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Show Friday, DAILY HERALD June 20, 2008 Huntsman and "appearfs to be a blatant attempt to deprive our shareholders of the benefits of the merger agreement that was agreed to nearly a year ago." Another son, Jon Huntsman Jr., is Utah's governor. The company's roots date back to 1970, when Jon Huntsman Sr. left Dow Chemical Co. to start the Huntsman Container Corp., which pioneered the clamshell container for the Continued from B6 protect the interests of our shareholders," he said. Huntsman shares fell $8, or 38 percent, to close Thursday at $12.86. The company could be in line for settlements totaling $325 million settlement if it can show it was unfairly spurned, Moody's Investors Service said from B6 ing practices prevalent until the mortgage market collapse started last year. Officials have identified 10 "mortgage fraud hotspbts" nationwide in California, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Georgia and Florida. To people who have committed fraud or are contemplating doing so, FBI Director Robert Mueller said: "We will find you, you will be investigated and you will be prosecuted." Those named in the cases Big Mac. A son, CEO Peter Huntsman, issued a separate statement saying Hexion's retreat violated the merger agreement y ers, mortgage lenders and brokers, lawyers, real estate agents and appraisers, said Sharon Ormsby, section chief in charge of financial crimes for the FBI. In some cases, gang, drug and organized crime investigations have resulted in mortgage fraud cases because such schemes enable criminals to launder money, Ormsby said. Mortgage foreclosure rescue scams, which promise to help struggling homeowners stave off foreclosure and keep their homes, also have - Premium their tanks to save money. e In 1997, garnered 16 percent of the nationwide fuel market share, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Last month, premium had only 8 percent of the market. Last year, premium gasoline consumption fell to about 35.6 million gallons of gas per day, the lowest in 24 years, the agency I crisis. Officials declined to say who might be the next corporate target, but Mueller said the investigations focus on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose A the value of mortgage-relate- d securities and other invest- Press BAZEMORE Associated JOHN Greg Jones, special agent in charge of the FBI in Atlanta speaks duringa news conference in Atlanta, Thursday, June 20, 2008 to discuss a crack down on mortgage fraud. Jones said the bureau has arrested 60 people in Georgia over the past four years, involving millions of dollars in losses to lenders. Under review for potential fraud are: investment banks, hedge funds, credit rating agencies, brokerage houses and due diligence firms criminal charges related to which evaluate loans packthe collapse of the subprime aged into investments. Similar to the federal invesmortgage market. Across the country, retigations of Enron Corp. and ports of mortgage fraud have WorldCom Inc., the cases are soared over the past year as complex and rely on intense the subprime mortgage marscrutiny of documents, Mueller said. ket collapsed, and defaults and foreclosures soared. Banks reported nearly become a major problem, officials said. Typically, ments. un- suspecting owners sign over their homes and then find they are victims of fraud. In separate arrests, two former Bear Stearns managers in New York were indicted Thursday, becoming the first executives to face ur lowest p Save to $100 on our newest up phones. per tank. high-octan- "It really doesn't add up to very much," she said. "It's more of a psychological thing. You're at the pump, and it seems like every time you hit a certain threshold, you cringe." Some motorists feel they -. "We're down to the core, audience that believes they need 93," said Tom Kloza, .publisher of the Oil Price Inf ormation Service, a New Jersey firm that provides petroleum pricing and news information. Gas station owners say they are pumping so little premium that it can take three or four e weeks to sell their inventory, as opposed to a couple of days for a delivery of regular gas. "The reality is, when you're ' having to make a Choice between food and fuel, all of a sudden you'll make a decision to give up the benefits of the higher product," said Sonja Mart Hubbard, the CEO of Inc., a Texarkana, Texas-base- d company that owns 307 convenience stores in Texas, ArkanE-- Z ) uw laesi devices Associated Press LYNNE SLADKY fuel. She points out that most premium fuel is 30 or 40 cents a gallon more than regular meaning that cutting it out would only save a few dollars Continued from B6 high-octan- - VCriJOnwireiess Ernesto Evangelista, 33, fills up his Nissan Titan with regular gasoline in Miami Beach, Fla., on June 13. This vehicle should take premium gasoline, but as the national average for premium is at $4.45 per gallon, mot orists like Evangelista are buying less of it. die-har- d Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. In recent months, the FBI has been investigating more than 1,400 mortgage fraud incases and 19 companies cluding Bear Stearns tied to the subprime mortgage i include housing developA week later, Hexion raised its offer to $28 per share, or about $6.5 billion, and Basell declined to raise its offer. Under the deal, Hexion also planned to assume $4.1 billion in debt. chairman. said. 53,000 cases of suspected mortgage fraud last year, up from more than 37,000 a year earlier and about 10 times the level of reports in 200 1 and 2002, according to the Mortgage Continued Huntsman announced in July Thursday. 2007 that Hexion had offered Moody's said it was putting about $6 billion, or $27.25 per ratings for both companies under review for a possible share, for the company, an 8 downgrade. Huntsman Corp. is percent premium over a $5.6 based in Salt Lake City but has billion, $25.25 per share bid its administrative headquarters from Dutch manufacturer in The Woodlands, Texas. Jon Huntsman Sr. is founder and B5 have no choice but to pump premium. The number of new models that manufacturers say should use high octane -- mostly luxury sedans and 7sports cars has risen from 166 in 2002 to 282 this year, according to the Kelley Blue Book, an Irvine, Calif company that provides vehicle value infofmation. There's some debate over whether premium gas is really necessary for all but a few models. Consumer Reports wrote this month that motorists should not waste money on premium if their owners manual says the vehicle takes regular the car won't run better. The magazine also says many cars that are supposed to only use premium perform just as well with regular. Judd Rosen, a torney in Miami, says the er told him to put mm Si. 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Melissa Hodge, 32, of New rett of Centreville, Va., says the decline in premium sales hurts Lenox, 111., alternates between his profits. premium and regular for her "The shift from higher grade, Infiniti G35 sedan. "I know premium is better higher profit products will decrease my margin," says Gar- for my car, but with the ecorett, who estimates that sales of nomic times, I just can't do it," said Hodge, who commutes 50 premium have decreased 10 to 15 percent since last year at his miles a day as a salesperson. The price of premium hasn't three gas stations. Jessica Caldwell, an auto discouraged waiter Gregg Bernstein, 32, of Miami Beach, industry analyst with the resource Edmunds.com, from gassing up with the good stuff. He owns a little red scootsays consumption of premium has fallen because people are er that sips fuel. "It costs $3 to fill the tank," driving less overall and more people are buying compact cars he said. 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