Ameriquest Mortgage Co., once the nation's largest subprime lender, is closing. The company stopped taking new mortgage applications on Aug. 1, its parent, ACC Capital Holdings, disclosed late Friday. Along with shuttering Ameriquest, ACC said it also is selling its other assets, a wholesale mortgage origination operation and a mortgage servicing business, to Citigroup Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition includes servicing rights for $45 billion worth of loans and is expected to close today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The sale includes operational centers in Orange and Rancho Cucamonga, along with Rolling Meadows and Schaumberg, Ill., as well as a broker network extending across 48 states.

Buyers open wallets

Consumers returned to the malls in July after taking a breather in June, though worries about the future could make the rebound short-lived. The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending rose by 0.4 percent in July, double the June increase. The spending was supported by a solid 0.5 percent rise in incomes, the best showing in this area in four months. The gain in spending was in line with expectations, but the increase in incomes was double what analysts had expected. However, economists cautioned that the July increases could be temporary, given recent weakness in consumer confidence caused by a prolonged slump in housing and the past several weeks of financial market turbulence.

Mexican trucks OK

The Bush administration can go ahead with a pilot program to allow as many as 100 Mexican trucking companies to freely haul their cargo anywhere within the United States for the next year, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request made by the Teamsters union, the Sierra Club and the nonprofit Public Citizen to halt the program. The appeals court ruled that the groups have not satisfied the legal requirements to immediately stop what the government is calling a "demonstration project," but can continue to argue their case. The trucking program is scheduled to begin Thursday. In court papers filed earlier this week, the Teamsters and Sierra Club argued there won't be enough oversight of the drivers coming into the United States from Mexico.

Coming Sunday

The results of a recent Consumer Reports survey shows the depth of jitters about medical care even for those lucky enough to have insurance through their jobs and families.