China to lose 100 million dollars from copper futures bet
China stands to lose at least 100 million US dollars on the London Metal Exchange after a bet by a state commodities trader went spectacularly wrong, a press report says.

Climate Shift Tied To 150,000 Fatalities

Group Seeks Further Inquiry in Frist's Stock Sales

New Disclosure Could Prolong Inquiry on Leak

Bernanke Gives Fed an Explicit Inflation Target

Quick Overview

• U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said that dividend and capital gains tax cuts put in place by U.S. President George W. Bush have created strong economic growth and should be extended.
  

• St Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said October inflation data showed the United States was not on an "inflation hair-trigger" and the central bank has room to allow the economy to grow.
  

• U.S. new housing starts fell 5.6% in October, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Through the first ten months of 2005, housing starts are up 5.3%.
  

• The number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment benefits fell 25,000 to 303,000 last week, the lowest level since April, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
  

• U.S. industrial production rose 0.9% in October as factories rebounded from a decline, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.
  

• Manufacturing growth in the Philadelphia area fell this month from October but still showed expansion, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.
  

• The DoE said that underground supplies of natural gas increased 53 billion cubic feet to 3.282 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are down just 1% YoY.
  

• Platinum futures reached $1,000 for the first time in over 25 years, and then settled lower, while gold continued its run to an 18 year high.
  

• The World Gold Council reported that gold demand was up 16% through the first three quarters of 2005.
  

• The European Commission said that the Euro-zone will grow by 1.3% this year, 1.9% in 2006, and 2.1% in 2007.
  

• Mexican stocks rose to a record high close on Thursday
  

CIA camps row heats up in Europe

Senate Panel Does Not Extend Tax-Rate Cut

Big Oil may face a $5 billion levy

Document Says Oil Chiefs Met With Cheney Task Force

Has gold lost its war chest status?
Trends indicate that international central bank's store of gold could fall further in future as yields received from the yellow metal decline, but is there another argument for investing in gold?

Ultra-sensitive microscope reveals DNA processes
The novel device allows users to achieve the highest-resolution measurements ever, equivalent to the diameter of a single hydrogen atom, says Steven Block, who designed it with colleagues at Stanford University in California.

Quick Overview

• US Consumer Price Index for October was up 0.2% vs. 0.0% expected and ex food and energy it was, as up an expected at 0.2% . YoY it was up 4.3%. Excluding food and energy prices were up 2.1% YoY.
  
  

• EuroZone CPI for October at 0.3% as expected.
  
  

• The Chinese government reportedly sold 20,000 tons of copper from its state reserves today after one of its traders disappeared while carrying a large copper short position.
  

• U.S. business sales were up 0.6% in September and up 7.8% YoY. Inventories were up 0.5% in September.
  

• The U.S. Treasury Department said foreign buys of US securities exceeded domestic purchase by 102 billion vs. 75 billion expected.
  

• The DoE said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were down 2.2 million barrels last week to 321.4 million barrels.
  Supplies of unleaded gasoline were down 900,000 barrels
  Supplies of heating oil were up 1.8 million barrels.
  

• Gold futures climbed over $10 an ounce to close at a one-month high, while silver prices finished above $8 an ounce for the first time since December 2004 and platinum futures set records.

• The U.K.'s unemployment rate for Q3 was 4.7%.

French gold sales allows FX reserves diversification Strauss-Kahn declined to say in what currencies the BOF would invest the proceeds of its plans to sell up to 600 t of gold reserves over a five year period - a strategy which it said last year it had agreed with the French finance ministry.

She told the conference that the BOF's gold reserves amounted to 3 024 t, comprising 55% of its total gold and foreign exchange reserves or 3,7% of gross domestic product.

Reserve bank may up gold reserves - Mboweni The central bank is very comfortable holding these gold reserves because of the metal's war-chest qualities, because gold is no-one's liability and because it allows prudent diversification in the bank's total reserves," Mboweni said in the text of the speech.

