Quick Overview

• U.S. producer prices rose 1.4% in May and 7.2% YoY.
  

• U.S. housing starts fell 3.3% from April's pace. It was the smallest number of housing starts in 17 years.
  

• U.S. industrial production fell 0.2% in May,
  

• U.K.'s consumer prices rose 3.3% YoY
  

• Japan's tertiary index rose 1.8% in April.
  

Quick Overview

• The N.Y. Fed’s regional index of manufacturing fell from -3.2 to -8.7 in June, weaker than expected.
  

• Consumer prices in the Euro area rose 3.7% in May
  

• The USDA expects the world's ending stocks of coffee to increase by 4.8 million bags in 2008-2009, to 17.2 million bags, or 13% of annual use.
  

• The Iowa Secretary of Agriculture said on Friday that 2% of the state's corn acres have not been planted and that another 7% were lost to flooding. This is 1.18 million acres of lost production in Iowa alone.

Quick Overview

• U.S. CPI rose 0.6% in May and 4.2% YoY. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 0.2%.
  

• The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment fell from 59.8 to 56.7 in June
  

• Japan left interest rate unchanged at 0.50%.
  

• Canada’s manufacturing sales rose 2.0%
  

• India’s wholesale prices rose 8.75% YoY.
  

• RealtyTrac said U.S. foreclosure filings rose 48% YoY, and 7% MoM.
  
  
  

Supreme Court restores habeas corpus, strikes down key part of Military Commissions Act
The Court's ruling was grounded in its recognition that the guarantee of habeas corpus was so central to the Founding that it was one of the few individual rights included in the Constitution even before the Bill of Rights was enacted. As the Court put it: "the Framers viewed freedom from unlawful restraint as a fundamental precept of liberty, and they understood the writ of habeas corpus as a vital instrument to secure that freedom." The Court noted that freedom from arbitrary or baseless imprisonment was one of the core rights established by the 13th Century Magna Carta, and it is the writ of habeas corpus which is the means for enforcing that right. Once habeas corpus is abolished -- as the Military Commissions Act sought to do -- then we return to the pre-Magna Carta days where the Government is free to imprison people with no recourse.

Quick Overview

• U.S. retail sales rose 1.0% in May. Excluding autos, sales rose 1.2%.
  

• U.S. business sales rose 1.4% in April. Inventories rose 0.5%.
  

• U.S. jobless claims rose 25,000 last week to 384,000.
  

• China's consumer prices rose 7.7% YoY.
  

• Australia's unemployment rate at 4.3% in May.
  

• Industrial production rose 0.9% in the Euro area 3.9% YoY

• Joe Leiberman says he will introduce legislation next week to ban institutional investors, like index funds, from the commodities markets.

Baltic Dry Index Has Record Decline as Port Congestion Eases
The index tracking transport costs on international trade routes dropped 963 points, or 8.7 percent, to 10,142 points, according to the Baltic Exchange in London today. Rates for so- called capesize vessels that typically haul iron ore for making steel fell 15 percent to $180,237 a day

Quick Overview

• Japan's GDP rose 1.0% QoQ and 1.6% YoY
  Japan’s producer prices rose 4.7% YoY.
  

• U.K.'s unemployment rate rose 0.1% MoM.
  

• Canada’s industrial capacity fell 81.8% to 79.8%
  

• India raised interest rates from 7.75% to 8.00%.
  
  

• Corn and Wheat are limit up on more storms in the Midwest.
  
  

• The U.S. DOE said
  Supplies of crude oil supplies fell 4.6 million barrels to 302.2 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline rose 1.0 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil rose 600,000 barrels.
  Refinery use fell from 89.7% to 88.6% last week.
  Over the past four weeks, gasoline demand was down 1.3% YoY
  Distillate demand rose 0.7% YoY.
  
