Rice Market ‘On Thin Ice’ as Record Prices May Return (Update1)
(Bloomberg) -- Rice prices may return to record levels as bad weather curbs output in major growers including India, a Philippine minister and the U.S. Rice Producers Association said.

Quick Overview

• U.S. consumer confidence fell from 53.4 to 47.4 in October
  

• The Richmond Federal Reserve's regional index of manufacturing fell from +14 to +7 in October
  

• The Standard and Poor's/Case-Shiller index of U.S. home prices in 20 cities rose 1.2% MoM, but fell 11.3% YoY. This is the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
  

• The eurozone reports the first YoY fall in bank lending to the private sector of 0.3% -- strengthening the case for the ECB to maintain its ultra-loose interest rate policy.

• India will extend the deadline for duty-free imports of the raw sugar by nine months to Dec. 31 2010

• (Bloomberg) -- The Philippines, the world’s biggest rice buyer, plans to bring forward imports for 2010 to beat other nations to the market before prices surge and ensure stockpiles aren’t drained, the National Food Authority said.

• India eliminates 70% import tax on some rice types

• “You can’t find a year in USDA’s data (which goes back to 1972) on corn harvest activity that is as slow as this year [20%complete]. Period. (CME)

Quick Overview

• South Korea’s GDP rose 2.6% in Q3 and 0 .6% YoY
  

• China’s copper imports totaled 282,828 tons in September, up 29%

Food will never be so cheap again
The world's grain stocks have dropped from four to 2.6 months cover since 2000, despite two bumper harvests in North America. China's inventories are at a 30-year low. Asian rice stocks are near danger level.

U.S. Risks Japan-Like ‘Lost Decade’ on Stimulus Exit, Koo Says
“If you learn your lesson from the Japanese experience, you don’t remove your fiscal stimulus until private sector de- leveraging is over,” Koo, 55, chief economist at the research arm of Japan’s biggest brokerage, said in an interview at his Tokyo office last week. “When we see the private sector coming to borrow again, I’ll be the loudest person on earth arguing for fiscal reform. That’s the exit.”

Quick Overview

• The National Association of Realtors said U.S. existing home sales rose 9.4% in September
  

• U.K. GDP fell 0.4% in Q3 and 5.2% YoY
  

• EU industrial orders rose 1.2% MoM, but fell 22.3% YoY.
  

• Amazon and Microsoft reported better-than-expected results
  

• The USDA said pork production rose 1% YoY
  

• The USDA said beef production fell 2% YoY.
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. jobless claims rose 11,000 last week to 531,000, more than expected.
  

• U.S. Index of leading indicators rose 1.0% in September
  

• U.S. home prices fell 0.3% MoM and down 3.6% YoY.
  

• Canada retail sales rose 0.8% MoM but fell 3.8% YoY
  

• U.K. Retail sales were unchanged MoM and up 2.1% YoY.
  

• YoY Japan's exports fell 30.7% in September.
  

• The Swedish central bank kept interest rates at .25%. The bank indicated they would keep rates near zero in the future
  

• U.S. steel exports rose 13.1% MoM
  

• A tape containing the personal data of 51,000 UK customers has been lost by insurance company Zurich, the company confirms
  

Sharia Banking Comes to Germany
The underlying concept of the Islamic banking business is the Prophet Muhammad's prohibition of interest. Like Jesus in the New Testament, Muhammad took action against the usurers of his time, who exploited their contemporaries by charging them exorbitant interest, sometimes well over 100 percent. Muhammad summarily prohibited charging interest unless something was provided in return. Since the 1970s, Islamic banks have sought to satisfy this requirement by offering their customers financial services on the basis of interest-free transactions

Volcker Fails to Sell a Bank Strategy
He wants the nation’s banks to be prohibited from owning and trading risky securities, the very practice that got the biggest ones into deep trouble in 2008. And the administration is saying no, it will not separate commercial banking from investment operations.

Down with the dollar
But if foreign investors are so concerned, why is the dollar’s decline not accompanied by a sharp rise in bond yields? One reason may be that the Federal Reserve has been buying so much of the year’s debt issuance, as part of its quantitative easing programme. That has helped to keep yields down.

Quick Overview

• Australia’s leading indicators rose 1.1% in August.

• YoY Chinas GDP rose 8.9% in Q3
  

• The pound rallies after the Bank of England says its policymakers voted 9-0 not to pump more money into the UK economy.
  

