Banking & Finance

The unemployment rate has now remained below 4% for 22 straight months, the longest such streak since the late 1960s.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped to 7.03% from 7.22% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.33%.

The heads of the nation’s biggest banks say there are reasons to be concerned about the health of U.S. consumers — particularly poor and low-income borrowers — in their annual appearance in front of Congress on Wednesday.