Business Highlights

Roundup of top economy stories

NEW YORK — Uber lost

$1.78 billion in the second quarter as the pandemic carved a gaping hole in its ride-hailing business, with millions of people staying home to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Its food delivery business grew as more people ordered in, but that booming part of its business didn’t turn a profit.

The San Franciscobased ride-hailing giant brought in $2.24 billion in revenue during the second quarter, down 27% from the same time last year, on a constant currency basis, the company said Thursday.

Uber’s mobility business, which includes ride-hailing and micro-mobility options such as scooters and bikes, saw its revenue shrink to $790 million, down 67% from $2.38 billion a year ago.

Uber’s Eats delivery business — once just a fraction of the company — brought in $1.21 billion in revenue during the quarter. That was up 103% from $595 million in last year’s second quarter.

Gross bookings for Uber’s mobility business plummeted 73% from the same quarter last year. Its delivery business grew 113% on a constant currency basis, but did not turn a profit, instead losing about $232 million during the quarter.

• • •

WASHINGTON — U.S. average rates on longterm mortgages fell this week, pushing the key 30-year loan to a record low for the eighth time this year.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year home loan dropped to 2.88% from 2.99% last week. It was the lowest level since Freddie started tracking rates in 1971. By contrast, the rate averaged 3.60% a year ago.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 2.44% from 2.51% last week.

Homebuying demand continues as one of few bright spots in the economy, with the recovery stagnating. But a key barrier for potential buyers is still the lack of available homes, especially for first-time purchases.

As the coronavirus has surged in the South and West in recent weeks, many states have halted plans to reopen businesses and millions of consumers have delayed any return to traveling, shopping and other normal economic activity. The government reported Thursday that nearly 1.2 million laid-off Americans applied for state unemployment benefits last week, evidence that the pandemic keeps forcing companies to slash jobs just as a critical $600 weekly federal jobless payment has expired.