  

• BP Plc said in its annual Statistical Review of World Energy that Crude oil production fell 0.2 percent to 81.533 million barrels a day last year, from 81.659 million barrels a day in 2006.
  Global oil consumption rose 1.1 percent to 85.22 million barrels a day last year.
  China, the world's second-largest consumer, demand rose 4.1 percent to 7.855 million barrels a day.
  U.S. consumption fell 0.1 percent to 20.698 million barrels a day.
  Proved reserves were 1,237.9 billion barrels at the end of last year, compared with a revised total of 1,239.5 billion barrels for 2006.

• (Bloomberg) -- India, the world's second-biggest sugar maker after Brazil, may resume imports of the sweetener after four years as farmers plant less sugar cane because of declining prices.
  

Quick Overview

• The U.S. trade gap grew 7.8 % to $60.9 billion, its biggest one-month gain since September 2005,
  

• Japan's machinery orders rose 5.5% in April and 0.5% YoY.
  

• U.K.'s industrial production rose 0.1% in April.
  
  

• The USDA's 2008-2009 U.S. ending stocks estimate for:
  Corn was reduced from 763 to 673 million bushels.
  Soybeans were reduced from 185 to 175 billion bushels.
  Wheat was increased from 483 to 487 million bushels.
  Sugar was reduced from 1.336 to 1.273 million tons.
  Cotton was reduced from 5.6 to 5.4 million bales.
  

• The USDA's 2008-2009 world ending stocks estimate for:
  Corn was increased from 99 to 103 million tons.
  Soybeans were estimated at 50.4 million tons.
  Wheat was increased from 124 to 132 million tons.
  Cotton was reduced from 55.5 to 54.1 million bales.
  
  

• The USDA increased its estimate of 2008 U.S. beef production from 26.7 to 26.8 billion pounds, up 1.5% YoY.
  
  

• The USDA lowered its estimate of 2008 U.S. pork production from 23.5 to 23.4 billion pounds, up 6.6% YoY.
  

• The USDA left its estimate of Florida's 2007-2008 orange production at 169 million boxes, but raised juice yield from 1.65 to 1.67 gallons per box.
  
  

• The IEA said the world is consuming 86.8 million barrels of oil per day, down 80,000 barrels from last month's estimate.
  

Buffett bets S&P 500 will beat hedge funds
Buffett has long been critical of hedge funds because of the high fees they charge investors. At Berkshire Hathaway's 2006 annual meeting, he offered to bet $1 million that an index fund would beat any 10 hedge funds over a decade if all the fees were included.

Quick Overview

• The National Association of Realtors said that U.S. pending home sales rose 6.3% in April.
  

• Swiss unemployment rate stayed at 2.5 % last month, matching the lowest rate since July 2002.
  

• Canada’s new housing starts rose 3.5%.
  

• U.K.'s producer prices rose 1.6% in May and 8.9% YoY.
  

• Japan's index of leading indicators rose 2.0 to 92.8 in April.
  

• Treasury’s Paulson declined to rule out intervening in currency markets to stabilize the dollar.

The Rain Keeps Coming: No End in Sight This Week
So, a combination of record high crude oil prices and the current unfriendly weather for crops does not spell a return to cheap food any time soon, analysts say

Quick Overview

• (Dow Jones)--Trading in the global exchange-traded derivatives markets grew to a value of $692 trillion at the end of the first quarter of this year, a rise of over 28% from the last quarter of 2007, the Bank for International Settlements said Sunday.
  

• (AP)--Thousands of demonstrators fought with police after a protest over flour rations in a town on Egypt's Mediterranean coast.
  
  

• Argentina's farmers will lift their blockade on grain export sales starting Monday.
  

Soaring shipping costs fuel inflation

The cost of renting a Capesize ship, used to transport iron ore and coal, rose to $233,988 a day at the end of last week – a near 200 per cent jump since the start of the year when the cost stood at $80,000.

Quick Overview

• The U.S. unemployment rate rose from 5.0 to 5.5 % in May.
  
  

• Canada’s unemployment rate remained at 6.1% in May
  

• Germany’s industrial production fell 0.8% in April.
  

