While supplies of gasoline are flush in much of the country, due to a combination of increased domestic production and reduced consumption, supplies are at the tightest point since the early 1990s west of the Rockies. That means that while gas prices have fallen about 5% in the last month nationally, they’ve barely moved up and down the West Coast.

McCoy, who lives outside Medford, Ore., with her husband Jim and three children, is spending about $65 a week fueling a Toyota minivan to take kids to schools and various other activities. Her husband, a sports broadcaster, spends about $50 on gas to get to and from work.

The $115 or so they’re spending at the pump each week is more than many items in their household budget, including tuition to her 9-year old son’s school.

"It does make me angry," she said. "It cuts into our lifestyle where we have to make hard decisions. Do I have to work more hours freelancing? How can we cut the grocery budget? We’re fairly frugal anyhow. Gas prices are making it really hard to survive."

West Coast prices are typically among the most expensive in the nation anyway. State taxes and strict environmental regulations are two factors. Another is limited supply — the West Coast is far from domestic sources such as the Great Plains and the Gulf Coast, as well as from the Middle East.

"Gasoline stocks in the country are OK, but if you look at inventories on the West Coast, they’re lower than they’ve been in May since 1992," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst of the Oil Price Information Service, the firm that compiles the pump price averages for AAA. "People are going to be complaining out there."

AAA’s reading of gas prices typically shows California pump prices about 30 cents a gallon higher than what’s paid by motorists nationally. Oregon and Washington State have prices comparable to California.

But as prices nationally have fallen 21 cents a gallon since early April, the gap between that average and the California average has swelled to more than 60 cents — $3.722 a gallon for unleaded nationally, compared to $4.366 in California. Other West Coast states are paying about 50 cents above the national average — $4.239 in Washington State and $4.215 in McCoy’s Oregon.

Gas prices down and heading lower

Hawaii has the most expensive gas in the country at $4.546, followed by Alaska, which has plenty of oil but no refineries. Gas there costs $4.487.

But no other state is paying more than $4 a gallon although three are within a few pennies of that pain threshold — New York and Connecticut, the two states with the highest gas taxes, and another western state, Nevada, where the average price is $3.968.

Prices are likely to decline on the West Coast once refineries are done switching over to the cleaner summer blend of gasoline that meets environmental rules. But there’s going to be more pain for the West Coast drivers before they see meaningful relief later this summer.

"I won’t be surprised to see the West Coast actually rebound above some of the highs we saw in March," said Kloza. 

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Papoulias’ office announced Saturday that the president would meet initially with the heads of the three parties that won the most votes in Sunday’s inconclusive elections _ the conservative New Democracy, radical left-wing Syriza and socialist PASOK. He will then meet individually with the leaders of the other four parties that won enough votes for parliamentary seats.

In theory, the president’s talks with the party leaders could drag until the scheduled date for the opening of the new parliament, on May 17th. In practice, precedent shows that talks could take two or three days, George Katrougalos, a professor of constitutional law, told the Associated Press. It is also possible that an impasse could be reached Sunday.

If Papoulias fails to broker a coalition agreement, Greece will have to hold new elections next month.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Greece’s socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos officially gave up the mandate to form a coalition government Saturday after three rounds of negotiations proved fruitless, bringing the crisis-struck country one step closer to new elections.

The country’s wrangling politicians will have one ultimate chance at reaching an agreement for a government, when President Karolos Papoulias convenes the party leaders to try to broker a deal. If he fails, new elections will have to be called for next month, prolonging the political uncertainty and bringing Greece’s euro membership into question.

Venizelos was the third party leader to try to cobble together a governing coalition after elections last Sunday gave no party enough parliamentary seats to form a government. Voters furious at two years of harsh austerity measures taken in return for international bailouts worth (EURO)240 billion ($310 billion) rejected Greece’s two formerly dominant parties, Venizelos’ socialist PASOK and the conservative New Democracy, in favor of smaller parties on the left and right.

The turmoil has alarmed Greece’s international creditors, who have stressed that the country must stick to the terms of its rescue deals if it hopes to continue receiving the funds that have been keeping it afloat since May 2010 business cards design.

Whether Greece should adhere to the strict austerity measures required for the bailout loans or pull out of the deal has been at the heart of the wrangling over creating a coalition government.

Alexis Tsipras, head of the Radical Left Coalition, or Syriza, that made massive gains to come second in Sunday’s election, campaigned on an anti-bailout platform and insists any new government must cancel the austerity measures. He argues the terms are so onerous that they are giving the country’s battered economy no chance of recovery.

But both Venizelos and Antonis Samaras, head of New Democracy, have slammed Tsipras’ position as irresponsible. They say his policies would lead to disaster and force Greece out of the European Union’s joint currency _ something that none of the political leaders say they want.

Hopes had been raised that a solution could be found in the form of a partnership between New Democracy, PASOK and the smaller Democratic Left party of Fotis Kouvelis, whose 19 seats put it in a potential kingmaker position. But all three parties have insisted they cannot join forces without the support of Syriza, given its strong performance in the elections.

