Quick Overview

• U.S. consumer sentiment rose to 75.1 from 74.2 in Jan.

• China’s sugar imports will probably rise to the highest in 16 years after drought and frost in the country’s main growing region curbed domestic production, according to a report from Sucden.

• (Bloomberg) -- Sugar-cane crushing in Brazil’s main producing region probably will fail to rise in the coming 2011-12 season for the first time since 2000, according to Sucden, the trading arm of Sucres et Denrees SA.

• (Bloomberg) -- A global sugar shortage will be exacerbated this year as cold weather in China and flooding in Australia cuts harvests, likely fueling a rally in prices from the highest level in 30 years, according to Kingsman SA.

• (Bloomberg) -- The smallest U.S. beef-cow herd in almost five decades will shrink this year partly because the incentive to expand is waning for a growing number of farmers near retirement age, according to industry researcher Cattlefax.
• The number of cattle in Australian feedlots fell 3.7% QoQ to 737,429, and down 4.3% YoY. Australia is the second-biggest global beef exporter by volume after Brazil

• The UN said the outbreak of foot- and-mouth in Asia is "unlike anything that we´ve seen for at least half a century."

• Mexico's corn crop has been damaged by a freeze. It has damaged as much as 4.2M tons in Mexico, creating new worries with stocks at their tightest level in 15 years.

• Rabobank anticipates US soy oil stocks will end 2010-11(September) at 5.4% stock to use ratio, the lowest level in 34 years.

• PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Google has become a leading purveyor of ads by scammers who prey on struggling homeowners, according to a study released today by Consumer Watchdog, and the nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group has asked the Federal Trade Commission to stop the Internet giant from hosting the ads.

• The U.S. trade deficit rose to 40.6 billion dollars in December.

• The Spanish economy shrank by 0.1% in 2010

• YoY Japan's GDP fell 1.1% in October-December -- not as bad as feared.

• Snowfalls in China’s major wheat growing regions failed to ease a drought, a government agency said.

• (Bloomberg) -- China reported a smaller-than- forecast trade surplus of about $6.5 billion in January as a rebounding economy and rising commodity costs helped drive a 51 percent gain in imports.

• China imported 364,240 metric tons of copper, copper alloy and semifinished products in January, an increase of 5.7% MoM and a rise of 25% YoY.