• World wheat production in 2008-09 will rise 8.3% YoY to 652 million metric tons, according to F.O. Licht.
  
  

• ASF delegates attending the 17th Asian Ship owners’ Forum (ASF) in Boao, China earlier this month have expressed "grave concern" that current container freight rates remained "insufficient," to cover the dramatic cost increases triggered by the high price of fuel and port congestion.
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. Jobless claims were down 18,000 last week to 357,000, lower than expected.
  

• The Bank of England kept its interest rate unchanged at 5.0%.
  

• House prices In the U.K. fell 2.4% MoM, and 3.8% YoY-- the biggest drop since April 1993 when they fell 4.9.
  
  

• The European Central Bank kept its interest rate unchanged at 4.0%. However Trichet said the central bank is considering raising rates as early as next month to tackle rising inflation
  

• Germany's factory orders were down 1.8% in April, the fifth consecutive decline.

• Corn and Beans rose as excessive rains in the U.S. Midwest flooded fields, slowing crop development, and increasing the risk of production losses.

Quick Overview

• U.S. worker productivity rose at an annual rate of 2.6% in the first quarter.
  

• U.S. labor costs rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in the first quarter, down from a 4.7% annual rate in Q4.
  

• The Institute of Supply Managements' index of services fell from 52.0 to 51.7 in May
  
  

• Australia's GDP rose 0.6% in Q1 and up 3.6% YoY.
  

• Retail sales volume in the Euro area fell 0.6% in April and down 2.9% YoY.
  

• Services in the U.K. fell from 50.4 to 49.8 in May.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said:
  Supplies of crude oil supplies fell 4.8 million barrels to 306.8 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline rose 2.9 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil were unchanged
  Refinery use increased from 87.9% to 89.7% of capacity last week
  Gasoline demand fell 1.4%.
  Distillate demand rose 1.6%.
  
  

• YoY South Africa's gold production fell 17% in Q1. This was blamed on a lack of available electricity.
  

Monsanto Pledges Seeds to Double Crop Yields by 2030
The company is committed to doubling yields for corn, soybeans and cotton by 2030 from the levels in 2000, St. Louis- based Monsanto said today in a statement. New seeds also will reduce by one-third the amount of water and other resources needed to grow crops in the same period, Monsanto said.

Pickens Says CFTC Probe of Oil a `Waste of Time' (Update1)
``There's nothing to it to start with,'' Pickens said in interviews at an American Wind Energy Association conference in Houston. ``That's not what's happened. You have 85 million barrels a day of oil available in the global energy market and 86.4 million barrels a day of demand. So the price of oil is going to go up until you can kill demand.''

Commodity Regulator to Boost Disclosure on Agriculture Markets
Joseph Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, said May 20 he is considering legislation limiting large institutional investors in commodities markets. The legislation would aim at speculators and other investors who use commodities to hedge against swings in investment instruments such as stocks and the U.S. dollar, Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, said during a hearing.

Quick Overview

• Fed Chairman Bernanke told an international monetary conference in Spain that further rate cuts were not likely because he was ``attentive'' to the impact of the weak currency.
  

• U.S. Factory orders rose 1.1% in April -- stronger than expected.
  
  

• GDP in the Euro area rose 0.8% in the first quarter and 2.2% YoY
  

• Australia kept its interest rate unchanged at 7.25.
  

• Ford reported a 16% drop in sales of light vehicles in May, as demand for pickups and SUVs continued to sag.
  

• GM said it will close four truck plants, and may drop its Hummer brand.

Quick Overview

• The Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing index improved from 48.6 to 49.6 -- better than expected.
  

• U.S. construction spending fell 0.4% from March's pace and 3.9% YoY.
  

• Australia's retail sales fell 0.2% in April, weaker than expected.

• The USDA said:
• 95% of the corn crop was planted and 63% of it was rated good to excellent This is down from 78% last year.
  
• 69% of the soybean crop was planted, down from a five-year average of 81%.
  
• 57% of the spring wheat crop was rated good to excellent. This is down from 85% last year.
  
