CHICAGO — Consumers had cause to cheer, or at least applaud politely, this week when the government forecast summer gasoline prices slightly below last year's. The outlook may not be as benign for visits to their favorite supermarkets and restaurants, among other destinations — and perhaps for rates on their credit-card and mortgage bills, either.

Prices on everything from cereal and milk to soft drinks and red meat are on the upswing, due partly to the ethanol and biodiesel boom which is pushing up prices for corn and other commodities. High energy prices also remain troublesome, regardless whether gas tops $3 a gallon, and clothing costs are up this year too.

All that explains why Federal Reserve policymakers cited "uncomfortably high" inflation readings as being their biggest worry, according to minutes released Wednesday of their private discussions last month.

The government reported Friday that wholesale prices rose 1 percent in March, mostly because of the biggest jumps in energy (3.6 percent) and gasoline (8.7 percent) prices since November.

Prices were flat for the month on a wider range of goods that excludes food and energy.

GENERAL ELECTRIC PROFITS UP

HARTFORD, Conn. — General Electric Co., helped by sales of big-ticket items such as jet engines and train locomotives, posted first-quarter earnings of $4.5 billion Friday, up 2 percent from the same period in 2006.

The diversified manufacturing, media and financial services conglomerate also said the results were dogged by the sagging subprime mortgage industry and weak performances in its industrial and NBC units.

Per-share earnings of 44 cents were in line with estimates by analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Revenue of $40.2 billion for the quarter was up by 6 percent from the same period last year.

The company's first-quarter performance was led by its infrastructure business, which rose about 18 percent in the first quarter, from $10.1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2006 to $11.9 billion this year. Profit at the unit, which makes engines, turbines, locomotives and other heavy equipment, was nearly $2.2 billion, up from $1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2006.

MCDONALD'S SEES STRONG MARCH SALES

CHICAGO — McDonald's Corp. on Friday reported stronger-than-expected March sales and possibly its best month ever in Europe, results it said will propel first-quarter earnings well above Wall Street estimates. Its stock jumped to the highest level since 1999.

The world's largest restaurant company said sales at its outlets open at least 13 months rose a stellar 8.2 percent last month and 6.3 percent for the quarter compared with the same periods a year earlier. That included a 6.2 percent climb at its U.S. outlets in March, where the snack wrap and other new products continue to buoy sales.

It said it expects to report quarterly profit of about 62 cents a share when it discloses full results on April 20 — up roughly 27 percent from the first quarter of 2006 and 5 cents a share better than the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

NEWS OF SALE BRINGS DROP IN CHRYSLER SALES

DETROIT — A few weeks after Chrysler Group's German parent put the company up for sale on Feb. 14, dealers reported to Chrysler executives that customers were wondering if their cars would still be covered by warranties.

Chrysler's sales plummeted 8.3 percent in February from the same month in 2006, and the company's top sales executive attributed much of the decline to consumer uncertainty about Chrysler's future.

Several industry analysts say continued publicity about DaimlerChrysler AG possibly selling off Chrysler undoubtedly will hurt the company in showrooms, especially in the Midwest where Chrysler has more facilities and gets more news coverage as the bidding process continues. Many wonder if Chrysler can recover as long as its future ownership is unknown.

Chrysler started the year with a decent January, when sales rose 1 percent from the same month a year ago, even though overall U.S. auto sales were down more than 4 percent.

FORMER HOME DEPOT CEO GRANTED $134.5M

ATLANTA — The former chief executive of The Home Depot Inc., Bob Nardelli, was granted $134.5 million in compensation last year as valued by the company, according to an analysis of a regulatory filing by the world's largest home improvement store chain Friday.

A sizable chunk of the compensation was related to Nardelli's severance package from the Atlanta-based company.

Nardelli, who resigned from Home Depot in early January after six years with the company, received a salary of $2,331,538, a bonus of $3 million, non-equity incentive plan compensation of $3 million and other compensation of $100,202,137. He also received stock and option awards last year that had an estimated value of $25,924,250 on the days they were granted.

Home Depot's annual proxy said Nardelli also received $40,441 in preferential earnings on deferred compensation.

COMPUTER ASSOCIATES MUST PAY IN FRAUD CASE

NEW YORK — A judge has signed off on a restitution agreement requiring the former chief executive of Computer Associates International Inc. to pay at least $52 million — including proceeds from the sale of his yacht and pair of Ferraris — to victims of a huge accounting fraud at one of the world's largest software companies.

U.S. District Judge Leo Glasser approved the deal on Friday following a brief hearing in Brooklyn at which a special master overseeing a restitution fund announced that tens of thousands of people who lost money on the company would recover only a small fraction of their investments.

The agreement with Sanjay Kumar, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in November for his role in the scandal, would theoretically make him liable for as much as $798.6 million in payments to investors.

Prosecutors acknowledge, though, that Kumar and his family will probably never have enough money to pay that amount.

The deal, which was filed earlier this month, calls for Kumar to instead make installment payments of $40 million, $10 million and $2 million by December of 2008, then pay 20 percent of his annual income once he is released from prison.

DOLLAR TRADES NEAR RECORD LOW VS. EURO

NEW YORK — The dollar traded near a record low against the euro Friday amid expectations that the Group of Seven would maintain its position on addressing worldwide economic imbalances.

The euro bought $1.3539 in afternoon trading after climbing as high as $1.3547 earlier in the session — its highest level since January 2005. That compared with the $1.3480 it bought in New York late Thursday, and was about one cent short of its all-time high from December 2004 of $1.3667.