BRIEFCASE.

Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

Accounting errors for Dell

DALLAS -- Dell Inc., one of the world's largest PC makers, said Thursday that an internal audit committee has found a number of accounting errors and evidence of misconduct in its monthslong review of previous earnings statements.

Dell also said it would miss an April 18 deadline to file its annual 10K financial report to the Securities and Exchange Commission until the internal review is completed.

Dell shares fell in electronic trading after the market closed, when the news was released.

In a short news release, the Round Rock, Texas, company said the internal audit had "identified a number of accounting errors, evidence of misconduct, and deficiencies in the financial control environment."

Further details were not provided, and Dell spokesman Dwayne Cox said the company was unable to comment further.

The company added in the statement that it was working with management and the company's independent auditors to determine whether the errors would require the restatement of previous earnings reports.

Oil, gas prices surge again

NEW YORK -- Crude oil prices surged above $66 a barrel Thursday, driven to a new six-month high by concerns that strained relations between Iran and the West could put oil exports in jeopardy as U.S. gasoline supplies wane and demand swells.

Pump prices kept rising as well: The average U.S. retail price of unleaded regular gasoline was $2.62 a gallon Thursday, 12 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA.

Iran detained 15 British navy personnel last week, and on Thursday the country suspended the release of a female British sailor, and a top official said the captives may be put on trial. The incident comes several months into a standoff between Iran, the fourth-largest oil producer, and the United Nations over the country's nuclear program.

Worries related to Iran -- which is also located on a key waterway in the oil trade -- have led traders to put an extra premium on oil prices, which are already high due to seven straight weeks of declines in U.S. gasoline inventories.

Steel deal totally tubular

PITTSBURGH -- United States Steel Corp. plans to buy Lone Star Technologies Inc., a maker of welded pipe used in oil fields, in a $2.1 billion cash deal that will make it North America's largest producer of tubular steel.

The Pittsburgh-based company said Thursday the transaction will combine its largely seamless tubular business with Lone Star's welded tubular operation, broadening its line of energy sector products.

U.S. Steel will be able to produce about 2.8 million tons of tubular steel in North America annually after the transaction is completed, the company said. The deal is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2007.

Late payments on loans climb

WASHINGTON -- Late payments on certain auto and home equity loans climbed in the final quarter of last year, while delinquencies on credit card bills largely held steady, suggesting some consumers are feeling more squeezed than others.

The American Bankers Association, in its quarterly survey of consumer loans, reported Thursday that late payments on home equity loans rose to 1.92 percent in the October-December period. That was up sharply from 1.79 percent in the prior quarter and the highest since the first quarter of 2006.

Payments are considered delinquent if they are 30 or more days past due. The survey is based on information supplied by more than 300 banks nationwide.