Gas Rising, Station Owners Barrel Toward Bankruptcy

Stiff fuel prices are not pouring cash into the pockets of California gas station owners—instead, they're driving them into bankruptcy. Credit card fees, tanker-load costs, and other rapidly increasing expenses are putting the crunch on retailers, reports the Los Angeles Times.

In LA, where the average retail price is $4.41 a gallon (and the break-even price is $4.62 a gallon), some station owners are voluntarily going without pay to avoid collapse. "In the past four months, 10 of the dealers to whom I supply motor fuel have relinquished to me the deeds to their businesses," a supplier told Congress last month. (More gas stories.)