July Declared National Hoarding Month

Just kiddin'.

Dow Chemical to Raise Prices 25% as Energy Costs Gain (Update5)

June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Dow Chemical Co. will raise prices as much as 25 percent in July, the largest increase in company history and the second in two months, to recoup surging energy and raw-material costs.

Then again, maybe I'm not kiddin'.

The company's cumulative price increases since May approach 50 percent, Kevin McCarthy, an analyst at Banc of America Securities, said in a report. Dow's 3,200 products are used in thousands of consumer products, including diapers, sneaker soles, carpets and plastic bottles.

How about plastic credit cards? Capital One is back to flooding my mail box with 0% credit card offers. The last "priority notification" was "personal and contains dated, time-sensitive material to be opened by the addressee only." It was apparently for my eyes only. I'm not a very good secret agent though. My bird is currently reading the offer as it is in the bottom of her cage.

Three factories in the Dow Automotive unit will be permanently shut because of declining North American sales, the company said. Details on specific plant closures, job cuts and related charges haven't been determined, said Chris Huntley, a company spokesman.

Surely the permanent closures are only temporary. We're only a week away from the fabled and long awaited second half of year recovery.