PORTLAND — A gasoline price monitoring website said average retail prices in Maine have risen 4.5 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.55.

MaineGasPrices.com said the rise in Maine is consistent with the national figure, which also shows a 4.5 cent-per-gallon increase in the last week. But the national average price is lower, $3.39 per gallon.

Including the change in gas prices in Maine during the past week, prices Sunday were 36.5 cents per gallon higher than they were the same day one year ago, and 21.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago.

Petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said how Iran responds to European Union sanctions could send crude oil prices higher quickly.

Philly newspaper co. is again for sale

PHILADELPHIA — A published report said Philadelphia’s two largest daily newspapers are up for sale again, less than a year and a half after creditors took them over.

The New York Post, citing an unidentified source, said Monday that Alden Global Capital, a distressed debt specialist, may pull out its 30 percent stake and that Philadelphia Media Network is conducting an auction to sell itself for about $100 million. The company operates The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philly.com website.

Alden had been a lead player in the creditors’ $139 million takeover of the company in a September 2010 bankruptcy auction. The auction followed a bitter fight for control between creditors and local investors.

Hey Moe! Pep Boys agrees to be acquired

NEW YORK — The Pep Boys — Manny, Moe & Jack, an auto parts chain founded more than 90 years ago, has agreed to be taken private by the investment firm The Gores Group for about $791 million.

The $15 per share offer is a 24 percent premium to Pep Boys’ closing price Friday of $12.08. News of the acquisition sent the Philadelphia company’s shares up $2.88, or 23.8 percent, to $14.96 in afternoon trading on Monday.

Pep Boys brand recognition as well as its moderate pricing appealed to The Gores Group, said Lee Bird, managing director of operations and consumer practice leader at The Gores Group.

The auto parts company began in 1921 with the Naval buddies and original Pep Boys: Emanuel “Manny” Rosenfeld, Maurice “Moe” Strauss, Moe Radavitz and Graham “Jack” Jackson. Their first store opened in Philadelphia under the name Pep Auto Supplies, according to the company’s web site.

Compiled from wire reports