AAA: Western PA Gas Prices Stable; National Demand Declines
Gas prices in Western Pennsylvania are steady this week at $3.034 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                  $3.034
Average price during the week of April 26, 2021                                       $3.035
Average price during the week of May 4, 2020                                          $2.070

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$2.993      Altoona
$3.074      Beaver
$3.097      Bradford
$3.018      Brookville
$3.027      Butler
$3.021      Clarion
$3.010      DuBois
$3.074      Erie
$2.992      Greensburg
$3.046      Indiana
$3.013      Jeannette
$3.012      Kittanning
$2.998      Latrobe
$3.083      Meadville
$3.099      Mercer
$2.913      New Castle
$3.080      New Kensington
$3.099      Oil City
$3.038      Pittsburgh
$2.991      Sharon
$3.001      Uniontown
$3.099      Warren
$3.003      Washington

Trend Analysis:
At the start of May, the national gas price average is $2.90, which is three cents more than a month ago. Pump prices in April saw minimal movement compared to March, which increased 15 cents from start to finish. Stable crude oil prices amid fluctuating demand helped keep the national average price jumps nominal last month.

 

While April saw slight fluctuations, May is likely to see much larger increases alongside demand spikes, especially closer to Memorial Day weekend. Compared to May 2019, U.S. gasoline demand is down only 4% and gas prices are on average just two cents more.

 

On the week, the national average increased two cents. Ten states saw averages increase between five and eight cents, but the majority of states saw increases of one to three cents. The pump price changes come amid a flux in supply and demand. For the week ending April 23, the Energy Information Administration reported gasoline stocks saw a small 100,000 barrel build to reach the 135 million barrel mark. That is the highest supply rate since the end of February and an 8.3 million barrel surplus compared to the same time two years ago. While supply increased, demand saw a decrease of 3% to 8.87 million barrels per day.

 

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by $1.43 to settle at $63.58. Although prices ended the day with a decrease, supported by a strong dollar, the price of crude increased by nearly $1.50 per barrel on the week. Increased market optimism that crude demand will recover, despite surging coronavirus infection rates in Asia, helped to lift prices. Prices could continue to climb this week if the market remains optimistic.

 

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 73 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

(Washington DC) The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced a $20 million settlement resolving alleged violations of the FTC Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), including violations of the Red Flags Rule. The settlement includes $15 million in civil penalties, which represents the largest civil penalty ever paid to resolve FCRA violations under the FTC Act.

Vivint Smart Home Inc. sells “smart” home security and monitoring systems, largely via a sales force that sells door-to-door. The complaint alleges that Vivint failed to implement an Identity Theft Prevention Program, allowing its sales representatives to obtain credit reports of unsuspecting consumers without the consumers’ knowledge or consent, and unfairly sold false debt to buyers or debt collectors. According to the complaint, the defendant’s lack of an Identity Theft Prevention Program violated the FTC’s Red Flags Rule, which requires covered financial institutions and creditors to establish and administer an appropriate, written Identity Theft Prevention Program. The Red Flags Rule plays an important role in the detection, prevention, and mitigation of identity theft.

The complaint further alleges that, due in part to the absence of an appropriate Identity Theft Prevention Program, Vivint’s door-to-door sales force was able to systematically use the names and identities of innocent victims to complete sales to potential Vivint customers who failed the required credit checks. When some of those Vivint customers later defaulted, Vivint allegedly then sold the false debt to third-party debt collectors that attempted to collect from the victims, who had no knowledge of the Vivint accounts created using their identities.

“The Justice Department is committed to protecting consumers against the unlawful use of their credit reports and the unfair sale of false debts,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are pleased to join with our partners at the Federal Trade Commission on this important matter.”

“Vivint’s sales staff stole people’s personal information to approve others for loans,” said Acting Director Daniel Kaufman of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “For misusing consumer credit reports and other sensitive data, and harming people’s credit, this company will pay $20 million.”

As reflected in the stipulated order entered by the court, Vivint will pay $15 million in civil penalties and $5 million in equitable monetary relief. Additionally, Vivint is required to take a number of steps to prevent a recurrence of its alleged unlawful conduct. Among other things, Vivint must establish a corporate component to verify certain accounts and to investigate reports of identity theft; establish an employee monitoring and Identity Theft Prevention Program; and comply with related recordkeeping, certification, and compliance obligations.

This matter was handled by Assistant Director Lisa K. Hsiao and Trial Attorney Alisha M. Crovetto of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. Gorana Neskovic and Kevin H. Moriarty represented the FTC.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the FTC, visit its website at https://www.FTC.gov.

Bill and Melinda Gates announce they are getting divorced
By SALLY HO Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Bill and Melinda Gates say they’re divorcing. The Microsoft co-founder and his wife said Monday that they would continue to work together at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest private charitable foundation. In identical tweets, they said they had made the decision to end their marriage of 27 years. They met after she began working at Microsoft as a product manager in 1987. Bill Gates was formerly the world’s richest person and his fortune is estimated at well over $100 billion. How the couple end up settling their estate and any impact on the foundation will be closely watched.

EPA rule to phase out gases used in refrigerators, coolants
By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to phase down production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, highly potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners. It’s the first Biden administration rule aimed at combatting climate change. The proposed rule follows through on a law Congress passed in December authorizing a 15-year phaseout of HFCs. The rule is intended to decrease U.S. production and use of the gases by 85% over the next 15 years, part of a global phaseout intended to slow climate change.

Supreme Court won’t take Maryland bump stock ban case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is declining to take up a challenge to Maryland’s ban on bump stocks and other devices that make guns fire faster. The high court on Monday turned away a challenge to the ban, which took effect in October 2018. A lower court had dismissed the challenge at an early stage and that decision had been upheld by an appeals court. Maryland’s ban preceded a nationwide ban on the sale and possession of bump stocks that was put in place by the Trump administration and took effect in 2019. Both bans followed a 2017 shooting in Las Vegas in which a gunman attached bump stocks to assault-style rifles to shoot concertgoers from his hotel room. Fifty-eight people were killed.