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Conway Gittens: I'm Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here's what we're watching today on TheStreet.
With falling interest rates in the spotlight, housing is in the spotlight. Mortgage applications rose 14.2 percent during the week ending Sept. 13, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s weekly survey also showed that the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.15 percent during that period, which is the lowest mortgage rate in two years and a one percentage point drop from a year ago. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department announced that construction of new single-family homes rose nearly 16 percent in August. The supply of new homes is now near highs not seen since 2008.
Related: Iconic home goods brand set to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Moving on to another corporate headline: Tupperware, the once-iconic brand that turned mid-20th-century housewives into entrepreneurs, has filed for bankruptcy.
At one point, the Tupperware name was so identifiable as a brand that it became a substitute for any plastic food container, similar to what Kleenex was for facial tissues and Band-Aid was for self-adhesive bandages.
But the brand has struggled for years as rising environmental awareness put plastic use in a negative light. Competitors have succeeded in making cheaper, more environmentally acceptable packaging. More recently, it has also suffered from rising labour and raw material costs.
In a statement, Chief Executive Laurie Goldman said: “Over the past several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment.”
According to the bankruptcy court filing, Tupperware has an estimated $500 million to $1 billion in assets, while its estimated liabilities are $10 billion.
That's it for the daily roundup. From the New York Stock Exchange, I'm TheStreet's Conway Gittens.
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