The down surge in U.S. gasoline prices following the fall in global oil prices may finally be abating, according to Lundberg Survey Inc. “Prices are $1.2422 lower than a year ago, according to the survey, which is based on information obtained at about 2,500 filling stations during the two weeks ended Jan. 23 by the Camarillo, California-based company. “Gasoline prices may be nearing a trough after falling in every Lundberg survey since July. Declines have lost steam and prices will be hitting a bottom soon unless there is a renewed plunge in crude oil prices, according to Trilby Lundberg, the president of Lundberg Survey. ‘In the past 10 days, the wholesale prices that gasoline marketers and retailers pay are up,’ Lundberg said in a telephone interview. ‘Retail prices will most likely be bottoming soon, if they haven’t already.'” [Bloomberg]
The long-delayed merger of Pepco Holdings, a Washington D.C. based utility company and Exelon, a Chicago utility holding company, looks set to continue as the debate over the primary market distribution for a potentially merged enterprise cannot be concluded. “The financial incentives of all investor-owned utilities are at odds with distributed generation, which they consider to be a competitor. Pretending that utilities are going to support distributed energy is self-delusion. Exelon and Pepco are no different in this regard. At least in the immediate future, the most important question for purposes of promoting distributed generation is whether a utility supports bona fide market competition? By this measure, Exelon is arguably one of distributed energy greatest utility ‘allies.’” [Forbes Energy]
President. Obama visited Saudi Arabia over the weekend postponing his trip to India in order to pay his respects to the late King Abdullah who died on Friday morning. “Saudi Arabia’s status as one of Washington’s most important Arab allies has at times appeared to trump US concerns about the terrorist funding that flows from the kingdom and about human-rights abuses. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Saturday that Obama would meet on Tuesday with King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and other officials, to ‘offer his condolences on behalf of the American people’”. [The Guardian]
