[naviga:h3]Average 30-year mortgage rate dips[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates inched lower this week. It was the fifth straight week that the benchmark 30-year rate hovered around the key threshold of 4 percent.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate home loans slipped to 4.02 percent from 4.05 percent last week. The rate stood at 3.58 percent a year ago and averaged 3.65 percent in 2016, the lowest level in records dating to 1971.

The rate on 15-year mortgages eased to 3.27 percent from 3.29 percent last week.

[naviga:h3]KeyBank promises scholarship funds[/naviga:h3]

PITTSBURGH — A Cleveland-based bank has pledged to contribute to a Pittsburgh scholarship program.

KeyBank’s philanthropic foundation will donate $1 million to the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship program. Five college-bound seniors will be selected each year for the KeyBank scholarship.

The Promise initiative has awarded more than $100 million in scholarships since 2008. Around 1,000 of those students who were awarded scholarships now work in the Pittsburgh area. It will run through 2028.

KeyCorp took over First Niagara last year. KeyBank Foundation chair and CEO Margot Copeland says the company wanted to find an opportunity in the city that matched their mission.

The KeyBank Foundation plans to donate $175 million to different causes over the next five years.

[naviga:h3]Wal-Mart sales rise in stores, online[/naviga:h3]

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart delivered first-quarter results that show it’s winning over shoppers at stores and online, even as the competition intensifies.

The world’s largest retailer said that sales at established stores rose for the eleventh straight quarter, and customer traffic rose for the tenth quarter in a row.

That’s a rare bright spot in a largely gloomy retail environment in which retailers like Macy’s and Target saw declines in comparable sales.

Online sales at Walmart.com surged 63 percent, a dramatic increase from the 29 percent growth in the previous quarter.

Though the company has been buying up smaller internet retailers, Wal-Mart said a majority of the digital sales growth was through Walmart.com and was fueled by changes in its shipping strategy and a discount for shoppers who pick up their online orders.