The retail price of gasoline hit an all-time high Tuesday, nearly $1.74 a gallon nationwide, reflecting strong demand, tight supplies and the high cost of oil, AAA reported. The automobile association reported that motorists are now paying $1.73.8 per gallon for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline, one-tenth of a cent higher than the previous record set Aug. 30, 2003. In the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area, the average price actually has fallen by a penny since last week to $1.83 a gallon, according to AAA.
Kimberly-Clark Corp., the maker of Kleenex tissues and Scott paper towels, Tuesday said it plans to raise consumer prices of tissue products in the United States by an average of about 6 percent during the third quarter. The company said prices for bathroom tissue, paper towels and napkins will be increased effective July 11. Facial tissue prices will rise beginning Aug. 29. The company, which has pulp and tissue mills in Everett, said the increases are necessary to offset inflated raw-material costs, particularly for fiber, as well as higher energy costs.
The percentage of credit card payments that were past due shot up to a new record in the final quarter of last year, but delinquency rates for some other types of consumer loans dropped, painting a mixed picture of how Americans are handling their debt. The seasonally adjusted percentage of credit card accounts 30 or more days past due rose to 4.43 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003, the American Bankers Association reported Tuesday. That surpassed the previous all-time quarterly high of 4.09 percent set in the third quarter of last year.
The recording industry sued 532 people Tuesday, including scores of individuals using computer networks at 21 universities, claiming they were illegally sharing digital music files over the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America filed the “John Doe” complaints against 89 individuals using networks at universities in Arizona, California, New York, Indiana, Maryland, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Washington.
Outdoor gear marketer Cabela’s Inc. plans to sell its stock to the public for the first time. Founded in 1961 by Dick Cabela and his wife, Mary, the family-owned business has grown from selling Japanese fishing lures by mail order to become the nation’s largest direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor equipment.
From Herald news services
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