ENERGY

RETAIL GAS PRICES HIT RECORD

Retail gas prices hit another record high over the past three weeks, mirroring a rapid increase in the cost of crude oil, according to a nationwide survey released yesterday.

The average price for all three grades rose nearly 20 cents to $2.53 in the three weeks ending Friday, Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country, said. The figures were not adjusted for inflation.

In the same three-week period, crude oil price futures rose about $8.21. A barrel of oil produces about 42 gallons of gasoline, resulting in a price increase of 19.6 cents per gallon – nearly identical to the 19.8 cent rise in the price of gas at the pumps, Ms. Lundberg said.

There was scant good news for consumers in the latest report. Demand for gas will remain high through August, but should drop after Labor Day.

– Associated Press

PERSONAL FINANCE

KEY TO LASTING HAPPINESS IS HAVING POORER FRIENDS, STUDY SAYS

Money can indeed buy you happiness, but if you want to stay happy, it is a good idea to have relatively poor friends, according to new research.

A sociologist of Pennsylvania State University, Glenn Firebaugh, and a graduate student of Harvard University, Laura Tach, studied a representative sample of nearly 20,000 Americans from 1972 to 2002.

They found that in working out how rich they are, people tend to compare themselves to their peers of the same age. Their happiness, therefore, depends on the relative success of that group. This meant “keeping up with the Joneses” and the need to continually increase one’s own income.

One alternative strategy would be to “hang out” with poor people, according to the findings. The study also showed, however, that while income was important in determining happiness, physical health was the best single predictor of happiness.

– The Daily Telegraph

APPLIANCES

MAYTAG NOW CONSIDERS WHIRLPOOL OFFER THE ‘SUPERIOR’ PROPOSAL

NEWTON, Iowa – The board of Maytag no longer recommends Triton Acquisition Holding’s cash-merger deal, and now considers Whirlpool’s $21-a-share offer the “superior company proposal.” Triton, an investor group led by Ripplewood Holdings LLC, agreed in May to purchase Maytag for $14 a share, valuing the appliance maker at about $1.13 billion. On Wednesday, Whirlpool raised its Maytag bid to $21 a share, or about $1.7 billion, from $20 a share. The payment – worth about $2.7 billion including the assumption of $977 million of debt – will be 50% cash, 50% Whirlpool stock.

– Dow Jones Newswires

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

MERGED, SPRINT NEXTEL TO BEGIN TRADING TODAY WITH THE SYMBOL ‘S’

Sprint and Nextel completed their $35 billion merger on Friday to form Sprint Nextel Corporation.

The merged company will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the symbol “S,” previously held by Sears Roebuck & Company. First announced in December, the merger creates a cellular giant with more than 40 million subscribers. Sprint Nextel has begun the process of separating the operations of Sprint’s local telecommunications business, including consumer, business, and wholesale operations. The company will seek regulatory approvals to spin off the local telecommunications business to Sprint Nextel shareholders in a tax-free transaction, which is expected to be completed in 2006.

– Dow Jones Newswires

TECHNOLOGY

KKR, SILVER LAKE WIN BID TO BUY PART OF AGILENT

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company and Silver Lake Partners have won a bid to acquire the semiconductor-products business of Agilent Technologies for $2.65 billion, a person close to the auction said. Agilent said on Friday it plans to make a “major announcement” this morning when it releases third-quarter earnings. Other financial details, such as debt financing, weren’t immediately clear. Last month, Dow Jones reported that KKR and Silver Lake emerged as the leading bidder in an auction that included two other buyout groups – Bain Capital and Warburg Pincus; and Texas Pacific Group, CVC Partners, and Francisco Partners.

– Dow Jones Newswires