Gasoline prices have risen for five straight weeks. Last week, they jumped 12.2 cents per gallon, pushing the average price up 17.4 cents higher than a year ago, according to USA Today. The days of cheap gasoline are gone forever.

Economically, gas may still be relatively inexpensive. Indeed, people in Europe have been paying through the nose for years. But that matters little to U.S. consumers, particularly amid uncertainties about the economy.

It doesn't take much of a change in prices for them to react. Everyone isn't going to buy hybrids tomorrow but people are going to change their behavior. Maybe they won't fill up their SUVs every time. Maybe they will take public transportation more often. Maybe they'll carpool. Maybe they'll care more about global warming.

Even Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) can't control the laws of supply and demand. Supplies are tight and demand is high and it's going to get even higher. Of course, as everybody who ever took Economics 101 knows, when that happens prices go up.

Oil prices are going to remain strong thanks to the tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which don't look like they are going to ease anytime soon.

Remember, we aren't even in the summer driving season yet. Lord knows what's going to happen then when vacationers hit the open road.

When my five-month-old son gets older, he'll never believe that gasoline was ever under $1 per gallon let alone $2. Many people are going to have a tough time accepting the new reality for some time to come.

The days of cheap gasoline are over originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Main market news here.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon would probably earn a gold medal for cost-cutting if the Olympics gave such things out. Now, investors are wondering how the high-profile Wall Street executive is going to grow JP Morgan's bottom line the old-fashioned way, organically. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) argues in its "Heard on the Street" column that investors will be keenly interested in hearing Dimon's plans at a company meeting tomorrow.

Like the stock market, the oil market also is in decline Prices for light, sweet crude for April delivery fell $1.12 to $60.52 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to the Associated Press. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran along with lower-than-expected stockpiles will continue to bolster the market, the AP said. The New York Times points out that technological advances makes it possible for oil companies to get more oil from oil fields.

Subprime lender New Century Financial Corp. (NYSE:NEW) will need help from Wall Street firms such as Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and UBS AG (NYSE:UBS), according to Bloomberg News. New Century had a $3 billion credit line wit Morgan Stanley that was supposed to expire last month and a $2 billion line with UBS that's good until September 2008, with $1.5 billion outstanding, Bloomberg said.

As expected, Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (NYSE:GAP), owner of the A&P supermarket chain, agreed to buy rival Pathmark Stores Inc. for $1.3 billion in cash, stock and debt, the Associated Press said. The merged company will own 550 stores in the New York and Philadelphia areas as well as Michigan, Maryland and Louisiana.

Before the Bell 3-5-2007: JP Morgan, New Century, Great Atlantic & Pacific originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Mar 2007 08:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.