Palangkaraya Post News

Drivers talking on cellphones are probably making your commute longer, a new study concludes.

Motorists chatting on the phone, even with hands-free devices, crawl about two miles per hour slower on commuter-clogged roads than people not on the phone, and they just don’t keep up with the flow of traffic, said study author David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah.

For someone commuting by car an hour a day, drivers on cellphones could add about 20 hours a year to travel time, he said.

“The distracted driver tends to drive slower and have delayed reactions,” said Mr. Strayer, whose study will be presented this month to the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. “People kind of get stuck behind that person, and it makes everyone pay the price of that distracted driver.” (more…)

A private-equity firm says PPG portrayed its automotive glass division in too good of a light, and now it’s going to court to get out of a $500 million deal to purchase the unit.

Beverly Hills-based Platinum filed a lawsuit on Wednesday asking that a New York State court cancel the purchase agreement, claiming that PPG (nyse: PPG – news – people ) misrepresented the state of the business.

According to Platinum Equity, PPG failed to reveal forecasts showing that the unit would experience slower sales and higher costs than PPG’s executives led Platinum Equity to believe during negotiations. (more…)

By Grant Smith and Christian Schmollinger
Bloomberg

Crude oil was little changed in New York after gaining on an Energy Department report that showed U.S. inventories declined more than expected last week.

Stockpiles fell to the lowest since January 2005, and supplies of distillate fuel, including heating oil, dropped the most since February. Prices initially rose after yesterday’s assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s former prime minister, heightened concern violence would persist in the nuclear-armed nation.

“The U.S. stock data has been supportive for product prices,” said Robert Laughlin, a senior broker at MF Global Ltd. in London. “Whilst the Pakistan problems are not directly oil- related, Bhutto was such a high-profile figure her assassination has resurfaced the global terror alert.”
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Exxon Mobil, BP May Lose Leases to Alaska Oil Field (Update2)

(Bloomberg) — Exxon Mobil Corp., BP Plc and other oil companies may have their leases for an Alaska oil and gas field revoked by the state because they took too long to develop it, a judge said.

Alaska Superior Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled yesterday that the state was allowed in 2006 to revoke its agreement with the companies, which have held the leases for Point Thomson since the 1970s, because they failed to bring the field into production.

“This ruling represents another significant step forward in the state’s efforts to develop the valuable oil and gas resources in the Point Thomson reservoir and to hold the lessees to the commitments they made in the unit agreement,” Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said today in a statement.
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NEW YORK -

Moody’s Investors Service said Thursday it upgraded the long-term debt ratings of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and parent PG&E Corp., citing an improved regulatory environment in California.

Pacific Gas and Electric’s issuer rating and senior unsecured debt rating were raised one grade to “A3″ from “Baa1.” PG&E’s issuer rating and bank loan rating were raised two notches to “Baa1″ from “Baa3″ and its short-term rating for commercial paper was affirmed at “Prime-2.”

The outlook for the company’s investment-grade ratings is “Stable.”

“Today’s rating action is an acknowledgment of the continued demonstration of a more constructive regulatory environment in California which should lead to sustainable and predictable credit metrics for Pacific Gas and Electric and PG&E,” said Moody’s Vice President and Senior Credit Officer A.J. Sabatelle. (more…)

(Bloomberg) — Genesco Inc., the Nashville, Tennessee-based shoe and clothing retailer, won a bid to force competitor Finish Line Inc. to complete a $1.5 billion acquisition.

Finish Line was barred from walking away from the deal, Tennessee Chancery Court Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle held yesterday as part of her ruling in state court in Nashville.

Finish Line said in a statement last night on PRNewswire it is disappointed with the ruling and is considering its options, including the possibility of an appeal.

Finish Line agreed in June to acquire Genesco for $54.50 a share in cash. The transaction didn’t close by its September deadline and Genesco sued to force Finish Line to complete the deal. The verdict follows other recently proposed deals that faltered as financial conditions worsened.

On Dec. 21, a Delaware judge threw out a bid by United Rentals Inc., the largest U.S. construction-equipment rental company, to force a $4 billion takeover by Cerberus Capital (more…)

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he favors spending U.S. government money to bail out mortgage borrowers who risk losing their homes because they can’t make payments.

Greenspan, speaking on ABC’s “This Week” program aired today, said cash bailouts, while creating a larger budget deficit, have the advantage of helping homeowners without distorting property prices or interest rates on mortgages.

“Cash is available and we should use that in larger amounts, as is necessary, to solve the problems of the stress of this,” Greenspan said. “It’s far less damaging to the economy to create a short-term fiscal problem, which we would, than to try to fix the prices of homes or interest rates. If you do that, it’ll drag this process out indefinitely.”

Greenspan’s suggested approach differs from that of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who negotiated a freeze on the interest rates of some subprime mortgages without pledging any government money to help homeowners or banks. (more…)