement.
San Francisco-based
Instacart has nearly doubled
its mostly gig workforce to
about 500,000 to meet a surge
in demand for online grocery
shopping since the pandemic
erupted in the United States
last spring.
See Vaccines / A8
BY TOM KRISHER
The Associated Press
DETROIT — A new government
report says gas mileage for new vehi-
cles dropped and pollution increased
in model year 2019 for the first time in
five years.
The mileage decrease comes as
Americans continue to buy SUVs and
trucks, and shift away from more effi-
cient vehicles.
See Gas mileage / A8
A long
row of un-
sold 2020
pickups
sits at a
Ram deal-
ership in
Littleton,
Colorado.
David
Zalubowski/
AP