The average price of regular unleaded gasoline locally dropped this week, reflecting the nationwide decrease in prices. A gallon of regular unleaded at area pumps fell 7.8 cents to $3.079, AAA East Central reported. The average price of gasoline nationwide on Friday fell below $3 a gallon for the first time in a month, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge; yesterday the price was $2.978.

A Teamsters local that has fought a long-standing campaign to organize FedEx Home Delivery drivers in Worcester, Mass., has withdrawn plans for a unionization vote this week. The decision to cancel Friday's election bars Teamsters Local 170 from holding a new vote during the next six months. But the union hopes to revisit the issue in the summer, and a vote on unionizing the 18 affected drivers could be held later this year, said an official of the union local. Paul Callahan, a vice president with the company's Moon-based FedEx Ground unit, called the cancellation "a total defeat for the Teamsters. These 18 independent contractors sent a clear message to the union that they want to remain just that -- independent," he said.

JetBlue Airways Corp. posted a fourthquarter loss of $4 million, or 2 cents a share, vs. net income of $17 million, or 10 cents, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 5 cents a share. Revenue rose 16.6 percent to $739 million.

Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. reported a fourth-quarter loss of $422 million, or 79 cents per share, vs. net income of $622 million, or $1.01, a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a loss of 30 cents per share. Revenue fell 58 percent to $1.2 billion.

The 10th EnterPrize Business Plan Competition will begin Feb. 20 at the Pittsburgh Technology Council in Hazelwood. The sponsors include the Idea Foundry, Innovation Works and the R.P. Simmons Foundation ??? UnitedHealth Group Inc. could face fines up to $1.3 billion because its PacifiCare unit allegedly handled claims unfairly after it was taken over by the nation's second-largest health insurer, California officials said.