• 47% of the winter wheat crop was rated good to excellent -- unchanged from last week.
  

Argentine alert as inflation spectre stalks half the world
Among the CPI rates - if you believe them - are: Ukraine (30pc), Venezuela (29pc), Vietnam (25pc), Kazakhstan (19pc), Latvia (18pc), Qatar (17pc), Pakistan (17pc), Egypt (16pc), Bulgaria (15pc), Russia (14pc), the Emirates (11pc), Estonia (11pc), Turkey (9.7), Indonesia (9pc), Saudi Arabia (9.6pc), Romania (8.6pc), China (8.5pc) and India (7.6pc).

Mexicans believe drug gangs winning war with gov't According to a poll by the newspaper, 53 percent of Mexicans think that drug traffickers hold the upper hand against government forces which are trying to clamp down on cartels that ship drugs to the United States.

Quick Overview

• U.S. personal incomes rose 0.2% in April
  

• U.S. Consumer spending rose 0.2%.
  

• The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment fell from 62.6 to 59.8 in May,
  

• The Chicago purchasing managers' index increased from 48.3 to 49.1 in May,
  

• The U.S. core rate of personal consumption expenditures, an inflation gauge, rose 0 .1% in April and up 2.1% YoY.
  

• Unemployment rate for the Euro area remained at 7.1% in April. Consumer prices the Euro area rose 3.6% YoY
  

• Japan's consumer prices fell 0.1% in April, and rose 0.8% YoY.
  Japan’s unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 4.0% in April.
  Japan’s household spending fell 2.7% YoY.
  

• YoY GDP in India rose 8.8%.
  India’s Finance Minister described inflation at 8.1% as worrisome.
  Canada’s GDP fell 0.1% QoQ, but rose 1.7% YoY.
  

• Pakistan’s central bank expects economic growth will come between 5.5% and 6% in fiscal 2008, down from 7% the previous year. The central bank forecasts that inflation would reach between 11% and 12% this year, up from 7.8 percent in 2007
  
  

• The International Grains Council released its latest estimate of world corn production at 763 million tonnes. This is up 1 million tonnes from their earlier estimate, but is down from last year's 777 million because of wet and cold weather in the US.

Quick Overview

• U.S. GDP rose 0.9% in the first quarter and up 2.5% YoY
  

• U.S. jobless claims rose 4,000 last week to 372,000
  

• Australia’s leading indicators fell 0.4% in March
  

• Germany's unemployment rate improved from 8.0% to 7.8% in May, the lowest in over 15 years.
  
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said:
  Supplies of crude oil fell 8.8 million barrels to 311.6 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline fell 3.2 million barrels.
  Supplies of heating oil rose 600,000 barrels.
  Refinery use remained at 87.9% of capacity.
  Gasoline demand fell 0.4% YoY.
  Distillate demand rose 1.2% YoY.
  Underground supplies of natural gas rose 87 billion cubic feet last week to 1.701 trillion. Supplies are down 16% YoY.
  

Oil crisis triggers fevered scramble for the world's seabed
Is it in the interests of mankind to tap deep-sea reserves? We may have no choice. The world has consumed one trillion barrels of oil already. The second trillion is located but not yet tapped, and will take us to 2035 or so. The third trillion eludes us. Any suggestions?

Quick Overview

• U.S. Durable goods orders fell 0.5% in April, better than expected. Excluding transport orders rose 2.5%.
  
  

• GDP in Malaysia rose 7.1% QoQ.
  

• (Bloomberg) Morgan Stanley said that Brent oil from the North Sea could ``easily'' reach $150 a barrel.
  
  

• Foreign exchange trading volumes surged 36% from 2006 to 2007.
  

Quick Overview

• The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index fell 14.4% YoY.

• The Conference Board said its monthly measure of consumer confidence fell to 57.2 from 62.3 in April -below Wall Street's estimate of 60.0.
  
  

• Australia’s, Rabobank, lowered its estimate of the country's wheat crop from 24.5 to 22.0 million tons, due to dry weather.
  

