Rates for 30-year home loans inched downward this week, but still remain above record lows posted during the spring, Freddie Mac said yesterday. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.32 this week, below last week's average of 5.42 percent. Last year at this time, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.35 percent, Freddie Mac said. Rates on 30-year mortgages fell to a record low of 4.78 percent earlier this year. But then they rose as high as 5.6 percent in June after yields on long-term government debt, which are closely tied to mortgage rates, climbed as investors worried that the huge surplus of government debt hitting the market could trigger inflation.

An attorney for General Motors urged a bankruptcy judge yesterday to approve the automaker's sale plan, saying that the only other alternative would be a liquidation of the company's assets that would have "horrific" consequences. Attorney Harvey Miller said the government appears committed to cutting off funding to GM if the sale is not approved by July 10. It was not known when U.S. Judge Robert Gerber would rule.

Koppers Holdings Inc. has filed a "shelf registration" with federal regulators to raise as much as $325 million through the sale of equity, debt or other kinds of securities. This move will give Koppers greater flexibility to raise capital, allowing the company to pursue debt refinancing or acquisitions, the company said. The Pittsburgh-based company said it had no immediate plans to make any offers under the new arrangement.

L.B. Foster Co. said it had signed a $6.5 million contract to provide rail products for use on the Chicago Transit Authority's Dearborn subway project. The Green Tree company has begun delivery of 80-foot sections of track and other products for the long-delayed project to modernize the rail line. Deliveries are expected to be completed by September.

Allegheny County block and lot maps and historical property cards are now available for viewing and printing on the Department of Real Estate Web site at www.recorder.county.allegheny.pa.us/palr/pa003/index.jsp. For instructions on searching these documents, go to the "Search Help" section of the site. There is a fee to view and print the documents: Block and lot maps cost $1.50 and historical property cards are 25 cents.

White Oak chain Kings Restaurants this week opened a new concept, the Kings Hometown Grille, on Neville Island. In addition to the basic menu offered at the company's 35 other locations, the new version will have an expanded menu and serve beer, wine, cocktails and six-packs to go.

U.S. financial markets and federal offices will be closed today in observance of the July Fourth holiday. ... Riverset Credit Union won approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Banking to expand its field of membership beyond the South Side to include the counties of Allegheny, Beaver and Butler.