Maine gas prices unchanged while home heating oil falls

AUGUSTA – Maine drivers are paying the same for gas this week as they did last week, while the price of home heating oil has fallen slightly.

Price-monitoring website MaineGasPrices.com reported Monday that the average retail cost of a gallon of gas in Maine remains at $3.60.

That’s 17 cents above the national average, which dropped more than three cents in the past week to an average of $3.43 per gallon.

Prices in Maine are now 20 cents lower than a month ago but 15 cents higher than the same time a year ago.

The Governor’s Energy Office said the average cash price for heating oil in its weekly fuel price survey was $3.64 a gallon Monday, down a penny from a week ago. As usual, southern Maine had the lowest prices and northern Maine had the highest.

Propane was selling for $2.73 a gallon on average, down 5 cents from a week ago. Kerosene was selling for $4.09 a gallon, the same as last week.

Stock market shakes slump on hopes from budget talks

NEW YORK – The stock market finally shook its post-election slump.

Investors seized on hope that Washington will reach a deal on the federal budget and drove stocks to their biggest gain in two months. A pair of strong corporate earnings reports also helped.

The Dow finished up 207.65 points at 12,795.96. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 27.01 points, or 2 percent, to 1,386.89. The Nasdaq composite average gained 62.94, or 2.2 percent, to 2,916.07.

Since President Obama and a divided Congress were returned to power Nov. 6, the Dow had fallen six out of eight days and slid a total of 650 points.

Obama and congressional leaders are in talks to avoid going over a “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1, when tax increases and mandatory government spending cuts are due to take effect.

Corporate earnings reports also boosted the indexes. Lowe’s said its third-quarter profit surged 76 percent. Tyson Foods, the country’s biggest meat company, beat analysts’ expectations for its quarterly earnings.

Federal judge dismisses suit arising from rescue of AIG

NEW YORK – A federal judge has dismissed a $25 billion lawsuit arising from the government rescue of the insurance company American International Group during the 2008 financial crisis.

Starr International, a company run by former AIG CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, accused the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of taking valuable assets from AIG shareholders without their consent or fair compensation.

The lawsuit, filed in November 2011, was dismissed Monday by Judge Paul Engelmayer of Manhattan federal court.

The government poured $182 billion into AIG to keep it afloat and has been selling the ownership stake it got in return. The company said in September that the government owned 16 percent of AIG stock. Until then, the government had been majority owner.

Lowe’s says third-quarter income surged 76 percent

NEW YORK – Lowe’s Cos. said Monday that its third-quarter net income surged 76 percent, helped by lower costs and higher revenue, as the company’s efforts to revamp its merchandise and prices appeared to be gaining traction.

Its adjusted earnings without charges and its revenue both beat Wall Street forecasts. Lowe’s has been retooling its pricing strategy, and last summer returned to offering permanent low prices on many items across the store, instead of offering fleeting discounts. But the changes have been slow to catch on, and last quarter Lowe’s said it could take until the middle of next year to reap the benefits of the strategy.

The results are the latest indication that home-improvement retailers and other housing-market related companies are benefiting from the beginning of a rebound in the housing market, with home prices and home sales growth both improving.

— From news service reports