Brazilian farmers' dreams dry up
The so-called "Drought Polygon" is a nearly 390,000-square-mile area that includes nine northeastern states, practically a third of Brazil. Rain is so infrequent that Brazilians joke that the first sign of drought is news of supermarket looting.
Specialists, who are not joking, say the scant rainfall, deforestation, overgrazing and unsustainable farming practices could make this region of 18 million people the world's largest new desert.

The fog of war: white phosphorus, Fallujah and some burning questions
The controversy has raged for 12 months. Ever since last November, when US forces battled to clear Fallujah of insurgents, there have been repeated claims that troops used "unusual" weapons in the assault that all but flattened the Iraqi city.

Quick Overview

• Ben Bernanke, the president's chief economist, told senators Tuesday he'll continue the policies of Alan Greenspan if confirmed as Federal Reserve chairman and will make sure the central bank remains free of political influence.
  
  
• Manufacturing growth in New York state rose in November, according to a monthly survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released on Tuesday.

• The U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales were down 0.1% in October, stronger than expected. Excluding autos, retail sales were up 0.9% on the month.
  

• The U.S. producer price index rose 0.7% in October, while prices excluding food and energy fell 0.3%, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

• The average U.S. retail price of diesel fuel fell for a third straight week, dropping 9.6 cents to $2.602 a gallon, the Department of Energy.

• A copper trader for a secretive high-level Chinese government agency has disappeared. The position he left behind, rumored to be between 150,000 and 200,000 tons, was taken as a bet that copper would fall just as the industrial metal continued to make new highs.

• The London Bullion Market Association expects gold to reach $550 per ounce by the middle of 2006. They anticipate the driving force to be a weaker US economy and strong demand from India. Because of jewelry demand gold usage was up 10% in the first six month of 05.
  
  

• The Florida Citrus Processors said that there were 96.9 million gallons of frozen concentrated orange juice in inventory, down 29% YoY.
  

• YoY China's industrial output increased 16.1 percent in October to 632 billion yuan (78 billion dollars).
  

• Canada's manufacturing shipments were down 0.5% in September to C$51.6 billion.
  

• YoY Consumer prices in the U.K. increased 2.3% in September.
  

• GDP in the Euro zone was up 0.6% in the third quarter and up 1.5% YoY. For the EU-25, GDP was up 0.6% in the third quarter and up 1.6% YoY.
  

• Retail sales in New Zealand were down 0.8% in September.
  

Quick Overview

• The United States is having little trouble funding its big current account gap, but the shortfall cannot expand forever , Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Monday.
  

• European Central Bank policymakers issued warnings on inflationary dangers in the euro zone on Monday with two central bankers saying the ECB should raise interest rates before prices surge.
  

• The International Sugar Organization expects world consumption to outpace production by one million tons in 2005-2006 and by two million tons in 2006-2007.
  

• YoY Retail sales in the Euro zone were up 0.9% in September.

• Overseas investment in Japanese equities fell for a second month in October, according to a government report yesterday
  

• New motor vehicle sales in Canada were down 7.9% in September and down 0.5% YoY.
  
  

• We are not finding gold as fast as we are mining it as an industry,'' said Glamis Chief Executive Kevin McArthur. "This is developing into a bit of a train wreck,'' prompting companies to consider more acquisitions to boost output, McArthur said.

Gold output to fall to 80-year low
South African gold output was likely to fall to an 80-year low of 300 tons in 2005 down from 346 tons in 2004, which was the lowest level since 1931, Andisa Securities gold analyst Dr Dave Davis said on Monday.

Senate Approves Plan to Limit Detainee Access to Courts The Senate endorsed a plan yesterday that would sharply limit suspected foreign terrorists' access to U.S. courts, an effort to overturn a landmark 2004 Supreme Court ruling that has allowed hundreds of detainees held by the military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to challenge their detentions.




