Dinner Dating

On the subject of freezer efficiency, I like the idea of marking frozen
food with the date by which it should be consumed versus the date it
was put into the freezer. Isn’t it easier to see a package marked with
next week’s date on it and know it’s “time” to plan a particular meal?
Diane S. in North Olmsted, OH

Before I Buy

Countrywide Financial Corp., which last week said it had drawn down an $11.5 billion line of credit with 40 of the world’s largest banks, announced Wednesday that it had obtained an additional $2 billion capital infusion from Bank of America — but it came at a price.

In return for its investment, Bank of America was granted a nonvoting convertible preferred security yielding 7.25 percent annually, which it can convert into common stock in the company at $18 per share.

Countrywide’s stock, which has traded at $15 to $45 in the past year, closed at $21.82 Wednesday before the announcement of Bank of America’s investment was released.

Move Inc. today announced the launch of several enhancements at the Realtor.com property-search site, including the addition of neighborhood information and the ability for Realtors to post up to 25 photos per listing and embed video content at the site.

Realtors who pay to enhance property information displayed at Realtor.com now have the option to upload up to 25 property images, compared to a previous maximum of six for enhanced listings. These photos can be automatically pulled from multiple listing service feeds or submitted directly by listing agents, Move announced.

Long-term mortgage rates declined this week, helped in part by the Federal Reserve’s recent cut of the rate it charges banks for direct loans, Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com reported today.

In Freddie Mac’s survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slid to an average 6.52 percent from last week’s 6.62 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.18 percent from 6.3 percent. Points, which are fees lenders charge for loan processing expressed as a percent of the loan, averaged 0.4 and 0.5, respectively, on the 30- and 15-year loans.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - At the North Carolina offices of mortgage lender HomeBanc, Archie Clark is the only employee left. But in a few days, he’ll be gone, too.

“It’s pretty much a ghost town over there,” Clark said. “Somebody went in and took the furniture from the lobby.”

When Clark finishes helping movers from the company’s Atlanta headquarters collect computers and other property, he’ll join the more than 25,000 workers nationwide who have lost jobs in the financial services industry since the beginning of the month. With few exceptions, the cuts are the direct result of woes in the nation’s housing market.