U.S. May Pay $5 Per Gallon

Rising oil prices, lower refining capacity, Middle East tension and speculators propelling prices, may make more drivers than ever pay $5 for a gallon.

Regular gas has reached a record February high of $3.65 a gallon, up 42 cents over a year ago, and Motorists along both coasts are paying more: an average $4.20 in California and $3.91 a gallon in New York. A recent fire that’s shuttered a major Washington state refinery may cause the prices rise with 20 cents a gallon this weekend.
Florida drivers are paying $5.89 a gallon near Disney World, while gas at some Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles stations is up to $4.85. President Obama declared that there are no quick, easy fixes and ridiculed any Republican plan for “$2 gas”, hoping to ease griping over a hot button issue in an election year.

“I don’t foresee any situation — even a worsening crisis in Iran — that results in $5 a gallon gas nationally,” said Patrick DeHaan of price-tracker gasbuddy.com. “You’re going to see hot spots … that push prices towards $5, but the national range will be $3.75 to $4.15.” We don’t see a scenario for a national average higher than that for any length of time.”

Couple turns to amateur porn gig to support toddler

 

 

 

A couple struggling to make ends meet to support their 20-month-old daughter have found a new way to supplement a meager income - amateur porn.
Berkley, 21, and Tyler, 25, have no previous experience in the X-rated industry, nor any long-term dreams to become porn stars - but for now, hey, it's a job, they say.
A job that rakes in $1,000 a week, according to ABC's Nightline.
That beats the tips Berkley took home while working part-time as a cocktail waitress at a nightclub - and the sub-$350 a week Tyler was pulling in doing odd jobs.
"That first night, within 30 minutes we had made $300," Tyler said. "I was like, 'I'm done with a normal 40-hour work week.'"

Five nights a week, the pair shed their clothes and put on a steamy, carnal romp before a webcam - hoping for high online traffic as they get it on.
Their bedroom transforms into a sex-saturated set - even as their toddler sleeps in a room upstairs. Never far from the webcam is a baby monitor, the volume turned low.
Viewers pay up to $8 per minute to watch Berkley and Tyler get wild. While the hosting websites take 75 percent of the earnings, what's left is still a good chunk of cash - enough to convince the couple to pick up where they left off the next night.
"When we can make the money quick, we do," Tyler said.
While the couple isn't in a position to turn down the easy money, they admit the webcam sessions are starting to take a physical toll.
"Having sex off and on for two, three hours, it's kind of hard," Berkley said. "Especially the kind they want - rough. So it wears on you on lot."

Another unfortunate side effect is the couple says it's difficult for them to find intimacy when the webcam's not rolling. Tyler even calls the late-night taping a "total sex killer."
"Because it is a job for us to have sex with one another, sex outside of work doesn't really happen" he said.
Still, Berkley and Tyler insist they're trying to lead a normal life - even suggesting the amateur porn gig is actually a stepping stone to a better path.
"This kind of job is helping us get closer and closer to college," Tyler said.
"We just want to be normal. That's what our goal is to be - as normal as possible."

 

Economics : Impact - Oil prices slip 2% after bin Laden’s death

According to CNN, oil prices slipped early Monday, as investors breathed a sigh of relief following news that U.S. forces had killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Crude for June delivery fell $2.07, or nearly 2 percent, to $111.86 a barrel in early morning trading.
Spot gold prices fell to $1,549.30 a troy ounce — a drop of $16.40 or 1.2% from Friday’s closing levels. Silver stagged a bigger retreat, trading at $44.21 an ounce, falling $3.73 an ounce, or 7.8% from Friday’s close.
On the same time, Asia stocks indexes were mostly higher Monday following news of Osama bin Laden’s death, with Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average closing above 10,000 for the first time in almost two months.
We remind you that on Sunday, a small American team led a helicopter raid on a large compound in a residential area of Abbottabad, Pakistan, some 35 miles north of Islamabad, killing the al Qaida leader in a fire fight and capturing his body, according to senior administration officials.
The initial tip that led to locating him came from detainees taken into custody after the 9-11 attacks about a courier in Bin Laden’s inner circle, Obama administration officials told reporters in a briefing just after midnight.

Economics : The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped about 12 cents over the last two weeks, and in Hawaii the average price for a gallon is $4.5!

