Briefs

The recovering economy has more Americans gearing up for vacations, allowing carriers such as Delta Air Lines and US Airways to raise fares on summer travel. The number of bookings for trips in June through August is up 4.3 percent from a year ago, while prices advanced 3.1 percent. Airlines have cut capacity over the past several years to trim costs, so now they can fill planes to near-record levels and raise fares during high travel periods. The carriers may continue to limit the number of available seats for some time. Southwest Airlines curbed its expansion plans recently by delaying the delivery of 30 Boeing 737-800 jets for four years.

PetroChina, the mainland’s biggest oil and natural gas producer, says it’s looking at refining and storage assets in the Americas and the Caribbean and expects to set up trading operations in the Western Hemisphere. The company is weighing the purchase of a refinery in Aruba owned by Valero Energy. In 2010 the Chinese state-owned company said it planned to invest at least $60 billion this decade on acquisitions. The company wants half of its oil and gas production to come from overseas, up from just more than a quarter now.