• Higher diesel shrinks pay
Four years ago, Guy Belland could make a decent living as an independent truck driver shuttling motor oil across the country for ConocoPhillips. Back then, diesel was $2.50 a gallon and Belland signed a five-year contract with a trucking firm that would earn him $50,000 to $75,000 a year.

• Credence Systems is merging with LTX Corp. of Massachusetts
Credence Systems Corp., a California-based company that employs 220 in Hillsboro, plans to merge with LTX Corp. of Massachusetts.

• Industry Notes
REAL ESTATE

• Large investors linked to oil prices
Lawmakers continue to blame large investors for their role in propping up oil prices, pointing out Monday that speculation in crude futures has nearly doubled since 2000.

• New buyer seeks Digimarc unit
Safran SA, Europe's second-largest defenseelectronics maker, has offered to buy Beaverton-based Digimarc Corp.'s identification systems unit for $300 million in cash, challenging an earlier bid by L-1 Identity Solutions Inc., Digimarc announced Monday.

• News highlights
NEWS UPDATE: GAS PRICES

• Portland Development Commission considers a new loan to stave off foreclosure of the Heritage Building
The Portland Development Commission on Wednesday will try to save the renovated Heritage Building -- one of the city's landmark projects on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard -- from a foreclosure sale next month.

• Zero % car loans from GM reappear
General Motors, which has struggled to stop depending on big discounts to draw in customers, is pulling the sale banners out again.