• Wells Fargo earned $2.6 billion in Q3 – a record
  

• Morgan Stanley earned $498 million in Q3
  

• The U.S. DOE said:
  Supplies of crude oil rose 1.3 million barrels last week at 339.1 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline fell 2.3 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil rose 300,000 barrels.
  Refinery use rose from 80.9% to 81.1% of capacity.
  Gasoline demand rose 4.2% YoY
  Distillate demand fell 12.1% YoY.
  

• Demand for coal to generate electricity and make steel in China and India is expected to grow by 7% to 8% annually in the next five years, leaving the world "chronically" short of the fuel, the head of U.S. coal miner Peabody Energy Inc (BTU.N) said.

• Argentine farmers will plant a record 19 million hectares with soybeans this season, up from the previous high mark by 7%, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchangesaid.
• They forecasts 2009-10 wheat production at 7.5 million metric tons. Down sharply from the five year average of 14.8 million tons

• YoY China's refined sugar production in September fell 57% to 14,000 metric tons, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. From January to September, sugar output fell 13% YoY.

• (Spiegel) The European Union is funding ambitious programs aimed at monitoring human behavior in an effort to identify deviance and pick out potential terrorists. The implications for privacy are myriad.
• 
  
  

Euro at $1.50 is 'disaster' for Europe Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Russia have all been buying dollars to stem their currencies' rises. The effect is to perpetuate the imbalances that led to the credit bubble from 2004-2007 and ultimately caused the financial crisis. Reserve accumulation fuels asset booms because it creates a wash of liquidity and drives down global bond yields. Asia clearly needs to sharply revalue against the West to right the system.

Quick Overview

• U.S. Housing starts were at an annual rate of 590,000 -- up 0.5% MoM. Less than had been expected

• U.S. producer price index fell 0.6% in December and 4.8% YoY

• Canada kept its interest rate unchanged at 0.25%
  

• Canada’s leading indicators rose 1.1% in September

• To curb the upward climb of its currency, Brazil announced that it would impose a 2% tax on overseas purchases of stocks and bonds

• Construction output in the EU fell 0.5% MoM and 11.1% YoY.
  

• The USDA said 17% of corn and 30% of soybeans were harvested
  

• The global sugar deficit of 8.3 million metric tons in the 2009-10 period should reverse to a surplus in the 2010-11 period, said the general director of Kingsman, a Lausanne, Switzerland-based consultancy.
• Sugar content in cane has fallen to 5-6 percent from the usual 9 percent level in Uttar Pradesh, India's top producing state of the sweetener, according to a PTI story
• India's sugar production is expected to rise to 18 million metric tons (prev. 16-17) in 2009-10, according to an Indian government official inBrazil.
• Mexico's new 2009-10 sugar harvest is forecast to produce 5,168,188 metric tons, up 4.1% of semi-refined standard sugar, the National CaneSugar Growers Union said Tuesday.

• U.S. economist, Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate, said the risk of deflation is still a concern, despite signs of an economic recovery.

• Illy forecasts 2010-11 world coffee production at 145 million 60-kilgrambags, up from 132 million bags in 2009-10. Consumption in 2010 is pegged at around 135 million bags,leaving a 10 million bag surplus, said Illy.

• Russia harvested 98.8 million tons of grain as of Oct. 20, down 13.4 million tons YoY.

A sterling crash is a godsend

Politically, these countries face what options traders call "time decay". The longer it lasts, the worse it gets.

Quick Overview

• Agriculture production needs to expand by 70% through 2050, as the global population rises to 9.1 billion from 6.7 billion, Jacques Diouf, director-general at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said.
  

• Bernanke said Asian economies are leading the world economic recovery, but should focus on boosting consumption.
  

• Japan's tertiary index of services rose from 96.8 to 97.1 in August -- better than expected.
  

• British same-store sales rose 7.5% in September
  

• CWG - Nearly half of Brazil's wheat suffering major losses due to persistent rains this month. Brazil world's largest wheat importer (Arlan Suderman Farm Futures)
  

• Rain in Brazil is also delaying the harvest of sugarcane. Cazrnikow's director of research, Toby Cohen, said: "There simply will not be enough sugar to meet ongoing levels of demand. "Limits on supply require a forced adjustment of consumption. To this end it is clear that prices will need to move higher to ration demand."

