Gasoline prices jump 5 cents in 2 weeks

Gasoline prices jump 5 cents in 2 weeks

CAMARILLO, Calif.

A new survey finds the average price of regular gasoline in the United States has jumped 5.23 cents in the last two weeks. The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday says the price of a gallon of regular is $2.82.

Analyst Trilby Lundberg says the average price for a gallon of midgrade was $2.96, and premium was at $3.07. St. Louis had the lowest average price among cities surveyed at $2.59 a gallon for regular. San Francisco was highest among surveyed cities at $3.16.

Diesel was at $3.12, up nearly three cents.

Survey: Economy to grow at slower pace

NEW YORK

The U.S. economy should continue to grow this year, though forecasters have lowered their expectations about the pace of recovery, according to a new survey.

The National Association for Business Economics survey, set to be released today, found that economists have become more cautious in the third quarter, with 54 percent expecting growth of more than 2 percent in 2010, down from 67 percent in a similar survey last quarter. Still, those in the survey saw improvement in a number of areas.

Demand and profit margins continued to grow in the quarter. The survey showed better margins for the services, goods-producing, finance, insurance and real estate businesses. Margins stagnated in the transportation, utilities, information and communications industries.

The employment outlook also seemed to be improving. The portion of firms expecting a drop in employment through attrition or layoffs fell in the quarter.

Sarkozy’s approval rating plunges

PARIS

A new poll suggests French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest level yet amid pension protests that have sparked gas shortages, travel chaos and school closures.

The poll, published Sunday in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, showed that only 29 percent of those surveyed were satisfied with Sarkozy’s performance. That was down 3 percent from September and was the French leader’s lowest rating since taking office in 2007. It also was among the lowest approval ratings of any French president in recent memory, the newspaper said.

Nobel laureate says UK hyping debt risk

LONDON

One of the winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in economics accused the British government Sunday of exaggerating the threat of a debt crisis and jeopardizing the economic recovery with severe budget cuts. London School of Economics professor Christopher Pissarides said there was “minimal” risk of Britain’s experiencing a sovereign debt crisis such as the one that brought Greece to the edge of bankruptcy earlier this year.

Pissarides wrote in the Sunday Mirror newspaper that the government “has exaggerated the sovereign risks that are threatening the country.”

He said that unemployment was high and job vacancies few, and rapid spending cuts might make the situation worse. He advocated reducing the budget at a slower pace.

Associated Press