Briefs: Federal review says no gas price-fixing

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it found no evidence of market manipulation by refiners and other sellers in gasoline prices spiking at more than $3 a gallon during the summer of 2006. Three-quarters of the run-up in the average retail price of gasoline from $2.28 a gallon in February 2006 to a peak of $3.02 a gallon in August 2006 was due to increases in the price of crude oil and ethanol during the summer driving season, the FTC said in a report to President Bush. The commission put the rest of the blame on increased demand, less gasoline production because of refiners switching to ethanol, damages to refineries from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and refinery outages.

30-year mortgage rate at 3-month low

WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.45 percent, down from 6.52 percent last week and the lowest since the week of May 31. Rates in other mortgage categories were mixed last week.

Freddie Mac profit drops 45 percent

WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac, the nation's No. 2 buyer and backer of home mortgages, set aside more than $300 million in the second quarter to account for bad loans, contributing to a 45 percent drop in profit. Shares in Freddie Mac closed down 5 percent at $60.07. Losses from defaulted mortgages still are a tiny portion of its portfolio at 0.02 percent.

Sun-Times investor urges company sale

CHICAGO -- A Sun-Times Media Group Inc. investor urged the newspaper company to put itself for sale and appoint two institutional shareholders to the board to protect investors. K Capital Partners, led by Abner Kurtin, also called for the resignations of Chairman Raymond Seitz and board member and former Chief Executive Officer Gordon Paris, according to a regulatory filing Thursday. Second-quarter revenue fell 12 percent to $94.3 million.