Business in brief: Rules mandate calorie count

Washington – Restaurant groups, lawmakers, and nutrition and disease-prevention advocates announced Wednesday they have hammered out an agreement that will put calorie contents on the menus of chain restaurants and other nutritional information within easy reach of consumers.

Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Tom Carper, D-Del., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Wednesday that a draft compromise would oblige any establishment that is part of a chain of 20 or more restaurants operating under the same name to post the calorie content of all of its regular offerings.

Foreclosure filings fell in May

Washington – The number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes dipped in May from April.

Foreclosure filings fell 6 percent in May from the previous month, according to RealtyTrac Inc. More than 321,000 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice last month – 18 percent more than a year earlier – but the smallest annual gain since June 2006.

Palm chairman named CEO

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Jon Rubinstein, a former executive behind Apple Inc.’s iPod, on Wednesday was named chief executive of smart-phone maker Palm Inc., replacing Ed Colligan who is stepping down after 16 years with the company.

The appointment comes just days after Palm launched the $200 Pre, a well-regarded rival to Apple’s blockbuster iPhone.

Rubinstein, 53, will remain executive chairman, a post he assumed in October 2007 to help bring innovation back to the company.

Oil continues price climb

Houston –

Oil prices surged again Wednesday to a new high for the year with investors pouring money into crude markets as a hedge against inflation.

Adding to crude’s advance was new government data that showed an uptick in U.S. demand for gasoline.

Benchmark crude for July delivery rose $1.32 to settle at $71.33 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier touching $71.79. It was the second time in as many days that crude hit new heights this year at the close.