Supply concerns lift crude oil to record

Crude oil rose to a record in New York for the second time this week on concern that supply from the world's top exporters will be disrupted as fuel consumption surges.

Oil shipments are threatened by a legal battle between Russia's government and the country's biggest oil exporter, OAO Yukos Oil Co.

Crude oil for September delivery rose $1.05, or 2.5 percent, to settle at $43.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Delta, Northwest match price increase

Delta and Northwest airlines matched a $10-per-round-trip price increase by American Airlines on many routes.

The three airlines all cited the rising cost of jet fuel as the cause.

Lockout at Ralph's was porous, chief says

The president of Ralphs supermarket chain - a division of Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. - has admitted in a letter to employees that Ralphs officials allowed locked-out grocery clerks to come back to work under assumed names during a 41/2-month labor dispute in Southern California.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles has convened a grand jury to hear evidence regarding allegations that Ralphs violated federal labor laws by letting some striking workers use the names and Social Security numbers of relatives.

Kroger and the attorney's office had no comment on Ralphs president John Burgon's letter.

Wire/staff reports