"Rate Of First-Class Stamp Increases"

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with a pricier Pony Express.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

INSKEEP: Can I just mention, there was a big snowstorm in Washington, D.C. the other day. Most of the city shut down. My letter carrier arrived. Thank you. Thank you, sir.

It is going to cost a few more pennies, though, to send a letter through the mail. The cost of a first-class postage stamp is now 49 cents - three cents more than previously, the largest increase in consumer postage prices in more than a decade.

The Postal Service lost $5 billion last year, and in an effort to save money, it tried to end Saturday delivery but that was thwarted by Congress.