World Food Prices Climb to Record as UN Sounds Alarm on Further Shortages

Global food prices rose to a record in February and grain costs may continue to rise in the next several months, with only rice keeping the world from a repeat of the crisis three years ago, the United Nations said.

An index of 55 food commodities rose 2.2 percent to 236 points from 230.7 in January, the eighth consecutive gain, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said today. Wheat rose as much as 58 percent on the Chicago Board of Trade in the past 12 months, corn gained 87 percent and rice added 6.5 percent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-03/world-food-prices-climb-to-record-as-un-sounds-alarm-on-further-shortages.html

Manufacturing growing at fastest pace in 7 years

U.S. manufacturers expanded at the fastest pace in nearly seven years last month, but a sudden rise in the price of raw materials could threaten their profits.

The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that its index of manufacturing activity rose to 61.4 in February, up from 60.8 the previous month. That's the highest reading since it reached the same level in May 2004. The ISM's index bottomed out at 33.3 in December 2008, its lowest point in nearly 30 years.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Manufacturing-growing-at-apf-689542114.html?x=0

Oil prices jump on Middle East, Bernanke comments

Oil prices climbed Tuesday as Iran clamped down on anti-government protesters and unrest in the Middle East threatened to keep energy prices high for months to come.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for April delivery gained $2.66 to settle at $99.63 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude gained $3.62 to settle at $115.42 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The recent surge in oil has pushed up gasoline prices in the U.S. by nearly 20 cents per gallon in the past week. That's the sharpest increase since September 2008, when Hurricane Ike shut down Gulf Coast refineries, according to the Oil Price Information Service. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina sent prices soaring about 45 cents per gallon in one week.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-prices-jump-on-Middle-apf-1296176780.html?x=0

Oil drops, but gasoline prices keep rising

Oil prices fell below $97 per barrel Monday just days after spiking above $100. Last week's surge continued to ripple through global pipelines, however, as gasoline prices jumped 8 cents over the weekend.

Crude dropped on reports that Libya was still exporting oil. Shipments were thought to have halted last week as protestors clashed with the government and strongman Moammar Gadhafi lost control of many of the country's oil fields. But industry officials said Monday that a tanker bound for China was loading oil in the Libyan port of Tobruk. Saudi Arabia also was boosting exports.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery lost 91 cents to settle at $96.97 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude fell 34 cents to settle at $111.80 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Traders said there is a "fear premium" of $15 to $20 per barrel built into the price of oil to account for further disruptions in shipments as pro-reform movements sweep through North Africa and the Middle East. Oil prices should slide as the situation in Libya stabilizes, analysts said.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-drops-but-gasoline-prices-apf-489242950.html?x=0

History tells us that a surge in fuel costs makes a US recession likely

Ever since the early 1970s, every single time oil prices have spiked sharply (rising by 80pc or more), regular as clockwork the US has entered recession.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/liamhalligan/8349612/History-tells-us-that-a-surge-in-fuel-costs-makes-a-US-recession-likely.html#

Oil drops, but gasoline prices keep rising

Oil prices fell below $97 per barrel Monday just days after spiking above $100. Last week's surge continued to ripple through global pipelines, however, as gasoline prices jumped 8 cents over the weekend.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-drops-but-gasoline-prices-apf-489242950.html?x=0

What Are We Getting for an Extra $1 Trillion in Federal Spending?

As every constituency fights to protect its herd of sacred cows, there's certainly no shortage of political jockeying in the battle over the 2012 federal budget. What's missing, however, is this simple question: What exactly are we getting for the extra $1 trillion a year the federal government is now spending?

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/what-are-we-getting-for-an-extra-1-trillion-in-federal-spending/19859822/

Oil prices could be game-changer for world economy

Soaring oil prices are reaching levels that could threaten to brake improving but tentative global economic recovery, with an outside chance of a new recession or that most destructive of conditions, stagflation.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/24/us-economy-oil-idUSTRE71N2SB20110224

The End of the US Dollar?

The turmoil across North Africa and the Middle East is threatening not only to overthrow aging dictatorships, autocracies and monarchies, but also to upset the geopolitical balance between the countries of that region and the Western powers that has existed since at least the 1950s. For the West, the issue has always been the security of oil. For the US there is a second issue, and that is the security of Israel. Now both are under threat.

http://news.goldseek.com/UnionSecurities/1298563200.php

State and local budget cuts are slowing US economy

Deep spending cuts by state and local governments pose a growing threat to an economy that is already grappling with high unemployment, depressed home prices and the surging cost of oil.

Lawmakers at state capitols and city halls are slashing jobs and programs, arguing that some pain now is better than a lot more later. But the cuts are coming at a price -- weaker growth at the national level.

