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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 29, 2007

NATION

Gas Prices Rise

Gas prices rose back to $3 a gallon at the pump Friday, but oil prices fell Friday, reversing earlier gains. Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell 62 cents to settle at $96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, predicts pump prices will peak between $3.50 and $3.75 a gallon in the spring.

At the pump, prices rose 1.9 cents overnight to a national average of $3, according to AAA and OPIS.

Gold Heads Higher

Gold rose Friday, heading for the biggest annual gain since 1979, as a decline in the dollar boosted the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Gold has jumped 32 percent this year. Gold futures for February delivery rose $10.90, or 1.3 percent, to $842.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Delta Global Advisors in Huntington Beach, Calif., which manages about $1.2 billion, predicts gold will reach $925 in 2008.

Macy's Shuts Stores

Macy's Inc. will close nine stores that employ a total of about 900 people, the retailer said Friday.

In Ohio, Macy's is closing stores in Akron, Canton and North Randall. It is closing a store in Indianapolis, in Oklahoma City and in Lake Charles, La. The remaining three stores are in Dallas, Houston and Riverdale, Utah.

Striking Writers Losing Big

Hollywood studios said Friday that striking writers have now lost more in salary and benefits than they had hoped to gain by walking off the job.

In the message posted on its Web site and YouTube, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers claimed losses by writers in the eight-week strike have exceeded $151 million.

That's the price tag the Writers Guild of America put on its proposed three-year deal with studios.

WORLD

Merrion Scrubs IPO

Ireland-based Merrion Pharmaceuticals withdrew its initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday because of "unfavorable market conditions."

The Dublin-based specialty pharmaceutical company said in March it planned to sell up to $46million in ordinary and American depositary shares.

Merrion is seeking to develop improved oral-dosage forms of drugs to combat poor absorption by the stomach.

A staff and wire report

Watch the Tribune's Business report at 5, 6 and 11 a.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m. Saturdays on WFLA-TV.

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