The AAA auto club reports the average price of a gallon of gasoline in $4.10. That’s down 3 cents in a week, but 24 cents higher than the national average. Some metro prices from Monday’s AAA survey: Bellingham $4.23, Bremerton $4.09, Seattle-Bellevue-Everett $4.13, Tacoma $4.09, Olympia $4.11, Vancouver $4.08, Yakima $4.05, Tri-Cities $4.09, Spokane $3.94.
Report: United, Boeing talking jet deal
United Continental Holdings is in talks with the Boeing Co. to buy 200 single-aisle aircraft, reports Bloomberg News. United has called off negotiations with Airbus. It had been in talks with both companies. The deal would be for a mix of Boeing’s existing 737 and the upgraded 737 MAX. An all-Boeing deal would be a boost for Boeing after losing an exclusive position with American Airlines last year.
Major homebuilder’s profits rise 46 percent
Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc.’s fiscal second-quarter profit rose 46 percent as orders increased and it completed more home sales. The Fort Worth, Texas, company reported on Monday that its net income rose to $40.6 million, or 13 cents per share, for the three months ended March 31. That compares with $27.8 million, or 9 cents per share, in the prior-year period. The performance easily topped the 4 cents per share that analysts polled by FactSet expected. Revenue increased 28 percent to $935.6 million from $733.1 million, handily beating Wall Street’s $853.5 million forecast.
Microsoft sells AOL patents to Facebook
Microsoft Corp., which just bought patents from AOL Inc. for more than $1 billion, is now selling most of them to Facebook Inc. for $550 million. The two companies said Monday that Facebook is buying about 650 of the 925 patents and patent applications. Facebook will get a license to use the rest of the patents. Microsoft will also get a license to use the patents that Facebook is buying. Facebook is loading up its intellectual property arsenal as it prepares for an initial public stock offering and fights a lawsuit brought by Yahoo Inc. last month.
Kellogg raises stakes on Pringles purchase
Kellogg Co. on Monday blamed weak sales growth in the U.S. and Europe as it cut its 2012 forecast, a move that raised the stakes on the breakfast food giant’s purchase of Pringles earlier this year. The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company currently gets most of its revenue from North America, where growth in the packaged food industry has been relatively flat. But in February, Kellogg announced that it would pay $2.7 billion to buy Pringles potato snacks from Procter &Gamble. Kellogg hopes the deal helps it move beyond the breakfast table, as the appetite for on-the-go foods grows rapidly in emerging markets like China and India.
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