• China may reduce soybean-oil import tariffs from the current 9% to boost domestic supply, analysts said.
  
  

Corn Costs Signal Biggest Beef Surge Since 2003 as Herds Shrink
May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Enjoy your next steak, because prices from Shanghai to San Francisco are only going up.

The highest corn prices since at least the Civil War, based on Chicago Board of Trade data, mean U.S. feedlots are losing money on every animal they sell, discouraging production as rising global incomes increase meat consumption and a declining dollar spurs exports.

Quick Overview

• U.S. existing home sales fell 1% MoM to a 4.89 million-unit annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said.
  The median price of an existing home fell to $202,300 from $219,900 in April 2007.
  The number of previously owned unsold homes on the market at the end of April jumped to 4.55 million from 4.12 million in March. This represented 11.2 months' supply at the current sales pace.
  
  

• Index of services and manufacturing in Europe fell from 51.9 to 51.1 in May.
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. jobless claims fell 9,000 last week to 365,000.
  
  

• U.S. Home prices fell 1.7% in the first three months of 2008 from the previous quarter -- the largest quarterly price decline on record. YoY prices fell 3.1%.
  

• The U.S. DoE said that underground supplies of natural gas rose 85 billion cubic feet last week to 1.614 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are down 16% YoY
  

• Canada’s retail sales rose 0.1% MoM.
  

• U.K.'s retail sales fell 0.2% MoM.
  

• Euro zones industrial new orders fell 1.0% MoM and down 2.5% YoY.
  

• Shanghai port April volume rose 9%.
  

• YoY Chinese demand for diesel has increased 13%.

Quick Overview

• In its latest minutes, the Fed cut its forecast for economic growth in 2008, and warned of higher inflation and unemployment, but also signaled it was unlikely to cut interest rates again soon.
  

• Ukraine has lifted all restrictions on exports of wheat and other grains.
  

• Israel’s Prime Minister Olmert urged the United States to impose a naval blockade on Iran.
  
  

• YoY Canada’s consumer prices rose 1.7% in April.
  

• The U.S. DOE said:
  Supplies of crude oil fell 5.4 million barrels to 320.4 million barrels
  Supplies of gasoline fell 800,000 barrels
  Supplies of heating oil rose 400,000 barrels.
  Refinery use increased from 86.6% to 87.9% of capacity.
  Gasoline demand fell 0.4% YoY
  Distillate demand rose 0.7% YoY.
  
  

Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth
America's war against Iraq had its roots in many improving impulses. According to John McCain and Alan Greenspan, however, the taproot sank into Iraq's oil fields; America wanted to secure its access to cheap oil, they say.

Unfortunately, this program - like all government meddling - backfired. The price of oil was only $25 a barrel when the war began in September of 2003. Yesterday, it hit $130 a barrel. And the war itself is expected to cost the nation $1 trillion or more. For all its efforts, the United States secured the most expensive energy in world history. (And then pushed food prices up to their highest levels in modern times too - keep reading…)

China, meanwhile, decided to take the capitalist road. Instead, of using military force to get oil, it simply bought it on the open market. It has sent its agents to secure, peacefully and honestly, long-term contracts for oil and the other natural resources it needs to feed its ravenous economy. Its buying is driving up prices for everything. But what would you expect?

Quick Overview

• U.S. producer price index rose 0.2% in April and up 6.5% YoY. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 0.4% in April and up 3.0% YoY.
  

• The Chicago Fed's index of national activity fellfrom -.98 to -1.17 in April
  

• Canada’s wholesale sales rose 0.6% MoM.
  

• Japan's index of service rose 0.3% in March.
  

• Germany’s Producer prices rose 1.1% in April.
  
  

• The USDA predicts world sugar production down 2% in 2008-2009, with ending stocks down 3.5 million to 41.44 million tons -- 25% of annual use.
  
  

• The World Gold Council said world gold demand totaled 701 tons in the first quarter of 2008, down 16% YoY. World mine production totaled 593 tons.
  

