The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel hit $3.466 in Snohomish County on Monday, eclipsing the record set last May, according to AAA’s daily price tracking service. Crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange also hit a new record of $103.95 a barrel Monday, finally surpassing the inflation-adjusted high set in 1980.
Danish firm buys Mukilteo business
Mukilteo-based HydraMaster, which designs and makes carpet and floor-care products, has been acquired by Nilfisk-Advance of Denmark. No financial details of the buyout were released. HydraMaster will continue to operate with minimal changes, according to Nilfisk-Advance, which said HydraMaster’s chief executive, Steve Brandt, and founder Mike Palmer will stay with the company.
Ford Motor Co. idles three factories
Faced with slowing demand for some of its vehicles, Ford Motor Co. on Monday announced it would temporarily cut shifts at factories in Chicago, Louisville, Ky., and Cleveland. The struggling automaker said the cuts would idle about 2,500 workers at the three factories, although under their contract with the United Auto Workers, they will get most of their pay. The work should resume in the spring, officials said.
Mortgage lender’s stock plummets
Shares in jumbo mortgage lender Thornburg Mortgage Inc. lost more than half their value Monday after the company said a spike in margin calls could force it out of business. Thornburg said it faces an additional $270 million in margin calls on top of the more than $300 million it was forced to meet last month. Margin calls force borrowers to repay loans or put up more collateral to secure them.
Microsoft CEO says Yahoo right deal
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said Monday it was the right time for the company to put out a bid for Yahoo Inc. “The deal makes sense with the price and structure we announced. We hope it becomes reality,” he told reporters at the annual CeBIT technology fair in Hanover, Germany. “There is a lot of merit for Microsoft and Yahoo, for Yahoo shareholders and for Microsoft shareholders, for advertisers and for consumers.” Analysts have debated whether Microsoft Corp.’s proposed $40 billion acquisition of Yahoo is worth it, given its two-year earnings slump. Yahoo contends it is worth even more money given the reach and breadth of its sprawling Internet franchise.
Builders’ cutbacks worst in 14 years
Construction spending took its biggest dip in 14 years and manufacturing activity contracted, fresh trouble signs for a struggling economy. The Commerce Department reported Monday that construction spending plunged by 1.7 percent in January. Builders slashed spending on residential projects, but the weakness spread beyond that ailing sector. There were cutbacks in spending on, among other things, hotels and motels, highways and various projects by state and local governments.
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