Citing dwindling stocks and only small production increases for the majority of crops, a new United Nations report released Wednesday world food prices are likely to remain high for the rest of this year and into 2012.
Pressed hard by outraged farmers, the European Union farm chief on Wednesday increased his offer of compensation for the E. coli outbreak to Euro210 million.
Argentina’s organized labour leader Hugo Moyano admitted Wednesday that “inflation in Argentina is a problem”. He also said that, despite the several criminal cases open against him, he is not afraid of going to jail.
US Federal Reserve rejected criticism that its actions (‘accommodative monetary policy’) have pushed down the foreign exchange value of the US dollar and thereby boosted the price of commodities, adding that the Fed is “fully committed” to maintaining the dollar’s purchasing power and to keeping inflation in check.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said the US must reduce the federal budget deficit without derailing the economic recovery. “No issue is more important than a credible commitment for getting our fiscal house in order, but at a pace that does not forestall a sustained recovery” said Dudley this week addressing the Foreign Policy Association in New York.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the “frustratingly slow” US recovery warrants sustained monetary stimulus while predicting that growth will gain speed in the second half of the year.
Brazil's government unveiled new financing and other incentives for sugar cane ethanol production, vowing to work closely with the private sector to boost production in an industry that has struggled recently despite its immense promise.
General Motors expects to sell 1.5 million vehicles a year in South America by 2015, up from 1.03 million last year, according to the head of the largest U.S. automaker's operations in the region.
World beef prices look set to stay high long term given the rocketing prices of raising cattle in Brazil, and the lack of an obvious successor as the world's low-cost producer.
Uruguay sees China as a ‘strategic partner’ and has kept good relations with Beijing since the two countries forged diplomatic ties in 1988, said Uruguayan Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro, a former ambassador to China from 2007-2009. Almagro made the statement as Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping begun his official visit to Uruguay.