gas prices

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Consumer Prices Dive 1%, Biggest Drop in 61 Years

Oil's record decline leads to 1% overall drop

(Newser) - Consumer prices in the United States plunged by the largest amount in the past 61 years in October as gasoline prices dropped by a record amount. The Labor Department said today that consumer prices fell by 1% last month, the biggest one-month decline on records that go back to February...

Salt Deficit May Make This Scary

States order massive amounts of salt, pinching other areas

(Newser) - City officials in the Midwest are struggling to prepare for another season of heavy snowfall as road salt supplies drop and prices surge, the Los Angeles Times reports. High demand and once-high gas charges have boosted salt prices, but the spike from $40 to $140 per ton seems exorbitant to...

Winter Oil Heating Costs to Fall
 Winter Oil Heating
Costs to Fall
Nov 13, 2008 1:51 AM CST

Winter Oil Heating Costs to Fall

Demand and energy prices continue to fall

(Newser) - The cost of heating an American home with oil this winter will fall 13%, according to government price forecasts released yesterday. The average heating bill for a typical winter for oil customers will be just under $1,700, reports USA Today. But those who use natural gas for heating—who...

Texas Energy Boom Goes Bust
Texas Energy Boom Goes Bust
Nov 5, 2008 10:28 AM CST

Texas Energy Boom Goes Bust

High oil, gas prices insulated state from economic turmoil, but no longer

(Newser) - Oil’s tumbling price is causing the Texas economy to slip, narrowing the economic gap between it and the rest of the US as unemployment flares and tax revenues and housing prices slide, reports the Wall Street Journal. “Until 30 days ago, there was no feeling at all that...

PR Blitz Aside, Big Oil Drilled Consumers for Stockholders

As demand drops, companies shelve plans to explore—among moves that benefit shareholders, not consumers

(Newser) - Despite public-relations campaigns designed to make consumers think otherwise, big oil companies remain firmly tied to doing what’s best for their stockholders and bottom line, the Los Angeles Times reports. Though demand has outstripped production, companies spend more on stock buybacks than supply-boosting exploration. But, one analyst notes, “...

OPEC Slashes 1.5M Barrels a Day to Boost Oil Prices

(Newser) - OPEC today decided to take 1.5 million barrels of oil per day off the markets to boost prices flirting with 16-month lows, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deep cut will take effect next month. “This slowdown in oil demand is serving to exacerbate the situation in a...

Insurance Guzzles Savings From Fuel-Efficient Cars

Trading down to save money on gas results in higher premiums

(Newser) - Think you’re saving money by driving that small, fuel-efficient car you traded in your SUV for? Maybe, but you’re probably paying more for your insurance—a lot more, reports the Wall Street Journal. In accidents, small cars tend to sustain more damage, and occupants more injures, than larger...

Gas Prices Are Down&mdash;and That's Bad
Gas Prices Are Down—and That's Bad
OPINION
Oct 22, 2008 11:31 AM CDT

Gas Prices Are Down—and That's Bad

Investment in green is our only way out of crisis, writes Friedman

(Newser) - Gas prices are dropping at last, back down to an average of less than $3 a gallon for the first time in a year. That's good news for recession-fearing consumers, writes Thomas L. Friedman, but there's a downside: the push to drive less and make Detroit build more fuel-efficient cars...

Gas Prices Lowest in Year
 Gas Prices Lowest in Year 
Oct 21, 2008 2:14 AM CDT

Gas Prices Lowest in Year

Lower gas worth $1000 a year for families

(Newser) - The price of gasoline has dropped to its lowest level in a year, Reuters reports. The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.91, a drop of 57 cents per gallon in just the last two weeks. Gas is most expensive in San Francisco, at...

Falling Gas Prices Could Put Electric Car Back in Neutral

Surge got automakers in gear, but economic downturn makes new projects tougher

(Newser) - Car companies are revving up work on alternative energy vehicles, responding to higher oil prices that, well, don’t actually exist just now. New cars take about 5 years to roll out, meaning the auto industry can’t nimbly react to price changes: Oil, which cost $130 a barrel just...

