BUSINESS BRIEFS
GOP scuttles bill to tap into U.S. fuel stockpile
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — House Republicans yesterday scuttled a bill that Democrats hoped would help lower gasoline prices by forcing the Energy Department to release 70 million barrels of oil — about a three-day supply — from the national stockpile.
Democrats promised that the action would have produced immediate relief at the pump, as was the case with similar releases in 1991, 2000 and 2005. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve now holds about 700 million barrels.
Despite winning a 268-157 majority, the measure still lost.
Democratic leaders had brought the proposal up for debate under rules requiring a two-thirds vote to pass.
OIL RISES A BIT, BUT NATURAL GAS TANKS
NEW YORK — Energy market investors managed to win back modest gains yesterday following oil's big drop a day earlier, but again drove natural gas prices sharply lower as a three-week sell-off of that fuel continued unabated.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose $1.05 to settle at $125.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange — gaining back only about a quarter of Wednesday's decline. August natural gas tumbled 46.5 cents to settle at $9.283 per 1,000 cubic feet, its lowest point since March.
At the gas pump, prices continued their retreat. The national average for a gallon of regular dropped more than a penny and a half to $4.026 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Retail diesel is down nearly half a cent to $4.788.
NEW YORK SUES UBS FOR FRAUD
NEW YORK — New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sued banking giant UBS for fraud yesterday, accusing the company of marketing tens of billions of dollars of auction-rate securities as safe even when they knew the investments were in trouble.
The civil lawsuit claims bank executives pulled their personal investments from the floundering market last winter when they realized a crisis was brewing but continued to tell customers all was well.
UBS said in a statement that while some of its employees exercised "poor judgment," none had engaged in illegal conduct.
SATELLITE RADIO MERGER CLOSER
WASHINGTON — A merger of the nation's only two satellite radio companies moved closer to fruition yesterday after the pair agreed to pay $19.7 million to settle a case alleging violation of federal rules.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told The Associated Press the agency had reached an agreement late Wednesday night where XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will pay $17.5 million and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. will pay $2.2 million to resolve that issue.
The agreement, which still requires a full vote of the commission, is expected to lead to approval of Sirius' $3.9 billion buyout of XM, which has been under regulatory review for more than a year.
BIGGEST RAILROADS RELEASE EARNINGS
NEW YORK — Despite rapidly accelerating fuel costs and Midwest floods putting a damper on profits, the nation's two largest railroads' second-quarter profits were boosted by demand for farm products, coal and improving operational efficiency.
Union Pacific Corp., the largest U.S. railroad, said yesterday its quarterly earnings jumped 19 percent from a year earlier and beat analysts' expectations.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., meanwhile, reported a 19 percent decline in net income after the market closed, as costs related to an environmental cleanup overshadowed better pricing and strong segment revenue growth.
Excluding one-time costs, BNSF's profit came in above Wall Street's views.