Power Über Alles On Thursday November 10, the Republican-controlled US Senate voted 49 to 42 to overturn the US Supreme Court’s 2004 ruling that permits Guantanamo detainees to challenge their detentions. How dare the US Supreme Court defend the US Constitution and the civil liberties of Americans when we have terrorists to fight, argued the Republican senators. What are civil liberties, the Republicans asked rhetorically, but legal tricks that allow criminals and terrorists to escape.

Housing Market Cooling, Data Say
But since May, the sales prices for the development have fallen -- and units like the one the Edmonds bought are now being sold for $699,900. The Edmonds are facing the prospect of a $100,000 loss in value before they even walk through the front door.

Chart of the day

Quick Overview

• DOW ends up 94 on Thursday after robust demand from overseas investors for U.S. government debt signaled confidence in the economy.
  

• U.S. consumer sentiment rebounded this month from 74.4 to 79.2, according to the University of Michigan's monthly consumer sentiment index released Thursday
  

• U.S. Jobless claims were up 2,000 last week to 326,000.
  

• The U.S. trade shortfall grew to a record $66.1 billion in September, as crude oil prices surged and exports dropped by the most in four years. U.S. exports were down 2.6% to $105.2 billion while imports increased 2.4% to $171.3 billion, the Commerce Department reported Thursday
  

• The USDA's 2005-2006 U.S. ending stocks estimate for:
  Corn increased from 2.220 to 2.319 billion bushels.
  Soybeans increased from 260 to 350 million bushels.
  Wheat remained at 530 million bushels.
  Sugar was lowered from 1.089 million to 667,000 short tons.
  Cotton increased from 6.40 to 6.50 million bales.
  

• Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $805.4 million in the latest week to $827.95 billion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas were up 61 billion cubic feet at 3.229 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are now down 3% from a year ago.
  

• Canada's exports were up 2.8% in September to C$39.8 billion, a new record high. Imports were up 1.4% at C$32.7 billion, also a record high.
  

• Mexico’s Annualized inflation dropped to 3.05 percent at the end of October, its lowest rate since records began and just a shade higher than the midrange of the central bank's 2-4 percent 2005 target.
  
  

• France's GDP was up 0.7% in the third quarter and up 1.7% YoY stronger than expected.
  

• Australia's unemployment rate increased from 5.1% to 5.2% in October, the highest in seven months.
  

• The unemployment rate in New Zealand dropped from 3.6% to 3.4% in the third quarter, a record low.
  

• Japan's machinery orders were up 2.1% in the third quarter to 3.1 trillion yen, stronger than expected and the most in over four years.
  

Quick Overview

• The U.S. current account deficit is not sustainable but an adjustment need not be disorderly, provided the government and central bank deliver good policies, a top Federal Reserve policy-maker said on Wednesday.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were up 4.5 million barrels to 323.6 million barrels -- 700,000 barrels came from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  Supplies of unleaded gasoline were up 4.2 million barrels
  Supplies of Heating oil were down 1.5 million barrels
  

• The Mortgage Bankers Association said its mortgage application index was up 2.3% last week to 661.3
  

• In the U.K. consumer confidence fell to the lowest in at least 18 months in October as economic growth faltered and unemployment rose, the Nationwide Building Society survey showed.
  

• The Conference Board said the index of leading indicators for Japan increased 0.4% in September to 99.7.

• China is speeding up plans to allow local institutions to invest overseas, a move that could begin to release a portion of the billions of dollars of foreign currency now sitting in low-return Chinese bank deposits.
  

• Industrial production in Brazil fell more than expected in September from August, suggesting that high interest rates took a toll on Latin America's largest economy in the third quarter.

Courtesy of www.pfscan.com we have added the S&P500 Bullish Percentage Chart
here

US National Debt by Presidential Term, 1976-2004

Quick Overview

• Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. builder of luxury homes, reduced next year's sales forecast, saying the housing market is weakening after a five-year boom.
  

• Mexican gross fixed investment, a measure of spending on machinery, equipment and construction, soared in August as optimistic businessmen imported more tools than expected to churn out goods.
  