The clearest sign to date was a report Friday on U.S. gross domestic product for the final three months of 2010. The government lowered its growth estimate, pointing to larger-than-expected cuts by state and local governments. The report suggested that worsening state budget problems could hold back the recovery by putting more people out of work and reducing consumer spending.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/State-and-local-budget-cuts-apf-4195423316.html?x=0

U.S. crop boom not enough to rebuild thin supplies

ARLINGTON, Virginia (Reuters) – Huge U.S. corn and soybean plantings this spring will likely fail to refill razor-thin stocks enough to quell the surge in grain prices, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday.

In updated forecasts for the world's biggest crop exporter, the USDA warned that it could take several years to restore inventories to comfortable levels. It mostly maintained earlier forecasts on how many acres farmers would sow this spring, but said stocks at the end of the 2012 season would remain tight.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110224/bs_nm/us_usda_forum

Companies concerned about rising fuel costs

Companies around the world have begun to warn about the impact of higher fuel costs on their businesses, raising fears about profits and inflation.

Companies in the most energy-intensive sectors, such as airlines, have been the first to raise the alarm, but analysts warned that a sustained period of high oil prices would have a widespread effect on earnings.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de612ac2-410f-11e0-bf62-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1F1fyO85o

US Will Be the World's Third Largest Economy

The world is going to become richer and richer as developing economies play catch up over the coming years, according to Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citigroup.

"We expect strong growth in the world economy until 2050, with average real GDP growth rates of 4.6 percent per annum until 2030 and 3.8 percent per annum between 2030 and 2050," Buiter wrote in a market research.

"As a result, world GDP should rise in real PPP-adjusted terms from $72 trillion in 2010 to $380 trillion dollars in 2050," he wrote.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41775174

Cost of...everything...about to go up

A new report from The Labor Department indicates its concern about inflation, and businesses are claiming they can't absorb the rising cost of commodities alone. Many say they'll have no choice but to raise prices and shrink packages. Frustrating stuff for an economy that's supposed to be recovering.

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14071185

Higher Inflation Is On The Way

The stakes have seldom been higher. With the unemployment rate still above 9%, and federal debt at record levels, this latest error by the monetary authorities is likely to be the most costly since the Great Inflation of the 1970s. Monetary instability will slow employment growth and further erode confidence in government at the same time that higher interest rates will add billions of dollars to the interest cost on the national debt. Yet, failure to act in a timely basis will lead to an even greater crisis.

http://blogs.forbes.com/charleskadlec/2011/02/22/higher-inflation-is-on-the-way/

Markets get jitters as oil price heads for the sky

Fears that the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East could seriously disrupt oil supplies and throttle the world economy turned to reality yesterday and propelled the price of oil to more than $108 a barrel during trading, the highest since September 2008. It was $85 at the start of the year. The region supplies a third of the world's oil needs.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/markets-get-jitters-as-oil-price-heads-for-the-sky-2222905.html#

Food/Financial Crisis of 2011

World food inflation is smashing down on the world’s populations as prices rise precipitously in the face of increasing shortages and absurd monetary policies. Prices are rising everywhere. It is not millions but billions of people who must tighten their belts because they have no choice but to eat less. Billions of people on our planet have no discretionary funds so they just cannot afford the increased prices. They have to get by with less to eat. They have no choice.

http://agriculture.imva.info/food-prices/foodfinancial-crisis-of-2011

Why Are Food Prices Going Crazy?

Global wheat prices more than doubled in the second half of last year, according to a new report from the World Bank. The price of corn, sugar and cooking oil also soared.

Why are global food prices skyrocketing? Who is going to go hungry as a result? And what does it mean for the U.S.?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/16/133744524/why-are-food-prices-going-crazy?ps=cprs

Inflation makes comeback as prices rise for food, fuel

Inflation is making a quick comeback after touching the lowest levels in decades last fall.

Fast-rising prices for food, fuel and other basic necessities, stoked by rapid growth in emerging countries, are coming home to American consumers despite reluctance by U.S. businesses to raise their prices.

A report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed consumer prices rose by 0.4 percent in each of the past two months — or a 4 percent annual rate over the last quarter f fed by the biggest gains in food prices in two years and surging energy prices.

The report also showed a broadening of price pressures as airlines jacked up their fares by an average of 2.2 percent to pass on the cost of higher fuel and retailers raised clothing prices by 1 percent to reflect the higher costs of cotton and other fabrics.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/17/inflation-makes-comeback-prices-rise-food-fuel/

Gold, Silver, Copper, Nickel and the Slow Death of Money

A huge opportunity to hedge against both inflation and deflation is lying out there in the open. There are no transaction costs and right now there’s even a built-in discount. But most people will never realize any of this.

In 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, which made it illegal for U.S. citizens to hold gold bullion.

Prior to that, the $20 bill was essentially a warehouse receipt for a one-ounce gold coin. Prior to the Federal Reserve Act of 1914, the $20 bill actually told you this.

http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/gold-silver-copper-nickel-and-the-slow-death-of-money/