USC opens new medical school campus in Greenville

The University of South Carolina opened a new medical school campus in Greenville with a charter class of 53 students.

The school is a partnership between USC and the Greenville Hospital System and becomes one of 136 in the nation.

The school is only one of two in the nation that requires students to complete emergency medical technician training and is only one of a few to be located on the campus of a public health system.

July sees largest gas price increase in more than 12 years

Gasoline is at $3.50 per gallon for the first time this summer after a sharp run-up in July. The price of gas rose 17 cents per gallon, or 5.1 percent this month, as oil rose and drivers burned more fuel on summer road trips. It was the first monthly increase since March, and the biggest gain in any July since auto club AAA started keeping records in 2000.

The average price for gas nationwide hit a high of $3.94 per gallon on April 6 when oil topped $100 per barrel. As the global economy weakened in the spring, oil fell sharply. Gas eventually dropped to $3.33 per gallon on July 2.

On Tuesday, gas rose 1.4 cents to reach an average of $3.50 for the first time since June 19. South Carolina is averaging a national low $3.20 per gallon.

Fannie, Freddie won’t cut loan balances

The independent federal agency that administers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said once again on Tuesday that it would not let the mortgage finance companies offer debt forgiveness to homeowners, rejecting the entreaties of congressional Democrats and the Obama administration.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it had concluded after months of study that debt forgiveness might benefit up to half a million homeowners, but that the costs — including the cost to taxpayers — outweighed the potential benefits.

Offering debt forgiveness “would not make a meaningful improvement in reducing foreclosures in a cost-effective way for taxpayers,” the agency’s acting director, Edward DeMarco, said.

GM ousts marketing chief over soccer deal

General Motors ousted Joel Ewanick, the high-profile marketing chief brought in to change the automaker’s image, after company officials questioned the propriety of a deal he negotiated to sponsor the Manchester United soccer team, people familiar with the matter said.

GM agreed to pay more than $39 million per year for seven years to put its Chevrolet brand on the team’s jerseys, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. That’s 25 percent more than current sponsor Aon Corp. pays.

GM leaders had to ask for Ewanick’s resignation after they perceived that he failed to make clear some details of the contract to the senior management team, the people said. GM plans to honor the arrangement.

BP posts dramatic loss

BP reported a $1.4 billion loss Tuesday for the three-month period ended June 30. The main reason for the loss was $4.8 billion in write-downs on refineries, shale gas assets in the United States and a long-delayed project in Alaska. The earnings will do nothing to assuage the concerns of investors, who are already discontented with the performance of the company and its chief executive, Bob Dudley.

The Associated Press, The New York Times and Bloomberg News contributed.