• The confidence of U.S. consumers rose in the latest week, buoyed by lower gasoline prices, ABC News and the Washington Post said on Tuesday.
  

• The U.S. and China agreed to trade limits on a range of clothing items for three years.
  

• Brazil's agricultural exports totaled $36.2 billion in the first ten months of 2005, a new record high, helped by sales of soybeans, ethanol, coffee, sugar, and orange juice.
  

• The British Retail Consortium said that retail sales in the U.K. were down 0.2% in the August to October quarter from a year ago.

• The national average retail diesel fuel price continued to fall, dropping 17.8 cents to $2.698 a gallon, the Energy Department said.

Quick Overview

• Global energy needs will surge 50% by 2030 and prices will rise if capacity is not significantly increased, according to a report issued Monday by the International Energy Agency, the Associated Press reported.
  
  

• U.S. regular gasoline pump prices dropped 23 cents in the past two weeks to an average of $2.45 a gallon for three grades, analyst Trilby Lundberg reported in her latest survey.
  
  

• A Federal Reserve survey said that one-fourth of U.S. banks reported a decline in mortgage loan demand over the past few months.
  

• YoY Japan's household spending was up 1.0% in September, the first increase in six months.
  

• Factory production in the U.K. was down 0.3% in September.
  

Chart of the day

Four Week Average of Public Short Sales divided by Total Short Sales

Fuel's paradise? Power source that turns physics on its head
It seems too good to be true: a new source of near-limitless power that costs virtually nothing, uses tiny amounts of water as its fuel and produces next to no waste. If that does not sound radical enough, how about this: the principle behind the source turns modern physics on its head.

Quick Overview

• With just three months left before he leaves office, Alan Greenspan raised a warning to Congress: The country could face "serious economic disruptions" if bloated budget deficits are not curbed.
  
  

• U.S. payrolls rose by 56,000 jobs in October and the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 5% from 5.1%, the Labor Department said Friday.
  
  

• Rail freight traffic fell for the week ended Oct. 29 but intermodal volume levels continued to climb, reaching the sixth-highest weekly volume ever, the Association of American Railroads reported.
  

• The Euro zone unemployment rate improved from 8.5% to 8.4% in September.
  

• Factory orders in Germany were up 2.8% in September, better than expected.
  

• Brazilian motor vehicle sales fell 4.6 percent and production fell 7.9 percent in October from September, reinforcing expectations that industrial output and the economy may shrink in Latin America's largest country in the third quarter.
  

• Canada's unemployment rate improved from 6.7% to 6.6% in October, the lowest in three decades.
  

• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. , the investment company run by billionaire Warren Buffett, on Friday said quarterly profit fell 48 percent to the lowest level in nearly four years, hurt by nearly $3 billion of losses from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
  

Quick Overview

• Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress Thursday that economic fallout from the recent spate of devastating hurricanes should prove fleeting and the economy remains sturdy.
  
  

• Nonfarm business productivity grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.1% from July through September, the Labor Department said Thursday. It grew 2.1% in the second quarter and 3.2% during the first three months of the year.
  
  

• Unit labor costs, which the Federal Reserve watches as an indicator of inflation risks, fell 0.5%, after swelling 1.8% in the second quarter and 2.2%.
  
  

• The National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index fell by 0.3% to 128.8 from August's 129.2. The level was 3.3% higher than September 2004.
  
  
  

• The number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment benefits fell to a two-month low, because of fewer hurricane-related filings, the Labor Department said. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 8,000 to 323,000 in the week that ended Oct. 29. The four-week moving average fell by 17,000 to 350,500.
  
  
  

• The Institute for Supply Management said its nonmanufacturing index, made up mostly of service-related companies, rose to 60.0 in October from a reading of 53.3 in September. Readings above 50 suggest expansion.
  
  

• The European Central Bank kept its interest rate unchanged at 2.00%.
  

