HOUSING
Average US long-term mortgage rate hits the lowest point in more than 3 years
The average long-term US mortgage rate is now down to its lowest level in more than three years. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate eased to 6.06 percent this week, down from 6.16 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the rate averaged 7.04 percent. The last time the average rate was lower was Sept. 15, 2022, when it was at 6.02 percent. Lower mortgage rates boost homebuyers’ purchasing power, good news for home shoppers at a time when the housing market remains in a deep slump after years of soaring prices and elevated mortgage rates have shut many out. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
TRADE
US and Taiwan sign $250 billion trade deal, cutting tariffs on Taiwanese goods
The United States and Taiwan reached a trade deal Thursday that cuts tariffs on Taiwanese goods in exchange for $250 billion in new investments in the US tech industry. President Trump initially set the tariff at 32 percent on Taiwanese goods but later changed it to 20 percent. The new agreement slashes the tariff rate to 15 percent, the same as levied on other US trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Japan and South Korea. In a statement, the US Department of Commerce said the deal with Taiwan would establish an “economic partnership” to create several “world-class” US-based industrial parksto help build up domestic production. The Taiwanese government affirmed key details in the deal in a statement, saying that the “Taiwan model” will go to the United States and help expand the global competitiveness of the island’s technology industry while deepening strategic cooperation between the two nations. Taiwan’s executive branch said the island’s companies would specifically invest $250 billion in industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence applications, and energy. In addition to cutting the tariffs on the island nation, the Commerce Department said it will exempt certain imports, such as generic pharmaceuticals and aircraft components, from Taiwan. Taiwanese semiconductor producers that invest in the United States also will get favorable tariff treatments, including exemptions, the department said. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
MARIJUANA
Social sites, licenses cited by CCC in push for big budget increase
Cannabis regulators are asking lawmakers for a roughly 40 percent budget increase, in part to help fund the rollout of regulations governing sites where people can consume marijuana in social settings. On Thursday, the Cannabis Control Commission unanimously voted to ask lawmakers to provide $32.9 million for its work in fiscal year 2027. The request is about $13 million higher than the CCC’s operating budget of $19.7 million. Last year, the commission asked for a $30.8 million budget. The largest is $3.88 million for the rollout of social consumption regulations, including 21 additional staff members, public education and awareness, and IT upgrades, according to a budget outline presented during the meeting. Another $2.8 million would be dedicated to IT costs to support licensing upgrades and replacements. The budget also allocates $3 million for payroll costs to reverse fiscal 2026 reductions. The money would help unfreeze 11 positions and implement cost of living adjustments. The CCC’s budget has been relatively flat over the past few fiscal years while there’s been a surge in licenses. The proposal lands as lawmakers work to finalize a bill restructuring the commission and as the Healey administration prepares to unveil its fiscal 2027 budget later this month. - STATE HOUSE NEWS
MEDIA
Former Boston TV meteorologist Melanie Black signs with FOX Weather
Melanie Black, a Boston TV meteorologist who recently left 7News, has made the jump to national TV with FOX Weather, network officials announced. Black’s first day as an on-air host for FOX Weather at its New York City headquarters was Thursday. For three years, Black worked as a weekend morning meteorologist at WHDH-TV (Channel 7). She left that role a couple of months ago. The company’s president, Sharri Berg, said in a statement that Black’s “years of reporting experience in different climates across the country will prove to be a tremendous asset as we continue to grow our best-in-class weather news service.”. Black began her TV career as a multimedia journalist in Joplin, Mo. She next spent six years as a traffic reporter in Tucson, followed by two years as a traffic anchor in Sacramento.FOX Weather is operated by FOX News Media. — TONYA ALANEZ
MUSIC
Spotify raises premium subscription prices in US to $13 a month
Spotify Technology SA is raising the price of its premium subscription service by 8 percent in an effort to achieve sustained profitability. The Swedish audio giant said Thursday prices will increase in the United States, its largest market, to $13 a month from $12 a month, and will also go up in Estonia and Latvia. The company had already raised fees in some other countries last year, though it hadn’t bumped up US consumers since 2024. Spotify, which has more than 280 million paid subscribers, has been under pressure to raise prices to keep them in line with inflation and increases by other consumer service platforms such as Netflix Inc. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
TECH
Verizon offers $20 credit to users affected by outage
Verizon said Thursday that it would credit $20 to customers affected by the widespread outage that disrupted cellular and data service for over six hours Wednesday. The outage began to draw widespread attention around 12:30 p.m. Eastern time and persisted into the evening. The outage reached a peak of more than 170,000 concurrent reports of disrupted service early Wednesday afternoon, according to Downdetector, an outage-tracking site. On Thursday afternoon, Christina Moon Ashraf, a Verizon spokesperson, blamed a ”software issue” for the disruption, adding that the company was conducting a full review. — NEW YORK TIMES
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Wikipedia inks AI deals with Microsoft, Meta, and Perplexity as it marks 25th birthday
Wikipedia unveiled new business deals with a slew of artificial intelligence companies on Thursday as it marked its 25th anniversary. The online crowdsourced encyclopedia revealed that it has signed up AI companies including Amazon, Meta Platforms, Perplexity, Microsoft, and France’s Mistral AI. Aggressive data collection methods by AI developers, including from Wikipedia’s vast repository of free knowledge, has raised questions about who ultimately pays for the artificial intelligence boom. The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that runs the site, signed Google as one of its first customers in 2022 and announced other agreements last year with smaller AI players such as search engine Ecosia. The new deals will help one of the world’s most popular websites monetize heavy traffic from AI companies. They’re paying to access Wikipedia content “at a volume and speed designed specifically for their needs,” the foundation said. It did not provide financial or other details. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
RECALL
Minifridge recall expands to 964,000 Frigidaires after fire reports
An appliance distributor is expanding a minifridge recall that now covers roughly 964,000 Frigidaire-branded products sold in the United States, after multiple fire reports. Following a recall of about 634,000 minifridges last year, Canada-based Curtis International recalled an additional 330,000 of another model on Thursday. According to a notice published US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the recalled fridges have electrical components that can short circuit and ignite the plastic used to make the product — risking fires and potential burns for users. The 330,000 Frigidaire minifridges now under recall carry the model number EFMIS121 and were sold exclusively at Target. Per the Commission, six reports of fires resulting in property damage have been linked to these products to date. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
SOCIAL MEDIA
About 5 million accounts shut in Australia’s kids social media ban
Meta Platforms Inc. and other major social media platforms blocked 4.7 million underage accounts in Australia last month as the country’s landmark social media ban for under-16s took effect. Access to the accounts was removed in the first half of December, online regulator eSafety said Friday, citing initial figures gathered from operators. The law took effect Dec. 10. Australia’s world-first crackdown was a response to growing concerns about online harms, and the number of blocked accounts highlight the scale of underage social media use in a population of 28 million. Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, said this week it had shut almost 550,000 accounts to meet the requirements of the new law. ESafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said it was too early to say whether platforms are fully complying with the legislation, though she said the early numbers were encouraging. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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