Acquisition of rival creates giant in pharmacy benefits

Express Scripts Inc. said Monday that it completed its $29.1 billion acquisition of Medco Health Solutions Inc., creating the largest pharmacy benefits manager in the country by far.

The closing came after the Federal Trade Commission voted to close its investigation into the deal, clearing the last hurdle in its path. Express Scripts shares rose $2.29, or 4.3 percent, to $56.47 in premarket trading.

The deal creates a pharmacy benefits manager so large that it will handle the prescriptions of about 135 million people, or more than one in three Americans.

FTC targets race car driver, payday lending operation

A payday lending operation that offers quick cash over the Internet to desperate people, and the race-car driver allegedly running it, are under federal scrutiny after more than 7,000 complaints to authorities.

The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint Monday in U.S. district court in Nevada against driver Scott Tucker, his brother and several Internet-based lending companies, including AMG Services, Inc.

Tucker has raced in the American Le Mans Series. The FTC charges that he and others controlled lending companies that piled on undisclosed and inflated fees — in some cases more than triple the amount borrowed — and then collected on the loans illegally by threatening borrowers with arrests and lawsuits.

Payday loans are typically small, short-term loans with extremely high interest rates.

Maine gas prices rise again, now average $3.90 per gallon

Maine gas prices continue to climb and are now at an average of $3.90 per gallon.

Price-monitoring website MaineGasPrices.com reported Monday that the average retail price has risen 4 cents in the past week. The average price in Maine is a penny above the national average of $3.89 per gallon.

Current prices in Maine are 7 cents higher than a month ago and a quarter higher than at the same time last year. A company analyst said prices are showing signs of stabilizing.