Main Street 9

Gas prices fell back, yet again, marking the sixth straight decline, according to a nationwide survey of credit card swipes at gasoline stations.
The average price of unleaded regular dropped 1.3 cents to $3.726 a gallon, from $3.739 a gallon, according to the survey released Tuesday by motorist group AAA. While prices have now dropped [...]

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While the Federal Reserve had been tipped to leave rates on hold, analysts said a cut looked more likely after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.
The Fed has sought to soothe nerves and earlier injected $70bn  into markets to boost liquidity.
Central banks worldwide have faced the twin threat of quickening inflation and a wider economic slowdown.
“The [...]

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Federal regulators said Thursday they could not determine after a lengthy review how much speculators have influenced commodity prices, especially the runup earlier this year in oil prices.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission released a much-anticipated report examining the activities of large index investors and so-called “swap” traders - those who trade on behalf of banks [...]

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Comments by chief producer Saudi Arabia that the market was “fairly well-balanced” was seen to suggest that output would be unchanged.
US light, sweet crude for October fell $1.15, to $105.19. London Brent crude dropped $1.17 to $102.27.
Prices have sunk from a record of more than $147 a barrel seen in July.
Opec members have expressed worries [...]

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 Americans are feeling a lot more economic pain than the government’s official statistics would lead you to believe, according to a growing number of experts.
They argue that figures for unemployment and inflation are being understated by the government.
Unemployment and inflation are typically added together to come up with a so-called “Misery Index.”
The “Misery Index” was [...]

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