Gas prices up for seventh week
Gasoline prices climbed for the seventh straight week to an average of about $2.58 a gallon nationwide, according to a government report released Monday.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that drivers paid an average of $2.577 a gallon for regular gasoline in the week ended March 19, up $2.559 from the prior week.
Retail gasoline prices are 7 cents higher than they were a year ago at this time.
The pump price rose most drastically in the Rocky Mountain region, where average prices jumped 9 cents from the prior week to $2.502 a gallon. Drivers on the West Coast paid the highest average price, however, of $2.946 a gallon, up from $2.92 a week earlier.
In Spokane on Monday, the average price was $2.62 a gallon, well below the Washington state average of $2.81.
Seattle
WaMu executive got $18 million
Washington Mutual Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Kerry Killinger received compensation valued at more than $18 million last year, according to a regulatory filing Monday.
Killinger, 57, received $1 million in salary, $4.1 million in nonequity incentive plan compensation, and stock and option awards that were valued by the company at $12.5 million on the dates issued.
He also received $501,572 in other compensation, including $143,972 for personal use of company aircraft.
New Boeing jet right on schedule
Boeing Co.’s new 787 Dreamliner is on track for its first flight this summer and first delivery next year as the manufacturer nears 500 total orders for the jet, the company said Monday.
Major pieces of the long-range, mid-sized 787 are headed to Boeing’s assembly plant in Everett and Boeing has sent officials to help subcontractors work through wrinkles in the production process, 787 program chief Mike Bair said.
“A lot of people are working very, very hard around the world to make sure this airplane gets to the market on time,” Bair told analysts and reporters Monday.
The 787 is scheduled to make its first flight around late August and enter commercial service in 2008.
The jet is a major factor in the Chicago-based company’s resurgence in the race with European rival Airbus.