Average price of a gallon of gas rises 5 cents in Maine

The average price of a gallon of gas rose 5 cents in the past week in Maine, to $3.54 a gallon.

That’s according to the gasoline price website GasBuddy.com, which surveys more than 140,000 gas stations nationwide.

Maine’s average price per gallon is about 30 cents lower than the same time last year, but 6 cents higher than a month ago.

Nationally, the average also ticked up by 5 cents a gallon, to $3.40.

Men’s Wearhouse boosts takeover offer for clothier

Men’s Wearhouse is stepping up its pursuit of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, boosting the takeover offer for its rival by 10 percent to about $1.78 billion.

The move comes 10 days after Jos. A Bank announced that it was planning to buy the parent company of Eddie Bauer in a deal valued at $825 million. But Jos. A. Bank previously said that it may end the Eddie Bauer deal if it receives the right acquisition offer.

Men’s Wearhouse said Monday it’s now offering $63.50 per share, up from its prior offer of $57.50 per share. The new offer is conditioned on Jos. A. Bank ending its deal for Eddie Bauer, among other terms.

Honda takes steps to change company culture

Honda Motor Co. appointed a woman to its board for the first time and gave a major promotion to a foreigner in signs the automaker wants to change perceptions of a hidebound corporate culture.

Technology expert Hideko Kunii, 66, will join the board. And Issao Mizoguchi, who has worked with Honda’s South American operations for nearly 30 years, has been appointed operating officer, the company said Monday.

Companies have come under fire within Japan for not promoting anyone other than Japanese men. Putting women in leadership positions is a pillar of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies to revive the moribund Japanese economy.

– From news service reports