Gas prices fall slightly, as weekend trend continues

Average retail gasoline prices in Maine have fallen 0.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.79 per gallon Sunday.

That price is 2 cents more expensive than the national average, according to the gasoline price website GasBuddy.com

Gas prices in Maine during the past week were 94.9 cents per gallon lower than the same period one year ago and are 4.9 cents per gallon higher than a month ago.

“Motorists saw a promising trend at the pump this past weekend that continues to edge lower today,” said Gregg Laskoski, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst, in a news release from the company. “That may run counter to consumer expectations but this is what we’ve seen in recent years when summer prices showed nominal but gradual decline through June and July.”

The average Maine price was calculated from a survey of 1,228 gas retailers in the state.

Service firms grow a bit faster in June, orders up

U.S. service firms grew at a slightly faster pace in June, as business activity and new orders increased.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its services index edged up to 56 in June from 55.7 in May. Any reading over 50 indicates that services firms are expanding.

Steady hiring over the past year has fueled a consumer spending rebound from a winter slump. Many economists say the economy will expand at an annual rate of 2.5 per cent in the second quarter, after shrinking during the first three months of 2015.

NYC to pay Wall Street activists for pepper blast

New York City has agreed to pay a total of $332,500 to six Occupy Wall Street protesters who said police unjustly blasted them with pepper spray in an episode that helped to spotlight the movement.

The settlements, reached in recent weeks, range from $52,500 to $60,000 per person in cases arising from Occupy’s early days in September 2011. They’re among a number of payouts the city has OK’d over its handling of the protests.

– From staff and news services