• Retail sales in Australia were down 0.3% in August, weaker than expected.
  
  
  

• South Africa's gross domestic product was under-estimated between 10 and 20% as the economy had already been growing at more than 6 percent YoY for several quarters, T- Sec economist Mike Schussler said.
  
  

• Brazil's 2005-2006 soybean output is likely to reach 56.7 to-58.6 million tons, the Agriculture Ministry forecasting agency said in the first official estimates for next year's crop. Farmers may cut the area planted with soy by as much as 8 percent to 21.5 million hectares. Brazil harvested 51.1 million metric tons this year.
  
  

• The U.S. DoE said that natural gas supplies were up 29 billion cubic feet to 3.168 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are down 4% YoY.
  
  

GE eyes infrastructure growth in developing world
"This century will absolutely stress the infrastructure of the developing world in ways that none of us will ever imagine, because it's never been seen before," said Dave Calhoun, the head of GE's infrastructure business, at an analyst meeting in Cincinnati broadcast over the Internet.

Quick Overview

• The U.S. government announced that it will begin selling the 30 year Treasury bond again on February 9, 2006.
  

• Early next year, Cargill will build the largest U.S. sugar refinery in Louisiana with the ability to process 10% of the nation's sugar.
  

• Norway's central bank increased its interest rate by a quarter-percent to 2.25.
  

• Germany's unemployment rate improved from 11.2% to 11.0% in October with 4.556 million people out of work.
  

• Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, reported an 80 percent increase in third-quarter earnings Wednesday and raised its stock repurchase program to $12.5 billion from $5 billion.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Crude oil supplies were up 2.7 million barrels to 319.1 million barrels
  Unleaded supplies were up 1.0 million barrels.
  Heating oil supplies were down 1.0 million barrels.
  

Quick Overview

• The Federal Reserve as expected increased the federal funds rate for the twelfth time by a quarter-percent to 4.00%. Signaling that more increases were likely to keep a lid on inflation.
  
  
  

• The Institute of Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity fell to 59.1 from 59.4 in September, which was the highest in 13 months. Still a sign of expansion and stronger than expected.
  
  

• The U.S. Commerce Department said that construction spending was at an annual rate of $1.12 trillion in September, up 0.5% from August and a new record high.
  
  

• Florida Citrus Mutual said that an early estimate indicates that 13% of the Florida orange crop was damaged by Hurricane Wilma.
  
  

• George W. Bush asked Congress for $7.1 billion in emergency funding on Tuesday to prepare the United States for a feared avian-influenza pandemic

• World merchandise trade in volume terms is predicted to accelerate by around 7% in 2006, slightly up on this year’s projected increase of 6.5%, the World Trade Organisation said.

Gold May Rise as Demand Outpaces Mining Output, Survey Shows
..A Beijing jeweler with annual revenue of $100 million reported gold sales jumped 15 percent this year, with some products up 30 percent, Lassonde said...

Spending up, income up, factories strong

Quick Overview

• The European Union's latest offer to cut farm import tariffs has failed to break a deadlock among members of the World Trade Organization, who are seeking to hammer out a global trade treaty by December, a senior trade official said Monday.
  

• U.S. personal income was up 1.7% in September after a 0.9% drop in August.
  

• US Consumer spending was up 0.5%.
  

• The National Association of Purchasing Management's Chicago index of business activity increased from 60.5 to 62.9 in October, stronger than expected.
  

• Canada's GDP was up 0.5% in August and up 2.7% YoY, stronger than expected.
  

• Japans unemployment rate was down 0.1% in September to 4.2%, the lowest level in seven years.
  

• YoY Japans consumer price index was down 0 .3% in September.
  

• Japan is expected to ease the ban on U.S. beef imports as early as the end of 2005, according to a media report Sunday. "Based on the assumption that all precautions are taken as requested, we consider the difference in risk between U.S. and Japanese beef to be small," said panel chairman Yasuhiro Yoshikawa.
  
