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A young computer whiz from New York City has launched a site to help people buy cheap plane tickets. But an airline company and its travel partner want to shut him down. United Airlines and Orbitz filed a civil lawsuit last month against 22-year-old Aktarer Zaman, who founded the website Skiplagged.com last year. The site helps travelers find cheap flights by using a strategy called “hidden city” ticketing. The idea is that you buy an airline ticket that has a layover at your actual destination. Say you want to fly from New York to San Francisco — you actually book...

Being prepared for disaster is a way of life for many American preppers, but there are also many people throughout the Nation completely unprepared for the unthinkable. Those who are unprepared become easy targets for victimization. Since Superstorm Sandy struck New York, there have been hundreds of reports of price gouging in the area as frantic city-dwellers rush about in search of basic supplies. New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday that he was in the process of investigating more than 400 possible cases of price gouging as prices on things like gasoline, food, bottled water, generators, batteries...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A bipartisan group of lawmakers proposed legislation to prohibit price gouging for snow removal, flood abatement and other services. To stop price gouging, which many say occurred during this winter's record snowfall and fears of roofs collapsing, lawmakers want to make the practice in emergency situations illegal. Those found price gouging would face a fine, according to the bill.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sen. Charles Schumer on Sunday unveiled a proposal aimed at giving fans a better chance to buy hot concert tickets at face value before ticket resellers scoop them up and raise the prices...

Hundreds of cars lined streets this morning as motorists in the Charlotte metro region tried to cope with an ever-worsening gasoline shortage situation. Some motorists waited up to five hours, and fights were reported as people accused other customers of cutting in line. Some gas stations that opened this morning with what they thought were ample supplies ran out within a few hours. Police were called out several times to break up fights among angry customers. North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley announced late Wednesday night that he had ordered tanker trucks from Tennessee, Wilmington and South Carolina to deliver gas...

"We're dry. We've got no gas here," Hussain, the station's manager, said Monday morning. He said he has "no idea" when the next shipment will come, even though he's been in constant contact with the local terminal. "It could be days," he said. "Obviously, we're disappointed. We're being patient. That's all we can do."

Gas stations should be allowed to charge any price they want. Stop and think. There are gas stations all around us. All of them havesimilar products and must compete with one another. We have regulations and agencies that watch to make sure there are no cooperative arrangements among stations. Why, then, are price-gouging laws such a bad idea? First, the price restriction interferes with market forces. For example, gas stations anticipate a lack of supply of gas over the next couple of weeks because of the hurricane in the gulf. They raise their gas prices to allocate the remaining supplies...

The Huntsville Times reported on September 12 that, in response to the looming threat from Hurricane Ike, Alabama Governor Bob Riley declared a formal state of emergency. The governor's declaration of emergency activated the state's price-gouging law, which makes "unconscionable pricing" illegal during times of emergency. The Times quoted Riley as saying that he thinks "a threat to public health is a strong possibility due to the shortage of fuels." Hurricanes don't cause shortages, however. Price controls do. A "shortage" occurs when the amount of a good demanded exceeds the amount of a good supplied at the prevailing price. In...

This column examines current examples of anti-“gouging” impulses in areas affected by recent hurricanes. For an in-depth explanation of the benefits of “price-gouging,” please see yesterday’s column. The following is part of a press release issued yesterday by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: [Commissioner] Charles H. Bronson today announced that his office received nearly 2,200 price-gouging calls over the weekend and 816 complaints – virtually all involving the price of gasoline. All of the complaints are being investigated, and subpoenas will be issued later today for oil company records . . . “We are committed to making...

This column deals with the theory behind “price gouging.” Tomorrow’s column will apply the theory to recent and ongoing situations in hurricane-affected areas. In wake of the recent hurricanes that have hit the south, the recurrent issue of “price gouging” has inevitably arisen as officials in the affected areas go on a hunt for any vendor who dares to raise prices. Little do they know, however, that they are doing the people they serve a major disservice. Let’s take the gas stations as an example. No one knows where their prices should be at any one point except for the...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Kentucky's governor has signed an order declaring a state of emergency and invoking the state's anti-price gouging law as Hurricane Ike bears down on the Texas coast. Gov. Steve Beshear signed the order on Friday, saying gas stations started raising fuel prices overnight before the storm made landfall. Beshear signed the order at the request of Attorney General Jack Conway, who said in a letter released Friday that invoking the law now will help prevent predatory pricing.

