Welcome to the latest edition of top stock highlights where we look at interesting news events and corporate snippets. Rising mortgage loan rates Home buyers and owners should be prepared to pay higher interest as local banks have begun to raise interest rates on mortgage loans for HDB flats. The move is in line with the US Federal Reserve’s recent 0.75 percentage point hike in interest rates last month. Last Tuesday, Singapore’s largest bank, DBS Group (SGX: D05), raised the rate for all its fixed-rate loans to 2.75% per annum, up from the previous 2.45% and 2.6% for two and three-year fixed loans, respectively. The lender also scrapped its five-year fixed-rate plan that was priced at 2.05% per annum. United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11), or UOB, was the most aggressive, hiking its mortgage loan rates past 3%. The bank raised the interest on its three-year fixed package to 3.08%, up from 2.8% previously....