  

• Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) bid $9.2 billion for rival Placer Dome Inc. (PDG), a deal that would create one of the world's biggest gold miners with annual output of 8.3 or 8.4 million ounces.
  
  

• The Panama Canal Authority’s largest customers are forecasting a 12% increase in traffic moving between Asia and the US east coast in 2006 as trade between the US and China shows no sign of slowing.

Bank of Japan Says Deflation to End This Fiscal Year; Policy Shift Looms
Japan will end more than seven years of deflation this fiscal year, the central bank said, increasing the prospects it will raise interest rates from almost zero.

Satellite data reveals Beijing as air pollution capital of world
Alarm about the perilous state of the environment has gathered pace in recent years. China is the world's second-largest producer of greenhouse gases, and the World Bank has warned it is home to 16 of the planet's 20 most air-polluted cities.

Olive oil 'cuts cancer risk'
Scientists at the University of Ulster found a mixture of compounds, called phenols, extracted from virgin olive oil could offer protection against colon cancer, the second highest cause of cancer fatalities in the US.

What's Off Virginia? 'There's No Guarantee'
Lurking off Virginia are tens of thousands of mustard gas shells and hundreds of tons of radioactive waste in at least five ocean dump zones created by the Army decades ago.

No irrational exuberance as Greenspan departs
But the flipside of the strong growth, which has sucked in imports and capital from around the world, is a giant current account deficit now heading for an unprecedented £800bn, or 6.5% of gross domestic product. Mr Greenspan stands accused of allowing the dotcom bubble to inflate so far in the late 1990s that it burst spectacularly, at which point he slashed interest rates and allow another bubble - in housing - to inflate.

The Indictment

Voluntary Green Power Purchasing up 1000 Percent in 5 Years
Green power currently accounts for about 2 percent of America’s electricity supply, but voluntary purchasing of renewable energy is accelerating development of new renewable energy sources. The report, from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), "Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report," shows that renewable generating capacity in the United States installed to meet voluntary green power purchasing soared from 167 MW in 2000 to more than 2,200 MW by the end of 2004.

OECD warns on deteriorating US deficits
It warned that the continued deterioration of the US current account deficit posed a risk to the US and to the global economy, at a time when the US deficit has risen above 6 per cent of gross domestic product and is forecast to rise to 7 per cent of GDP next year.

Quick Overview

• U.S. consumer sentiment fell in October to the lowest level in 13 years, the University of Michigan reported Friday in its monthly consumer sentiment index.
  
  
  
  
• The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.8% in the third quarter, an increase from the second quarter’s 3.3%, the Commerce Department said Friday.
  
  
  

• Surface trade amid the United States, Canada and Mexico rose 12.3% in August from a year earlier to a total of $60.2 billion, the highest monthly level ever recorded, the Department of Transportation reported Thursday.
  
  

• The core rate of U.S. personal consumption expenditures, increased at an annual rate of 1.3% in the third quarter, down from 1.7% in the second quarter and less than expected.
  

• Mexico's central bank pushed interest rates lower for a third straight month on Friday to help boost a struggling economy.
  

• Japan's household spending was down 0.2% in September and Industrial production was up 0.2% -- less than expected.
  

Barrick Gold profit triples
The company, Canada's biggest gold producer, said it remains on track to meet its full-year guidance. It is forecasting production of between 5.4 million and 5.5 million ounces of gold, at total cash costs of about $225 per ounce.

Bernanke Appointment Significant for Gold
Lassonde predicted that there will be a slowdown in the U.S. economy, which will motivate the Fed to become "commodative," which will be good for gold. Meanwhile, he noted, "China continues to defy expectation" in terms of demand.
Gold "supply continues to be challenged," Lassonde forecast as the production of Newmont and other international gold mining companies is down. As a result, he predicted the gold price will reach $525 an ounce before the beginning of next year.

Quick Overview

• The U.S. Commerce Department said that durable goods orders were down 2.1% in September, weaker than expected. Excluding transportation, orders were down 1.0% on the month.
  

