AP - High gas prices almost killed the lifeline to the city for a group of mountain commuters.

AP - Stocks pulled off their lows Monday after a big drop in oil prices offset some of investors' concerns about a government report on inflation.

Reuters - Planned layoffs at U.S. companies jumped 26 percent in July from June, depicting further deterioration in the labor market, a report showed on Monday.

Reuters - Consumer prices jumped at the sharpest rate in more than a quarter century during June, and consumers coping with soaring costs received their smallest income gain in a year, the government said on Monday.

AP - Just when motorists were starting to adjust to exorbitant gas prices, they face the prospect of much higher costs, fewer choices and a dearth of financing options if they want to lease their next car.

Reuters - Barack Obama proposed on Monday tapping the strategic oil reserve to help lower gas prices, a reversal of an earlier stance, and called rival John McCain a tool of big oil companies as rising energy costs took center stage in the U.S. presidential campaign.

AP - Consumer spending, after adjusting for inflation, fell in June as shoppers were hit with the second biggest increase in prices in nearly three decades.

AFP - Some Americans are finding that while high oil prices leave them with a slimmer wallet, it could also leave them with slimmer waists as they forsake their cars and take to their bikes, public transportation or feet to get around.

AP - High gas prices almost killed the lifeline to the city for a group of mountain commuters.

Reuters - The U.S. unemployment rate hit its highest in four years during July as employers cut jobs for a seventh straight month, though less severely than predicted, a Labor Department report showed on Friday.