Drivers are fed up and don’t know what to do. The national average was $3.88, as of Friday.

A frustrated Rama Dahdouh said she is not going anywhere.

“I’m staying home. You can’t go anywhere now. Just basic where ever you go.”

AAA reported the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chicago was $4.245 Monday, up 3.5 cents from a week ago.

Procter & Gamble Co. said Monday it raised U.S. list prices for those paper products because of rising costs for oil, gas and pulp.

The Cincinnati-based consumer products maker informed retailers of increases last week. Retailers will decide how much of those price increases to pass along to shoppers.

The Obama administration, reacting to higher prices (rather than being proactive about decreasing America’s energy independence), is calling for a probe of gasoline prices.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, renewed his call for a federal investigation to determine if illegal speculation and trading are driving the skyrocketing increase in gasoline prices.

Blumenthal told moderator Bob Schieffer on the CBS television program “Face the Nation” Sunday, “There really needs to be an investigation involving… subpoenas and compulsory process. There needs to be very possibly a grand jury to uncover the potential wrongdoing.

“The Justice Department should take the lead, seize this moment, and send a message — a very strong deterrent message — that this country will not tolerate the kind of illegal speculation and trading and hedge fund activity that may be driving prices up.”

Current levels of global demand for oil would buffer the impacts of Japan’s nuclear crisis on Kuwait, according to Abdelatif Al-Houti, Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) managing director for world marketing.

Al-Houti told state media that the protests and unrest in Libya, as well as in Bahrain, have led to high oil prices, but that the crisis in Japan has created some price balance due to its reduced consumption of oil.

However, the prices of oil and gas products, especially auto fuel, will skyrocket due to the stoppage of several world oil refineries for maintenance, said Al-Houti, who added that Kuwait sells only to end users and not to speculators.

So … the $5 per gallon is very close!

Jobless Claims Hit Lowest Level Since July 2008

WASHINGTON—The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits slid last week to the lowest level in nearly two and a half years, indicating that labor-market conditions continue to improve.

Initial unemployment claims declined by 34,000 to 388,000 in the week ended Dec. 25, the first time the figure has dropped below 400,000 since July 2008, the Labor Department said Thursday in its weekly report. The previous week's figures were revised up slightly to 422,000 from 420,000.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected claims would fall by just 2,000.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits slid last week to the lowest level in more than two years, indicating the labor market may be improving. John Shipman discusses.

The four-week average of new claims, which aims to smooth volatility in the data, also fell to its lowest point since July 2008. That more closely watched figure decreased by 12,500 to 414,000.

While seasonal layoffs often pick up in the week before Christmas, a Labor Department economist said there is nothing unusual about the figures reported by individual states.

The ongoing decline in initial claims provides some basis for optimism about the labor market following a disappointing monthly employment report for November. The positive weekly figures suggest the December jobless report, due for release Jan. 7, could show a decline in the unemployment rate from the seven-month high of 9.8% reached last month.

Still, the Labor Department said in Thursday's report that the number of continuing claims—those drawn by workers for more than a week—rose 57,000 to 4,128,000 in the week ended Dec. 18 from an upwardly revised 4,071,000 the previous week. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.

The unemployment rate for workers with unemployment insurance was 3.3% in the Dec. 18 week, up from the prior week's unrevised 3.2% rate.

The state-by-state breakdown of new claims, which is also reported with a one-week lag, showed that California had the largest decrease in claims, 7,656, because of fewer layoffs in the agriculture sector. The largest gain in claims in the week ending Dec. 18 was in New Jersey, with a rise of 5,235, with layoffs in construction, transportation and manufacturing industries.

Meanwhile, the number of U.S. consumers who signed contracts to buy homes rose in November to the highest level in seven months as housing demand gradually improves.

The National Association of Realtors' index for pending sales of existing homes increased 3.5% in November, the industry group said Thursday.

However, the pending-sales index was 5% below its level in November 2009.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected pending home sales would climb by 1% in November.

Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist, said he expects a gradual housing-market recovery next year.

But many other economists say the market is heading for a second downturn as foreclosures and unemployment remain high.

