Canada’s two major freight railroads reported lower fourth-quarter earnings on lower freight demand.

Existing homes sales increased 6.5% in November, while the median price of a home fell 15% from the same month last year, the biggest drop on record, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

Union Pacific Corp. said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit rose 35% to $661 million, or $1.31 per share, from $491 million, or 93 cents per share, last year.

The national average price of regular gasoline increased for the first time since early July, rising 11.7 cents to $1.779 a gallon during the two weeks ended Friday, according to the latest Lundberg Survey of filling stations released Sunday.

A national safety group is advocating for laws completely banning cell phone use while driving, the Associated Press reported.

WASHINGTON — A national commission studying transportation infrastructure funding is set to recommend that Congress raise fuel taxes now but eventually replace them with levies based on miles traveled.

Southern California port officials and state environmental regulators continued pressing their campaign to reduce heavy-truck diesel emissions, approving several controversial measures during 2008 that some truckers said will lead to severe economic hardships.