Morning business headlines: 1-16-15
Politico: Republicans in Congress are doing a 180 on net neutrality as the Federal Communications Commission prepares to issue new rules within weeks. For years, GOP lawmakers have adamantly opposed any rules requiring Internet service providers to treat all Web traffic equally. But now that the FCC is moving toward issuing a tough net neutrality order that would subject broadband to utility-style regulation, top Republicans in both chambers are making plans to legislate their own rules to ensure that the agency doesn’t go too far.
Truckers primed for relief with drop of diesel prices
Bloomberg: The cost of gasoline has dropped by almost half since June, but the price of diesel has lagged behind. That’s about to change as sliding farm demand after the U.S. harvest and milder weather brings diesel, nearly identical to heating oil, more in line with gasoline. Government forecasts show the fuel dropping to $2.73 a gallon by June. The average retail price slipped below $3 this week for the first time in four years.
2014 foreclosure filings hit lowest level since 2006
Forbes: Foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – were down 18 percent in 2014 compared with the prior year, according to a report released today by Irvine, Calif.-based real estate data firm RealtyTrac. The 1.12 million properties with filings during 2014 represent a 61 percent drop from 2010, when foreclosure filings peaked at 2.87 million. The 2014 figure was also the lowest number since 2006, when 717,522 properties in the U.S. had foreclosure filings.