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  • Oil prices fall toward $97 before US Fed meeting
    BANGKOK (AP) — The price of U.S. benchmark oil fell slightly Tuesday, a day after briefly touching a nine-month high, as traders awaited the start of a Federal
  • Fed’s newest agenda flops
    The Federal Reserve’s new communication strategy was supposed to make it easier to decipher the intentions of the famously secretive institution. Markets, however, seem to have missed the memo.
  • Builders’ confidence at 7-year high
    For the first time in seven years, most U.S. homebuilders are optimistic about home sales, a sign that construction could help drive stronger economic growth in coming months.
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New mileage standards would double fuel efficiency

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is set to announce new regulations that would force the average gas mileage of new cars and trucks to nearly double in the next 13 years.

The rules, first proposed last year, would require new cars and trucks to average 54.5 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving by 2025, up from 28.6 mpg at the end of 2011.

Administration officials revealed details of the rule on condition of anonymity ahead of an announcement Tuesday.

Obama announced last year he had reached a deal with automakers to raise fuel-efficiency standards, saving drivers money at the pump and dramatically cutting heat-trapping gases coming from tailpipes.

The changes will raise new car prices, but the government says that will be offset by savings at the pump.

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