Handing back the mandate to the president, Venizelos said that while there had been a meeting of minds between his party, Democratic Left and New Democracy, Tsipras was sticking to his position.

Papoulias could break the deadlock when he calls the party leaders for a last-ditch attempt at a solution, but chances are slim. Recent opinion polls show Syriza would win new elections if they are called. Although it would not get enough votes to form a government on its own, it would benefit from regulations that give the first party a bonus 50 seats in the 300-member parliament, putting it in the dominant position to seek coalition partners among other anti-bailout parties.

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The East African nation has secured a $100 million line of credit from Qatar National Bank and will receive a $500-million loan within a month from an unidentified provider, Yol said in an interview in Juba, the capital, on May 8. Loans are also being sought from countries including China.

]]> http://businesscounsels.com/south-sudan-negotiates-loans-as-oil-output-halt-dents-economy-bloomberg/feed/ http://businesscounsels.com/trade-gap-in-us-widens-more-than-forecast-as-imports-jump-bloomberg/ http://businesscounsels.com/trade-gap-in-us-widens-more-than-forecast-as-imports-jump-bloomberg/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 14:52:02 +0000 Jim http://businesscounsels.com/trade-gap-in-us-widens-more-than-forecast-as-imports-jump-bloomberg/ The trade deficit widened more than forecast in March as American demand for crude oil, computers, automobiles and televisions propelled imports to a record.

The gap grew 14 percent to $51.8 billion, the Commerce Department reported in Washington today. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for an increase to $50 billion. A 5.2 percent jump in imports, the biggest in more than a year, swamped the 2.9 percent gain in exports, which also reached a record.

The pickup in the value of imports reflected higher fuel prices and a bounce back in shipments from China following the week-long Lunar New Year celebrations amid increasing consumer spending. Sales by American companies to counterparts in Mexico, the European Union and South Korea reached the highest ever, giving no indication of a slowdown in global demand.

]]> http://businesscounsels.com/trade-gap-in-us-widens-more-than-forecast-as-imports-jump-bloomberg/feed/ http://businesscounsels.com/more-plus-sized-jewelry-and-childrens-stores-coming-to-area-malls/ http://businesscounsels.com/more-plus-sized-jewelry-and-childrens-stores-coming-to-area-malls/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 22:32:03 +0000 Jim http://businesscounsels.com/more-plus-sized-jewelry-and-childrens-stores-coming-to-area-malls/ Attention plus-sized women, jewelry buffs, and tweens/teens: there are a handful of new stores opening in area malls aimed at your demographic.

Among the new arrivals:

For the plus-sized: Ashley Stewart has just opened a 3,500 square foot store in St. Clair Square. And coming to the same mall in October is Torrid. For tweens/teens: Monsoon Kids, a concept out of the UK, will open a store at Chesterfield Mall in July. (It’s also opening a store across from the St. Louis Galleria.) Pink by Victoria’s Secret is coming to St. Clair Square in August. Zumiez, a retailer aimed at the skater set, will open a number of new stores including ones in St. Clair Square in August, Mid Rivers Mall in September and West County Center in October. And Crazy 8, part of the Gymboree family of brands, will open a store in August at South County Center payday loans. (American Eagle Outfitters also recently expanded its store in St. Clair Square.) And finally, for jewelry lovers: James Avery will open its first store in the region at West County Center in October. And Francesca’s Collections is opening a store in South County Center this month, following another store it opened in Chesterfield Mall last month.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. But it’s a snapshot of some of the annual comings and goings at regional malls owned by CBL & Associates.

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That date is a moving target: IPO-related plans frequently change, and Facebook is still finalizing its regulatory paperwork. A company representative declined to comment on Facebook’s IPO timing.

The next step on Facebook’s IPO journey will be its "road show," a series of presentations at which company executives get a chance to pitch big investors privately. The company is reportedly planning to start that process next week.

Soon after the road show, Facebook will update its IPO registration paperwork with a proposed price range for its shares.

Facebook said in a filing last month that it currently values its shares at $30.89 each, as of January 31 — up from $29.73 a month earlier. Anticipating heavy demand, analysts expect the shares to command a premium when Facebook’s underwriters (including lead banker Morgan Stanley) sell them to their clients during Facebook’s IPO Internet Payday loans.

Ordinary investors looking to get a piece of Facebook will have to wait until the next morning. Unlike Google (, Fortune 500), whose IPO used a "Dutch auction" to allow direct bidding by investors, Facebook’s setup doesn’t give regular folks access until shares begin trading publicly.

Facebook’s original filing said the company plans to raise $5 billion in its IPO, but that’s another number that’s subject to change. Facebook will set its final target shortly before it completes its offering.

Facebook will also update its filing to list which stockholders are selling shares — and how much they’re unloading. Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg plans to sell some of his holdings, but Facebook says that "substantially all" of his proceeds will go to cover a hefty tax bill from exercising stock options. 

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