The NAR index is based on pending sales of existing homes, including single-family homes and condominiums. A home sale is pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction hasn't closed. Pending sales typically close within one or two months of signing.

In its latest monthly forecast on the industry, the NAR projected existing-home sales of 4.85 million this year and 5.23 million in 2011. That compares with 5.16 million in 2009.

The median price for an existing home is estimated at $172,700 in 2010 and $173,700 in 2011. It was $172,500 in 2009.

Credit : WSJ

Economic downturn? Donald Trump startles fellow passengers on economy JetBlue flight to Palm Beach

You're a flier! Donald Trump seemed nonplussed aboard an economy JetBlue flight to Palm Beach.

Who needs in-flight TV when you've got Donald Trump (and his endlessly amazing hair) on your flight? JetBlue passengers on Flight 39 from JFK to Palm Beach on Monday were slack-jawed with disbelief when the real-estate mogul boarded the economy flight.

A source who was on the flight says many fellow travelers spent much of the trip trying to determine if Trump really was on board, and whether that meant the double-dip recession had officially begun.

One passenger even requested to sit by The Donald, who chatted easily with fellow fliers and seemed in a great mood.

Not to worry, says a Trump insider, who tells us Big T isn't counting pennies these days. His private Boeing 727 was already in Palm Beach and, the source explained, it was quicker to hop on JetBlue than have the jet return to NYC.

Celebs and Wall Street execs go head to head in money matters

Wall Street upstaged Hollywood at the recent T.A.G. Research and Action Awards for AIDS treatment. After guests at the fund-raiser learned that Elizabeth Taylor had donated $20,000 to the charity, Morgan Stanley board chairman John J. Mack sweetened the pot considerably by announcing that he and wife Christy would donate $60,000. (The night brought in more than $250,000 in donations.) Sharon Stone was supposed to attend the event at the Astor Center, but was a no-show, prompting Kenneth Cole to say, "We're doing just fine with ["Lombardi"] actress Judith Light here." She's the boss!

Christmas all the time?

If you're not yet in the Christmas spirit, follow the North Star to Nora Ephron. The "I Remember Nothing" author told "Merry Christmas, America!" scribe Bruce Littlefield that she keeps her Christmas lights on year-round. Maybe she forgot to take them down.

Butler's quite the gentleman's man

Gerard Butler is a ladies' man, but he's also a guy's guy. The "Bounty Hunter" star was spotted on a little shopping excursion Friday afternoon at the French Connection in SoHo, buying matching peacoats for himself and a male friend. He also signed autographs for fans and got along so well with the two male employees who helped him with his purchase that he invited them to "come out and party with me tonight." Apparently there's room for expansion in his dude crew.

A trip down hipster Avenue

Avenue Magazine is taking a turn for the trendy. A source tells us the society mag just did a "super-secret" photo shoot for its January cover with hipster billionairess Hannah Bronfman, heir to the Seagram's liquor fortune and aunt to M.I.A.'s son Ikhyd.

Rising fashion photographer Morgan Miller shot Bronfman in the restaurant she backs at the Hotel Griffou. According to our tipster, "security was engaged to keep out prying eyes, even the restaurant's staff." Bronfman, a Bard girl who sculpts and dates Asher Roth, gave editor Peter Davis a "no-holds-barred interview about growing up a Bronfman, getting kicked out of Spence and having M.I.A. as part of her family."

Name that goat!

Producers of the forthcoming movie "Goats" are chewing over a name change. We hear they don't want their adaptation of Mark Jude Poirier's novel confused with last year's "Men Who Stare at Goats."

The film features David Duchovny as Goat Man, a bong-sucking goatherd who lives on a farm with a single mom and her teenage son. In the movie, trouble looms when he turns a goat into a drug mule. But the actor, who closes Wednesday night in Neil LaBute's "Break of Noon," says: "No goat will be injured!"

Tyra gets her grub on in Union Square

We love a lady with an appetite. Tyra Banks was browsing the Union Square Holiday Market over the weekend when the Stuffed Artisan Cannoli cart caught her eye. The "America's Next Top Model" host, who turned 37 on Dec. 4, told owner Anthony Fontana her birthday had just passed and that she couldn't resist purchasing a birthday cake cannoli. She devoured it while still at Fontana's stand.

Source : The NY Daily News