Disney World ticket to rise over $100

ORLANDO, Fla. — It looks like Walt Disney World ticket prices will break the $100 barrier, possibly as soon as this weekend.

Some employees say Disney management has told them one-day ticket prices will rise to $105 for the Magic Kingdom and $99 for the three other resort parks.

Disney has not confirmed the price increases. A Disney spokeswoman had no comment.

Currently one-day tickets to the Magic Kingdom cost $99 before tax. The other parks cost $94.

The blog Theme Park Insider says it expects the ticket prices to rise Sunday.

Disney raised its prices last February, and ticket prices typically rise on Sundays.

Judge rules against American Express

NEW YORK — American Express violated U.S. antitrust laws by barring merchants from asking customers to use one credit card over another, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The case was a major blow to American Express, who argued that its policies kept it competitive against the larger payment networks of Visa and MasterCard and their bank partners. American Express plans to appeal the decision.

U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis said in his ruling that American Express nondisclosure policies harmed competition and prevented merchants from trying to lower their credit card processing costs. He also said AmEx’s policies kept consumers unaware how much using their credit cards cost merchants, which required merchants to pass along those costs in the form of higher prices.

Postal Service and union open talks

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service and a major union began contract talks Thursday as the agency continued to face huge financial losses.

The Postal Service’s current contract with the American Postal Workers Union expires May 20.

The agency has proposed such cost-cutting moves as ending Saturday mail delivery, only to have them turned aside by Congress.

The union has proposed that postal customers be able to set up accounts where they could get checks cashed and pay bills. Post offices offered some banking services until 1967.

The Postal Service reported a 4.3 percent increase in operating revenue in the October-December 2014 period, but a net loss of $754 million, much of it due to the requirement that it pre-fund retiree health benefits.