Finance

Americans paid slightly more for fuel this week as gas prices rose by a few cents, on average

Published

1 year ago

May 4, 2024

Business Finance News

Gas prices rose by just two cents this week even as oil prices dropped. (iStock)

Gas prices went up and down this week, but averaged two cents higher overall, AAA said in their weekly gas prices report.

The national average price for the week was $3.67 per gallon, 14 cents higher than this time last month and eight cents more than last year. This increase occurred even though demand didn’t grow by much and oil prices fell.

“From a demand perspective, we have entered the pre-Memorial Day funk,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson said.

“And the cost of a barrel of oil is nearly $10 less than two weeks ago, as oil prices have fallen into the upper $70s. This may keep pump prices somewhat flat for the immediate future,” Gross said.

Gas demand rose during the week from 8.42 million barrels per day to 8.62 million barrels per day, data from the Energy Information Administration found.

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States in the South pay the least for gas

Southern drivers saved the most on gas. They paid over a dollar less per gallon, on average. There are also a few other stats throughout the country where gas prices tend to be lower. Here are the 10 least expensive markets:

Mississippi ($3.12)
Arkansas ($3.18)
Oklahoma ($3.20)
Kansas ($3.21)
Louisiana ($3.22)
Colorado ($3.23)
Minnesota ($3.27)
Missouri ($3.29)
Alabama ($3.29)
Texas ($3.29)

The West generally had some of the highest gas prices, largely due to more constant demand. These are the 10 most expensive gas markets:

California ($5.37)
Hawaii ($4.81)
Washington ($4.69)
Nevada ($4.56)
Oregon ($4.49)
Alaska ($4.39)
Arizona ($4.03)
Illinois ($3.94)
Idaho ($3.91)
Utah ($3.90)

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Auto sales are up for many automakers, particularly for electric vehicles

Many automakers saw their sales increase in April, as car prices trended down. Electric vehicles in particular are having a moment, adding substantially to sales numbers.

Toyota led the charge, with another double-digit increase in their sales numbers in April, making it the sixth straight month sales have increased. The rising number of hybrid deliveries has contributed to Toyota’s success.

Toyota’s electric sales also jumped impressively by 56%. The company sold 77,228 electric vehicles last month.

Honda also came in strong in April. The company’s sales hit 106,000 units, up 15.7% year-over-year. It was also the third straight month Honda sales were above 100,000 units.

Other automakers didn’t have as good of a month. Kia sold 65,754 units last month, a 3.6% drop. April was the fifth month in a row the company’s sales declined.

Ford and Hyundai had slightly lower sales compared to their competitors, but their electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle sales rose. Hyundai reported that their EV sales rose by 26% while hybrids rose by 29%. Ford’s three EVs rose a combined 129% to 8,019 sales.

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Finance

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: WOOF, TSLA, CRCL, LULU

Published

9 hours ago

June 6, 2025

Business Finance News

Finance

Swiss government proposes tough new capital rules in major blow to UBS

Published

11 hours ago

June 6, 2025

Business Finance News

A sign in German that reads “part of the UBS group” in Basel on May 5, 2025.

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

The Swiss government on Friday proposed strict new capital rules that would require banking giant UBS to hold an additional $26 billion in core capital, following its 2023 takeover of stricken rival Credit Suisse.

The measures would also mean that UBS will need to fully capitalize its foreign units and carry out fewer share buybacks.

“The rise in the going-concern requirement needs to be met with up to USD 26 billion of CET1 capital, to allow the AT1 bond holdings to be reduced by around USD 8 billion,” the government said in a Friday statement, referring to UBS’ holding of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds.

The Swiss National Bank said it supported the measures from the government as they will “significantly strengthen” UBS’ resilience.

“As well as reducing the likelihood of a large systemically important bank such as UBS getting into financial distress, this measure also increases a bank’s room for manoeuvre to stabilise itself in a crisis through its own efforts. This makes it less likely that UBS has to be bailed out by the government in the event of a crisis,” SNB said in a Friday statement.

‘Too big to fail’

UBS has been battling the specter of tighter capital rules since acquiring the country’s second-largest bank at a cut-price following years of strategic errors, mismanagement and scandals at Credit Suisse.

The shock demise of the banking giant also brought Swiss financial regulator FINMA under fire for its perceived scarce supervision of the bank and the ultimate timing of its intervention.

Swiss regulators argue that UBS must have stronger capital requirements to safeguard the national economy and financial system, given the bank’s balance topped $1.7 trillion in 2023, roughly double the projected Swiss economic output of last year. UBS insists it is not “too big to fail” and that the additional capital requirements — set to drain its cash liquidity — will impact the bank’s competitiveness.

At the heart of the standoff are pressing concerns over UBS’ ability to buffer any prospective losses at its foreign units, where it has, until now, had the duty to back 60% of capital with capital at the parent bank.

Higher capital requirements can whittle down a bank’s balance sheet and credit supply by bolstering a lender’s funding costs and choking off their willingness to lend — as well as waning their appetite for risk. For shareholders, of note will be the potential impact on discretionary funds available for distribution, including dividends, share buybacks and bonus payments.

“While winding down Credit Suisse’s legacy businesses should free up capital and reduce costs for UBS, much of these gains could be absorbed by stricter regulatory demands,” Johann Scholtz, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said in a note preceding the FINMA announcement.

“Such measures may place UBS’s capital requirements well above those faced by rivals in the United States, putting pressure on returns and reducing prospects for narrowing its long-term valuation gap. Even its long-standing premium rating relative to the European banking sector has recently evaporated.”