Consumer Confidential: Pump prices hold steady, Target scores the iPad

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Here’s your fiscally prudent Friday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--Like what you pay at the pump? I suppose not, but it could be a whole lot worse. In any case, the prices we’re paying now will likely hold steady through the fall, experts say, thanks to plentiful supplies and demand still limited by the ailing economy. According to our friends at AAA, the national average for unleaded regular gas is now $2.71 a gallon, which is about 3 cents lower than a week ago. The average in Southern California is $2.97 a gallon, down just a smidge from last week.

--Still jonesing for an iPad? Beginning soon, you won’t have to go to an Apple store to score one. Target will also carry the white-hot tablets as of Oct. 3. And if you have a store credit card (which, it must be said, I don’t recommend for credit-score reasons), you’ll get a 5% discount on the gadget. IPad prices will start at $499. Target also says it’s expanding its grocery offerings at hundreds of stores, clearly trying to give Wal-Mart a run for the money.

-- David Lazarus