Working-Class Anger May Boil Over Soon
Working-Class Anger
May Boil Over Soon
GLOSSIES
Oct 15, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

Working-Class Anger May Boil Over Soon

(Newser) - For a while now, the divide between rich and poor has gotten bigger, but it "hasn't sparked an outright political revolt," writes Reihan Salam in the Atlantic. That could change soon. Our fragile, 20-year "consumption compromise"—the era of cheap goods and cheap credit keeping economic...

Gas Prices Plunge in Biggest Drop Ever

Demand and recession drive price down

(Newser) - The Dow isn't the only thing plummeting. Amid falling demand, the average price of a gallon of gasoline has dropped over 35 cents in the last two weeks. The nationwide Lundberg Survey of 5,000 gas stations shows the cost of gas has slid more than 80 cents since March—...

Gas Prices Fuel Bike-Sale Boom
 Gas Prices Fuel Bike-Sale Boom 
Sep 19, 2008 1:17 PM CDT

Gas Prices Fuel Bike-Sale Boom

(Newser) - The world's biggest bicycle maker is having its best year ever, thanks to high oil prices and concerns about both global warming and obesity, the Economist reports. Taiwan-based Giant sells 7% of the world's bikes—460,000 last month—and can't keep up with demand in some markets. New York...

Volt's Looks Kill Some GM Buzz
 Volt's Looks Kill Some GM Buzz 
Sep 16, 2008 1:58 PM CDT

Volt's Looks Kill Some GM Buzz

Plug-in electric car finally unveiled today; production model too ordinary for some fans

(Newser) - GM offered its first official look today at the plug-in Chevrolet Volt, CNNMoney reports, the electric car slated to go on sale in 2010. Its tame appearance drew the ire of gearheads hoping it would look more like the futuristic concept version. "A lot of people are saying they're...

Long Lines Await Ike Survivors
Long Lines Await Ike Survivors
Sep 15, 2008 2:15 PM CDT

Long Lines Await Ike Survivors

'Eye of the aftermath' proves trying for Texas residents in need

(Newser) - With a short supply of commodities like ice and gasoline forcing Texans trying to recover from Hurricane Ike to wait in hours-long lines, President Bush warned today the storm may put "upward pressure" on US fuel prices. Refineries and oil rigs sustained extensive, though not severe, damage, the Houston ...

GM Rolls Out Volt Tomorrow; Hopes for Game-Changer

Automaker sees battery-powered car as turning point for company, Detroit

(Newser) - General Motors will unveil its new Chevy Volt tomorrow, hoping that the battery-operated car will reverse its long reputation as a gas-guzzling industry dinosaur and attract devotees of competitors' hybrids, reports the Wall Street Journal. GM hopes the Volt, a lithium-ion-powered car due to hit the market in 2010, can...

Ike Boosts Gas Prices Up to $5

Prices jump 5 cents nationwide as Gulf shuts down nearly 100% oil production

(Newser) - Gas prices have shot up an average of 5 cents nationwide in the wake of Hurricane Ike, which has shut down almost 100% of oil and natural gas production in the Gulf Coast region. Gas prices in the Gulf area have risen as high as $5 per gallon, and an...

Strapped Schools Say Bye to Bus Rides
 Strapped Schools
 Say Bye to Bus Rides
glossies
Sep 7, 2008 7:55 PM CDT

Strapped Schools Say Bye to Bus Rides

New generation can tell grandkids they walked to school

(Newser) - As high gas prices strangle US school budgets, more officials are cutting back where it hurts student scores least: school buses. Some schools are limiting or redesigning bus routes, but others have nixed busing entirely, leaving thousands of kids to hoof it under adult supervision. Some parents object, but many...

Feds Think Bad Data May Feed Oil Spikes

Broad market probe focuses on price-fixing weak spots

(Newser) - Commodity regulators, worried that some companies are manipulating crude oil prices by reporting false numbers on supplies and sales, are conducting a wide-ranging probe focused on energy traders, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sources say a big worry is that firms are falsely reporting oil inventories to create the perception...

Small Cars Carry Big Price Tags
 Small Cars Carry Big Price Tags 
Sep 3, 2008 10:57 AM CDT

Small Cars Carry Big Price Tags

As public turns from SUVs, automakers jack up prices on compacts

(Newser) - With sales of SUVs and trucks dwindling, car companies have begun to push smaller, more fuel-efficient models—but not for the same small prices. Without the $10,000 profit that was typical on SUVs, automakers can no longer sell cars like the Ford Focus for an average profit of $100....

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