The average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate home loan rose to 2.79% this week from a record low of 2.65% last week.,Long-term bond yields, which can influence interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, are climbing this month amid expectations of higher U.S. government spending on pandemic relief and an economy recovery as more people get vaccinated for COVID-19.,The average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate home loan rose to 2.79% this week from a record low of 2.65% last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.,McBride forecasts that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will rise to 3.1% by the end of the year.,Of course, rising mortgage rates diminish homebuyers’ buying power, especially as home prices continue to rise.

BEIJING (XINHUA) - With roughly six months to go before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, China's national teams across various disciplines have entered winter training camps, going all out for either Olympic qualification or good results at the July 23-Aug 8 Games.,Xia Xuanze, head coach of the Chinese badminton singles, said that the team would continue to strengthen physical training and keep the athletes' minds focused.,China's national women's volleyball team, the pride of the nation since it first claimed the FIVB Women's World Cup in 1981, gathered in Beijing on Wednesday (Jan 6) and kicked off its winter training camp.,Lai Yawen, deputy director of the Chinese volleyball administrative centre, mentioned that the team hopes to improve with a scientific and technical training regime.,The Chinese gymnasts, who hope to rebound from their most humiliating defeat in more than 30 years at the Rio Olympic Games when they failed to win a single gold medal, the first time since the Los Angeles Games in 1984, are continuing with closed-door training in Beijing after travelling to Tokyo in November to participate in a four-nation international meet.