gretchen: 24 minutes after the top of the hour. let s do some news by the numbers. first, $11 an hour. that s how much a liberal group is offering people to join their gun control campaign in chicago. they re trying to sway voters ahead of the special election for jesse jackson junior s vacant seat. next, 85%. that s how many businesses in new york city south street sea port area are board up from hurricane sandy. a local law maker estimates 450 jobs have been lost. and 3.78. that s how much a gallon of gas is going for today. prices have skyrocketed 20 cents over the last two weeks and continue to rise. boo hiss. peter: you couldn t start the season any better, jimmie johnson, he s thrilled about the win, but also remembering the 28 fans hurt in this weekend s crash. i wanted to get the start of the 500. we knew it was the best car for us and very happy to have it in
here with the numbers is diane macedo from the fox business network. good morning diane. gas prices are continuing their record setting climb here. it is under 3.78 cents the heist it has err been for this time of year. $0.43 jump from where it was a month ago. this year s run up isn t only larger and faster than recent years but it is beginning earlier than usual due in part to u.s. refineries performing seasonal nans and making the switch over to summer blend gasoline earlier in the year. another reason for the price shock is a fear factor unrest in the middle east particularly in syria and iran. the site has drivers and analysts alike wondering how high prices will go and when they will begin to retreat. the good news there is triple a is projecting the price this
set you back an average of $3.78 a gallon. that s almost $2 higher than the first day that president obama took office. drivers are spending more of their income on gas. about $900 more. is there anything the president can or will do to stop this? stuart varney is here. good morning, stuart. tell us. i ve got three suggestions which would jump-start the economy, create jobs and also probably get the price of gasoline down. number one, you put pressure on the states to eliminate the 100 different blends we currently use for gasoline. the president should put that pressure on. so far he has not. second, build the pipeline. that would create instant jobs; 20 thousand by some estimates, at no cost to the taxpayer. and it would boost the economy. third, quit the delays on fracking. we are the saudi arabia of natural gas. let us go get it. create jobs and lower the price of natural gas and energy in america. do those three things: you
georgia, alabama, mississippi looking at a flooding concern. a lot of snow, over a foot possible out here. some models talking about 18-inches of snow. shannon: wow. thank you, maria. thanks. shannon: federal regulations impact every part of our lives including the price at the pump. in just the past month the average price for a gallon of regular gas is up more than 40 cents. the national average is now 3.78 a gallon. joining us the president of the american fuel and petrochemical manufacturers. a mouthful there. charlie, thanks for coming in. thanks for having me. great to be here. talking federal regulation. what impact does federal regulation have on gas when we go to fill up. there is always a regulation. what is happening at the refinery, safety which is paramount. making sure we do things safely
talks. arthel: and preparations are underway for tomorrow s 85th annual academy awards. the oscars, several streets and sidewalks surrounding the venue have been closed off as crews work to set everything up. rick: all right. gas prices, let s talk about them now. they are soaring to record levels for this time of year. a month ago the national average was 3.32 a gallon. today it s up 46 cents to 3.78. that s a rate we don t typically see until we get closer to the summer driving season. jonathan is portfolio manager at capitallic hedge fund. good to see you. why is this happening? great to be with you. it s a number of factors, as you pointed out. the rise has been really quite dramatic. forty-five cents in a month s time is the fastest spike in gas price we ve seen in almost six years and it comes down to, for my estimation, supply and the fear about supply. the supply both in crude oil, which is a major pricing