• U.S. new home sales rose 2.1% in September (an annual rate of 1.222 million units) , turning around a decline the previous month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. So far this year, new home sales are up 6.4% YoY.
  

• U.S. jobless claims were down 28,000 last week to 328,000.
  

• U.S. monthly retail sales of Class 8 trucks rose by 16.3% over last September’s level to 21,677 units, YoY the 23rd straight monthly increase.
  

• Exxon Mobil earned a record high $9.92 billion in the third quarter, this is up $5.68 billion YoY.
  

• Soaring oil prices and downstream divestments propelled Royal Dutch Shell’s earnings up 68% in the third quarter to $7.37bn, ahead of expectations.

• The U.S. Census Bureau said that 133.2 million bushels of soybeans were crushed in September, 2% more than last month. Soybean oil stocks totaled 1.69 billion pounds, down 2% from last month.
  

• French President Jacques Chirac threatened to derail international trade talks by ruling out further cuts in European Union farm subsidies and tariffs.
  

• U.S. cotton mill use dropped from an annual rate of 6.00 to 5.73 million bales in September.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas were up 77 billion cubic feet last week to 3.139 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are down 3% YoY.
  

• New Zealand increased its key interest rate from 6.75% to 7.00%.
  

• Brazil's central bank on Thursday said it saw a benign inflation scenario with only 'transitory' price pressures and raised market expectations it would continue its current pace of interest rate cuts.

Forget Oil -- India's Bigger Problem Is Water
India produces 15 percent of its food and meets 80 percent of its household needs by ``mining'' its fast-depleting groundwater. By 2025, three out of five aquifers in India will be in critical condition, the World Bank said in a recent study.

US nuke policy rethink prompts physicist protest
The underlying principle of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is that in exchange for other countries forgoing the development of nuclear weapons, the nuclear weapon states will pursue nuclear disarmament. Instead, this new U.S. policy conveys a clear message to the 182 non-nuclear weapon states that the United States is moving strongly away from disarmament, and is in fact prepared to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear adversaries.

Uranium price renews interest in Ariz. mines
After languishing at less than $10 per pound for almost 20 years, the price of uranium has jumped to $33 per pound and some predict it will reach $40.
The price is being boosted by a renewed interest in nuclear power, particularly in India and China, where more than a dozen new nuclear power plants are planned.

Quick Overview

• The amount of goods transported across U.S. borders in trade with North American Free Trade partners Canada and Mexico set a new record in 2004, exceeding a previous high set in 2000, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.
  
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Crude oil supplies were up 4.4 million barrels to 316.4 million barrels.
• Unleaded gasoline supplies were up 200,000 barrels
  Heating oil supplies were down 900,000 barrels.
  

• YoY Consumer prices in Australia were up 3.0% in the third quarter. The core rate was up 2.0% YoY
  

• Japan's exports improved 8.8% in September to a new record high, while imports rose 17%.
  

Quick Overview

• UPS Inc. plans to stop shipping cigarettes to U.S. consumers on Nov. 21 after state attorneys general said the delivery may aid illegal sales, news services reported Tuesday.
  
  

• The Conference Board said the consumer confidence index dropped from 87.5 to 85.0 in October, more than expected.
  
  
  

• U.S. existing home sales were at an annual rate of 7.28 million units in September, unchanged from August's pace.
  
  

• YoY Consumer prices in Canada were up 3.4% in September, up from a 2.6% gain in August and the largest increase in over two years. Excluding energy, consumer prices were up 1.6% YoY.
  
  

• Business confidence in Germany increased from 96.0 to 98.7 in October, the highest in five years.
  
  

• YoY South Korea's GDP was up 4.4% in the third quarter, stronger than expected.
  
  

• The Bank of India increased its key interest rate from 5.00% to 5.25%, they expect the economy to grow 7.5% in the current fiscal year.
  

• YoY Mexico's economy grew by 4.5 percent in August.