NEW YORK -- Gasoline prices have declined every day for a week following a similar slide in crude prices this month.
But with the national average at nearly $2.73 a gallon on Friday, pump prices are still more expensive than any day last year. They've ridden a 10-month rally in energy commodities that doubled oil prices to nearly $80 a barrel by the end of last year.
Experts say they still expect gas prices to reach $3 a gallon sometime this spring, though it may take longer than originally expected.
No plans for sweeter offer
HERSHEY, Pa. -- Candy maker Hershey says it has no immediate plans to make an offer for British competitor Cadbury, making it all but certain that Kraft Foods Inc.'s $19.5 billion bid will proceed without competition.
The Hershey Co. did leave room for reconsideration, however.
The company says it is reserving the right to bid or participate in a Cadbury offer within six months, but a number of conditions must be met.
GE income falls, but likes signs
General Electric Co.'s fourth-quarter net income fell 19 percent, but the industrial bellwether is seeing signs of stability as it moves into a key rebuilding year.
GE, one of the world's largest companies, said that orders improved late in the year in its businesses that supply equipment like turbines for power plants and sonogram machines for hospitals.
Results beat Wall Street forecasts for the conglomerate, which is coming off one of the worst years in its 117-year history.
FDA OKs drug for MS patients
WASHINGTON -- Federal health regulators have approved an Acorda Therapeutics pill to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis, an often disabling disease that affects the nervous system.
The Food and Drug Administration said Friday Ampyra is the first drug approved to help multiple sclerosis patients walk.
About 400,000 patients in the U.S. have the disease, which affects the brain and nervous system, causing loss of balance, muscle spasms and other movement problems.
Between 260,000 and 340,000 of those patients have difficulty walking, and could be eligible for the new drug, according to company officials.
-- From wire reports