• T. Boone Pickens predicted crude would reach $150 a barrel this year.
  
  
  

Quick Overview

• The Conference Board's index of leading indicators rose 0.1% in April.
  
  

• Construction output in the Euro zone fell 2.2% in March and down 1.4% YoY.
  
  

• Data Quick said home sales in southern California rose 22% in April.
  
  

• The USDA said:
  73% of the corn crop was planted, down from its five-year average of 88%.
  27% of the soybean crop was planted, down from its five-year average of 47%.
  94% of the spring wheat crop was planted.
  45% of the winter wheat crop was rated good to excellent, down from 47% a week ago.
  49% of the cotton crop was planted, down from its five-year average of 59%.
  
  

• The cost of scanning 100% of inbound containers to prevent terrorists smuggling into the U.S. has been estimated at more than US$500 per unit.

Barclays gets bullish over American shares
Barclays' closely-watched Signpost report says the US is at last beginning to claw its way out of trouble, while investors no longer seem spooked by every piece of bad news.

‘Superfood’ celery combats brain diseases The compounds luteolin and diosmin appear to block the inflammation that causes the brains of victims to start shrinking and dying. In animal experiments they reduced the levels of amyloid beta, which forms the sticky deposits that build up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s.

Quick Overview

• U.S. Home construction rose 8.2% in April, making the biggest increase in two years. However, the rise was driven by a surge in multifamily housing, while single-family starts dropped.
  

• The University of Michigan said that its consumer sentiment index fell from 62.6 to 59.5 in May.
  
  

• Japan's GDP rose 3.3% in the January to March quarter.
  

• Canada’s retail sales rose 9.4%.
  

• Hong Kong’s GDP speeded up in the first quarter, rising 1.8% from the previous quarter, and 7.1% YoY.
  

• Freight cost for commodities such as iron ore and grains rose to a fresh all-time high Friday.

Consumer Price Index "GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC REPORTS: THINGS YOU'VE SUSPECTED BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!"
In particular, changes made in CPI methodology during the Clinton Administration understated inflation significantly, and, through a cumulative effect with earlier changes that began in the late-Carter and early Reagan Administrations have reduced current social security payments by roughly half from where they would have been otherwise. That means Social Security checks today would be about double had the various changes not been made. In like manner, anyone involved in commerce, who relies on receiving payments adjusted for the CPI, has been similarly damaged. On the other side, if you are making payments based on the CPI (i.e., the federal government), you are making out like a bandit.

Quick Overview

• U.S industrial production fell 0.7% MoM, matching the largest decline since the one following Hurricane Katrina
  

• The Fed’s Philadelphia's index of manufacturing improved from -24.9 to -15.6 in May
  

• The Fed’s New York's index of manufacturing fell from +.63 to -3.23 in May,

• GDP in the Euro area rose 0.7% in the first quarter of 2008 and up 2.2% YoY.
  

• Japan's machinery orders fell 8.3% in March.
  

• Canada’s manufacturing fell 1.6% on the month.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said underground supplies of natural gas rose 93 billion cubic feet to 1.529 trillion cubic feet.
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. Consumer price index rose 0.2% in April and 3.9% YoY-- less than expected. Excluding food and energy prices rose 0.1% in April, and 2.3% YoY.
  

• U.S. Mortgage applications rose 2.9% last week.
  
  

• YoY, China's industrial production rose 15.7% in April
  
  

• Industrial production in the Euro area fell 0.2% in March.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said:
  Supplies of crude oil inventories rose 200,000 barrels last week to 325.8 million barrels.
• Supplies of gasoline fell 1.7 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil supplies rose 400,000 barrels.
  Refinery use rose from 85.0% to 86.6% of capacity.
  Gasoline demand fell 0.2% YoY.
  Distillate demand rose 0.8% YoY.
  

Dry bulk market in 'riot mode' THE dry bulk market is officially in “riot mode” this week, according to one shipbroker, as freight rates climb to record highs.

