WASHINGTON -- Dozens of 7-Eleven store owners, in a move intended to call attention to credit-cards' swipe fees, gathered in Washington Wednesday to present to Congress 130 boxes containing more than 1.66 million signatures in favor of lowering the fees, according to a Dow Jones report. The franchisees joined 7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto and House Democratic lawmakers in a press conference on the U.S. Capitol grounds to argue the petition drive showed consumers were also frustrated with the fees, which have fueled a major spat between credit-card companies and retailers.

"They too want Congress to take action to regulate these unfair fees, which are the highest in the industrialized world," DePinto said in a statement.

ROCKFORD, Ill. -- A two-year legal battle between Road Ranger and CITGO Petroleum Corp. has ended in a confidential settlement, court records show, reported The Rockford Register-Star. CITGO sued Road Ranger after the retailer started buying much of its gasoline and diesel fuel from other suppliers in 2006 and removed the CITGO name from its stations. Those acts, CITGO said, were a breach of contract. Road Ranger countersued in 2008, claiming CITGO had previously breached the contract by cutting supplies without a proper basis.

SAN RAMON, Calif. -- John S. Watson, 52, who has been named chairman and CEO of Chevron Corp. effective Dec. 31, 2009, led the company's integration effort following the Chevron-Texaco merger in 2000. Watson, who is currently vice chairman, will succeed David J. O'Reilly on Dec. 31, 2009. O'Reilly is retiring from the company and its board after 41 years, including 10 years as chairman and CEO.