Raleigh, N.C. — Gov. Mike Easley on Friday implemented the state's price-gouging law as gas prices jumped amid fears that Hurricane Ike would cripple U.S. refining capacity. Refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, which handle about one-fourth of the U.S. daily demand, were shutting down operations Thursday and Friday in advance of Ike, which was expected to hit the coast late Friday or early Saturday. Under North Carolina law, the governor must make a disaster or emergency declaration or proclaim an abnormal market disruption for critical goods and services for the state Attorney General's Office to investigate and prosecute allegations...

The nine people convicted in the Newsday circulation scandal were each sentenced Friday to 5 years' probation and up to $125,000 in fines, escaping potential restitution totaling $5.9 million and up to 20 years in prison. Those sentenced - in what federal prosecutors said was the end of their investigation - included Louis Sito, a former top Newsday executive who ran the newspaper's day-to-day business operations, and Robert Brennan, former vice president of circulation. Sito also served as vice president of Hispanic media at Tribune Co., which owned Newsday and the Spanish language Hoy, also implicated in the scandal. The...

House fails to pass gasoline price gouging bill Tue Jun 24, 2008 7:03pm EDT By Tom Doggett WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Following a White House veto threat, the House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to passed legislation giving the Federal Trade Commission the authority to punish oil companies that charged excessive prices for gasoline during supply emergencies. The vote was 276-to-146 in favor of the bill, falling short of winning the two-thirds "yes" votes necessary to clear the chamber.

Bloomberg's Plan To Charge $8 Still Very Much Alive (CBS/AP) WASHINGTON -- New York's plan to reduce traffic by charging tolls to drivers entering the busiest part of Manhattan will get a major boost from the government, which has agreed to fund the pilot project, congressional aides said Monday. If implemented, the congestion pricing scheme proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg would be the first of its kind in the nation. London and Singapore have similar toll programs. For weeks, New York officials haggled over whether to approve the mayor's idea in time to qualify for a share of $1.2 billion...

WASHINGTON – With summer travel in full gear and motorists more conscious of the price of gasoline than ever before, few Americans realize that up to 60 cents of the cost per gallon is the result of local, state and federal taxes. In fact, despite allegations of price-gouging, some retailers say they are actually losing money on every gallon they pump.

New York City, Downtown: Skippy Peanut Butter, Pepperidge Farms "Heart White" bread: 9 sandwiches, $8.00 ~~ $0.89 per sandwich. Any other locales want to weigh in?

[C]arriers have introduced a variety of fees to reach even deeper into customers' pockets. Some, like Northwest Airlines, are charging as much as $15 for coach passengers to reserve a more leg-friendly aisle seat. Others, like American Airlines, are charging up to $15 for changes to seat assignments that aren't made online.

WASHINGTON - Although gasoline prices have dropped sharply from last summer, 79 lawmakers sought to send a message Wednesday, introducing a bill that would impose stiff penalties on oil and gas companies for price gouging. With prices at the pump rebounding in recent weeks, Rep. Bart Stupak (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich., said he's worried "this summer prices may once again exceed $3 a gallon." The bill introduced by Stupak and 78 other members of the House would establish the first federal law against price gouging by oil and gas companies, imposing criminal penalties and fines of up to $150...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday directed the state's energy commission to monitor gasoline prices in the wake of BP's pipeline problems in Alaska, the governor's office said. Schwarzenegger also asked U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to make the West Coast a priority for any oil shipments from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Gasoline prices in California have been steady in most of the state since Sunday, when BP announced it was shutting about 400,000 barrels per day of production from the Prudhoe Bay oilfield on Alaska's North Slope. The AAA motor club showed on Wednesday the...