IN BRIEF
NEW YORK
Supply worries send oil prices to record
Oil closed at a record near $141 a barrel Tuesday on worries about tight supply and mounting tensions in the Middle East. In the United States, prices at the gasoline pump edged to their highest point yet.
Crude prices resumed their advance as the head of the International Energy Agency said the world is experiencing its "third oil price shock," comparing the effects of today's prices with the oil crises that began with the 1973 Arab oil embargo and the 1979 revolution in Iran.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose 97 cents to settle at a new high of $140.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices at one point rose as high as $143.33, just 34 cents shy of Monday's trading record.
In the United States, gasoline station operators nudged the record for a gallon of regular a tenth of a penny higher, to an average of $4.087 a gallon nationwide, according to AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.
In Las Vegas, the average price of a gallon of regular self-serve unleaded gasoline was $4.258 on Tuesday, AAA said in its Daily Fuel Gauge report.
The price is up 7.6 percent from $3.959 a month ago and up 29.5 percent from $3.056 a year ago, AAA said.
Top names scheduled for energy summit
Former President Bill Clinton, energy developer T. Boone Pickens, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter will speak at the National Clean Energy Summit at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Aug. 19.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced the summit and the speakers Tuesday at Nellis Air Force Base.
The conference will fetaure industry officials, scientists, policy experts and others to discussing the country's energy future.
Reid said he hopes the conference will result in principles that can be be used in Democratic and Republican conventions and by the next president.
The meeting starts at 7:45 a.m. Aug. 19 at UNLV's Cox Pavilion. Go to cleanenergysummit.org for more information.
Southwest Gas will raise rates slightly
Southwest Gas Corp. notified state regulators on Monday that it would raise Southern Nevada rates a few cents starting Aug. 1 under a program that calls for quarterly adjustments to reflect natural gas prices.
The change will increase the average monthly bill of the typical residential customer using 4,200 cubic feet of gas by 15 cents to $54.31. In the summer, the typical customer uses 2,000 cubic feet of gas monthly, and the change would increase rates by 8 cents to $30.23.
Southwest Gas shares rose 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, Tuesday to close at $29.79 on the New York Stock Exchange.
WASHINGTON
Visa rescinds rule for use of debit cards
Consumers can now use Visa debit cards for smaller purchases without entering a personal identification number, the same way they can skip signing receipts.
Visa said Tuesday it is no longer requiring merchants to treat its debit cards differently when customers use them as PIN-debit cards, as opposed to signature cards.
The move prompted the Justice Department to drop an antitrust investigation of the practice.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Bank of America closes deal for Countrywide
Bank of America Corp. completed its purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp. on Tuesday, making the Charlotte-based bank the nation's leading mortgage originator and servicer.
The Federal Reserve and Countrywide's shareholders cleared the way for the acquisition last month. As of Tuesday's close, Bank of America controls between 20 percent and 25 percent of the country's home loan market.
Bank of America agreed in January to buy the California-based mortgage lender in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $4 billion, exchanging 0.1822 shares of Bank of America for each share of Countrywide outstanding.
The deal is now worth around $2.5 billion, reflecting a decline in Bank of America's stock price over the last six months.
NEW YORK
Stocks bounce back; Treasurys cede gains
Treasury prices finished little changed Tuesday, giving up gains as stocks reversed their losses and after a report showed surprising rebound in manufacturing last month.
The 10-year note finished a choppy session flat at 99.13. Its yield was 3.98 percent, the same as late Monday, according to BGCantor Market Data. Yields usually move in the opposite direction from prices.
The 30-year long bond fell 0.22 points to 97.31. Its yield was at 4.54 percent, up from 4.53 percent late Monday. The long bond tends to get hit the hardest when inflation fears escalate.
