BANKING

Mortgage Rates Decline Slightly: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.21% this week, down from 8.23% last week, according to a national survey by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. It was the first decline since rates fell from 8.02% to 7.93% during the week ended Oct. 2. On one-year adjustable rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.12%, down from 5.13% last week. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.