Down the Way Enterprises

Starting Tuesday, the Federal Housing Administration will permit lenders to give these borrowers refinanced loans backed by the government. The lenders will be required to forgive at least 10 percent of the original mortgage amount. Investors who have control over the mortgages as part of their large portfolios will select which borrowers are invited to participate.

The mortgage carries a significantly lower interest rate than Forest City's previous loan on the 42nd Street property, a 312,000-square-foot complex that includes AMC Theatres and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

A market study of the University Circle area shows that hospitals, institutions and nonprofit groups are fueling more than $3 billion in construction and creating thousands of new jobs. That presents opportunities for private developers who want to build apartments to house medical residents, graduate students, specialists and researchers who are in Cleveland for only a few years.

The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes increased in July but remained well below last year's levels, a sign that demand for housing remains weak.

Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the tenth time in 11 weeks, as investors worried about the economy.