Gas Prices in Record Fall

As US drivers complain, those overseas think we're lucky

(NEWSER) - Gas prices are climbing again, which means people are complaining, which means it's time for a spate of stories showing how relatively cheap gas remains in the US. Here's a rough estimate of world prices per gallon, courtesy of CNN :

• US: $3.53
• Norway: $9.28
• Europe: Between $7.50 and $8 for most, including Britain, Ireland, Italy, France, and Germany.

Economic recovery, developing nations will push petrol demand

(NEWSER) - Gasoline prices will hit $5 per gallon within the next year, the former president of Shell Oil predicts. John Hofmeister says oil demand will ramp up as developed economies approach a full recovery from the shocks of 2008 and developing economies increase their demand. "I'm predicting actually the worst outcome over the next two years which takes us to 2012 with higher gasoline prices," Hofmeister tells Platts Energy Week. More»

Average national price climbs, even though driving is down

(NEWSER) - Remember the good old days when gas was over $3? Well, get ready for some déjà vu. The average national price of a gallon climbed 4.7 cents last week alone, to $2.702, continuing a trend that saw it rise 76.8 cents over the past year, while crude oil prices nearly doubled. Now, thanks to the recent storms, it’s safe to assume they’ll be above $3 headed into the spring, argues Matthew Scott of Daily Finance . More»

(NEWSER) - Jon Stewart’s takedown of Jim Cramer and CNBC is indicative of a real, if fleeting, sea change in our attitudes about the economy, Thomas Frank writes in the Wall Street Journal. “The applause Mr. Stewart has received for his j’accuse is the sound of the old order cracking.” But “clueless pundits often do get on top” and “stay there,” Frank writes, “despite all manner of rebukes handed down by history itself.” More»

(NEWSER) - Even as the financial crisis rages, Ben Bernanke says it’s time for broad regulatory reforms to stem future crises. Bernanke said today “too big to fail” institutions should be more tightly watched, perhaps by his Federal Reserve. He also admitted that the US hadn’t been prudent with the glut of capital that poured into the market in recent years, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»