PRICES: Shoppers should get ready to pay more at register
Rising gas prices are rippling through the entire economy. “Major makers of everyday consumer products and groceries say they have to raise prices to offset soaring costs for their fuel,” USA Today reports. “Households reeling from gasoline near $4 face bigger bills for everything from changing their babies’ diapers to treating themselves to ice cream.”
OIL: President Obama says tax breaks should end for oil companies
In his weekly radio address, President Obama launched his strongest attack yet on big oil companies that receive big tax breaks. “The president said the U.S. shouldn’t be granting $4 billion in tax breaks to oil companies at a time when they are reaping tens of billions of dollars in profit and gasoline prices have risen above $4 per gallon in much of the nation,” Bloomberg reports.
CARS: Electric car boom could deliver a surge in grid power
If electric cars become the hit many experts predict, they’ll save their owners gas money – but put infrastructure costs on the rest of us. “Electric vehicles will require a 16-fold increase in power usage in the next decade,” CNN reports, “putting pressure on utilities to find out how to handle car charging as quickly as possible.”
CELL PHONES: Verizon to put location-tracking warning sticker on phones
After Apple angered privacy experts – and many iPhone owners – when it was revealed its phones stores location data, the nation’s largest mobile operator will slap warning stickers on its phones that read, “This device is capable of determining its (and your) physical, geographical location and can associate this location data with other customer information.”
TECH: Study questions federal spending on broadband
Some in Congress are saying when the federal government spends money to expand high-speed Internet access to areas with little or no service, it’s not money well spent. “The federal government money is subsidizing some companies to compete against others that didn’t receive subsidies,” USA Today reports. “Congress allocated $7.2 billion to expand high-speed Internet service in areas with limited or no services.”
Add a Comment
Our Policy: We welcome relevant and respectful comments in order to foster healthy and informative discussions. All other comments may be removed. Comments with links are automatically held for moderation.