PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A price-watching website says average retail gasoline prices in Maine have risen 0.4 cent per gallon in the past week to an average of $3.19 per gallon. MaineGasPrices.com says Sunday’s price compares with the national average, which has increased 2.9 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.11. Including the […]
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Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
2010 sales down, prices up for single-family homes; Franklin County sees biggest gains
The Maine Association of Realtors says sales of existing homes fell nearly 3 percent in 2010 from a year earlier, but that the median sales price rose during the year. The group said Thursday that real estate agents sold 10,213 single-family homes for the year, down from 10,486 in 2009. The median sales price was […]
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Posted inBusiness, Nation / World, sj-web
Banks repossess 1 million homes in 2010
NEW YORK (AP) — The bleakest year in foreclosure crisis has only just begun. Lenders are poised to take back more homes this year than any other since the U.S. housing meltdown began in 2006. About 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgages and more will miss payments as they […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
Mortgage foreclosures falling in Maine
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Officials say home foreclosures are falling in Maine. Bureau of Financial Institutions Superintendent Lloyd LaFountain III says there were 265 mortgage loans being foreclosed upon by state-chartered banks during the third quarter of 2010, the three-month period from July through September. That number was down from 297 loans in foreclosure during […]
Posted inBusiness, Nation / World, sj-web
Dec. 26 storms delay $1B in retail spending
ATLANTA (AP) — The blizzard that swept through the Northeast on Sunday and Monday delayed $1 billion in retail spending, according to research firm ShopperTrak, but won’t derail a holiday shopping season expected to be the best since 2007. The effect won’t be as bad as last year’s pre-Christmas snowstorm that similarly paralyzed parts of […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine power line project to create 1,800 jobs
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Contractors hired by Central Maine Power are poised to start hiring construction workers as part of a $1.4 billion project to upgrade the company’s high-voltage transmission lines. Officials say eventually the project is expected to create about 1,800 jobs. On Monday, Central Maine Power awarded the first three construction contracts for […]
Posted inMaine, New England, sj-web
Census figures show Maine family income lowest in New England
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Newly released U.S. Census figures show that Maine has the lowest median household income in the region and among the highest child poverty rates. The statistics found that median household income in Maine was $46,541 during the latter half of the decade. That figure is about $4,700 less than Vermont, who […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Obama defends tax deal, says best for the nation
WASHINGTON (AP) — With Democrats balking at his compromise with Republicans, President Barack Obama on Tuesday staunchly defended his decision to deal with the GOP in order to extend about-to-expire tax cuts for all Americans. “There are some who would have preferred a protracted political fight,” the president said at a White House news conference […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
GOP, Dems nearing deal on taxes, jobless benefits
WASHINGTON (AP) — An outline of a bipartisan economic package is emerging that would temporarily extend the Bush-era tax rates for all taxpayers, while extending jobless benefits for millions of Americans. Differences remained over details, including White House demands for middle- and low-income tax credits. But the White House expressed optimism Monday, raising the possibility […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Maine gasoline prices rise
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A price-watching website says average retail gasoline prices in Maine have risen 7.6 cents per gallon in the past week to an average of $3.09. MaineGasPrices.com says Sunday’s average price in Maine compares with the national average, which has increased 8.4 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.94. Including […]