Show Fuel Oil Cost Not Going Up There's good news this winter for people who heat their homes with fuel the price of fuel will not go SEVERAL of the nation's largest oil companies have told the Price Commission in Washington that they do not plan to ask for price increases on 2 home heating oil winter- In the the price of the oil often went up seasonally during winter The oil companies decided not to ask for a price increase after informal meetings with Price Commission STABILIZATION officials made it clear they were concerned about impact of any oil price increase on the national economy and on individual told the oil companies that any request for a price increase would require a formal public similar to the recent hearings on the auto THESE informal talks by the Price Commission staff-and the oil men's response-are an example of Commission activities that seldom make headlines but nonetheless help hold down Another major factor keeping down oil prices is the government's recent decision to allow up to barrels a day of additional foreign oil into the country during November and THIS ACTION permits as much as barrels daily of 2 fuel up from the previously authorized Price Commission officials noted there are two which could result in price hikes in localized Small firms with less than 61 employees are exempt from the Commission's And firms which have cut prices below their base prices can raise prices back to base WANT TO save money next time you go to the grocery News from Idaho and New York provide some Never go to a food store when you are hungry or without a is the advice of Sharon consumer marketing agent State LIST can be Miss Wineland can wait and see what's on special when you get But a list is important to prevent impulse buying or at least keep it to a The same is true if you're Miss Wineland You tend to buy more than you Miss Wineland was interviewed by the Lansing FROM comes the news of an interesting experiment in Mary Jane a correspondent for the Boise made up a list of items which cost exactly at the store in which she regularly Then she went to five other food stores in nearby Idaho towns and figuratively the same The The list could be bought for as as ino one but cost as much as in That's a almost 16 percent of the low THE PRICE Commission has been saying for some time that it pays to shop around Correspondent Williams helps prove Nationally syndicated columnist Sylvia Porter recently reported on a similar She asked a friend to wheel two shopping carts through a one cart with the most expensive version of the food on her grocery list and another cart with the least WHEN SHE checked out the two the bargain cart came to less than the other Convenience items-such as pre-peeled vegetables and butter added to frozen foods-were missing from the less expensive but many people might find the 88 percent savings well worth the The Price Commission expects complaints consumers and about its regulations because it's impossible to come up with a set of rules that everyone considers fair to the Commission hears from people who are willing to be pinched a bit because they figure everyone else-will be better off in the long That sort of sentiment was expressed recently by H. W. president of the American Textile Manufacturers headquartered in N. C. PROFIT margin limits are measured against a very low base period when the industry was so we can't enjoy the full economic he but the controls we as an industry can endure the Statisticians in Washington and elsewhere talk a lot about complex indexes that measure the consumer and wholesale but what most people are interested in is whether they are better or worse off financially than THE MEASURE for this nationwide is an index called It reports the average weekly after-tax pay of most American wage and then makes an allowance for The U.S. Department of Labor recently reported the average take-home pay in August was a After allowing for this figure was percent above a year largest year-to-year increase for any August since the monthly index MARY an attorney with experience in government and has been selected as Consumer Specialist to the Price Her job is to insure that consumer viewpoints are represented in all aspects of the Commission's Miss Ryan came to the Commission from the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection where she was an attorney primarily concerned with special projects affecting SHE WAS previously legislative assistant to the Director of Consumer Services in the Department of Education and She also has worked for the Women's U.S. Department of as an |