Quick Overview

• U.S. retail sales fell 0.2% MoM, but rose 2.0% YoY.
  

• YoY consumer process rose 3.0% in the U.K.
  

• YoY China's retail sales rose 22% in April.
  
  

• The USDA said yesterday that 51% of the corn crop was planted, down from the five-year average of 77%.
  
  YoY South Africa’s gold production fell 10.1% in the first quarter
  

Quick Overview

• China's April inflation rose to 8.5%.

• China’s Sichuan province was hit by a magnitude-7.9 earthquake, the nation's strongest in 58 years.
  

• YoY U.K.'s producer prices rose 7.5%
  

• YoY India’s industrial production rose 3.0% in March.
  

• The ISO estimates 2007-08 world sugar production at 8 million ton surplus, down from its earlier estimate of 9.3 million ton surplus. For 2008-9 they expect a small production deficit.
  

The global slump of 2008-09 has begun as poison spreads
The bears at Société Générale are going into Siberian hibernation, issuing an "Ice Age" alert. They have slashed exposure to global equities to a minimum 30pc for the first time ever.

Their weighting of super-safe "AAA" government bonds has been raised to a maximum 50pc. This is a bet on gruelling "Japanese" deflation. The bank expects equities to fall by 50pc to 75pc.

"Nowhere and nothing will be immune. We are on the cusp of an equity meltdown that will slash and shred portfolios," said Albert Edward, SG's global strategist.

Home truths
It is not hard to see why politicians are so keen to help. For all the hope that the worst may be over in financial markets, the housing mess is getting nastier. Nationally, house prices have fallen between 3% and 13% depending on which index you look at. And they have further to sink. The stock of unsold homes is huge and the ratio of prices to rents suggests that property is still expensive (see article). Some 1.5m households went into foreclosure in 2007, up 50% from the year before. And with 9m people owing more than their house is worth, that figure is likely to soar.

Quick Overview

• The U.S. trade deficit narrowed 5.7% to $58.21 billion in March, more than expected.
  

• Canada's unemployment rate increased from 6.0% to 6.1% in April
  
  
  

• USDA estimates for the 2008-2009 season ending stocks:
  Corn is 763 million bushels, down from 1.383 billion bushels in 2007-2008.
  Soybeans are 185 million bushels, up from 145 million bushels in 2007-2008.
  Wheat is 483 million bushels, up from 239 million bushels in 2007-2008.
  Sugar is 1.336 million tons, down from 1.757 million tons in 2007-2008.
  Cotton is 5.60 million bales, down from 9.90 million bales in 2007-2008.
  
  

• USDA 2008-2009 world ending stocks estimate for:
  Corn is 99 million tons, down from 110 million tons in 2007-2008.
  Wheat is 124 million tons, up from 110 million tons in 2007-2008.
  Cotton is 56 million bales, down from 62 million bales in 2007-2008.
  
  
  

Greenspan says worst of credit crisis over: sources
Greenspan also said house prices still had a long way to fall and that it was unlikely they would stabilize by year-end,

Quick Overview

• U.S. Wholesale inventories fell 0.1%.


• The Bank of England kept its interest rate unchanged at 5.0%.


• The European Central Bank kept its interest rate unchanged at 4.0%.


• Canada’s housing starts fell 12% MoM.


• Australia's unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.2% in April.
  


• In a bid to rein in soaring prices, India has extended its futures trading ban to four more food commodities.
  


• Ahead of the United States Department of Agriculture's next production and stocks update, Allendale Inc. is projecting an increase in soybean stocks, a decrease for corn and the biggest U.S. wheat crop since 2003.


• Wal-Mart Stores reported a 3.2% climb in U.S. same-store sales.

Baltic Dry Index Exceeds 10,000 for First Time Since December
``The market is very, very close to equilibrium in terms of demand and supply,'' said Alex Gray, London-based chief executive officer of Clarkson Securities Ltd., a unit of the world's biggest shipbroker. ``What we are seeing at the moment is a building up of pressure around iron-ore shipments and grains.''