• The USDA said that there were 10.474 million head of cattle on feed as of October 1st, up 0.6% YoY

• RBA: A “very expansionary setting of policy was no longer necessary, and possibly imprudent,” officials said

• Koyodo News reported that crude steel output in Japan in the April to September first half of fiscal 2009 fell by 29.6% YoY to 43.33 million tonnes, marking a 40 year low on a semiannual basis due to a plunge in demand.

• (Bloomberg) -- Burning coal to generate electricity in the U.S. causes about $62 billion a year in “hidden costs” for environmental damage, not including expenses related to global warming, the National Academy of Sciences said.

Quick Overview

• U.S. Industrial production rose 0.7% in September and was revised up 1.2% for August.
  

• The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell from 73.5 to 69.4

• YoY Canada’s consumer prices fell 0.9%
  

• YoY EU exports fell 20% in August

Quick Overview

• U.S. jobless claims fell 10,000 to 514,000 -- the lowest in nine months.
  
  

• U.S. Consumer prices rose 0.2% MoM, but fell 1.3% YoY
  

• Consumer prices in the EU rose0.3% YoY.
  
  

• The New York Federal Reserve's regional index of manufacturing rose from 18.9 to 34.6 in October
  
  

• The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional index of manufacturing fell from 14.1 to 11.5 in October
  
  

• U.S. Foreclosure filings fell 4% MoM, but rose 29% YoY.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said:
  Supplies of crude oil rose 400,000 barrels to 337.8 million barrels
  Supplies of gasoline fell 5.2 million barrels
  Supplies 0f heating oil fell 200,000 barrels.
  Refinery use fell from 85.0% to 80.9%.
  Gasoline demand rose 5.3% YoY
  Distillate demand fell 10.8% Yoy.

• North American cocoa bean grindings in the third quarter totaled 118,405metric tons, down 586 tons, or 0.49%, from the same period last year, theNational Confectioners Association said Thursday.

Quick Overview

• U.S. retail sales fell 1.5% in September. Excluding autos, sales rose 0.5%, better than expected.
  

• U.K. unemployment rate remained at 7.9%
  

• EU industrial production rose 0.6% in August, but fell 13.5% YoY.
  

• Japan kept its interest rate unchanged at 0.1%
  

• JP Morgan earned $3.6 billion in Q3 -- better than expected.
  

• Intel expects a strong fourth quarter.
  

• The Mortgage Bankers Association said that its index of mortgage applications was down 6.8% YoY.

• China's major ports handled 4.5 billion tons of cargo between January and August, an increase of 4.9 % compared to the same period last year.
  

• World sugar output is forecast to increase to 156.9 million tonnes in 2009/10 from 150.0 million in 2008/09, German analyst F.O. Licht said in its first forecast for sugar production in the new crop year. "As sugarcane needs 12 to 18 months to mature, the cane that has been planted in response to this year's price surge will only be ready for harvesting for the 2010/11 crush." F.O. Licht said.
  

• Europe's cocoa grind fell 1.5% YoY to 343,471 tonnes in Q3 of 2009, the European Cocoa Association said on Wednesday.

• Concerns about supplies in both Asia and the U.S. havesent CBOT rice to its highest price in nine months

Updates resume Oct. 14

Quick Overview

• The U.S. trade gap narrowed in August to $30.7 billion, down 3.6 percent from a revised estimate of $31.9 billion for July
  

• Canada’s unemployment rate improved from 8.7% to 8.4% in September
  

• Japan's machinery orders rose 0.5% in August
  
  

• The USDA's 2009-2010 U.S. ending stocks estimate of:
  Corn was raised from 1.635 to 1.672 billion bushels.
  Soybeans were raised from 220 to 230 million bushels.
  Wheat was raised from 743 to 864 million bushels.
  Sugar was lowered from 844,000 to 836,000 tons.
  Cotton was lowered from 5.6 to 5.4 million bales.
  
  

• The USDA's 2009-2010 world ending stocks estimate of:
  Corn was lowered from 139 to 136 million tons.
  Soybeans were raised from 51 to 55 million tons.
  Wheat unchanged at 187 million tons.
  Cotton unchanged at 56 million tons.
  
  
  

• The USDA estimates the Florida's 2009-2010 orange crop at 136 million boxes, down 16% YoY
  
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. jobless claims fell 33,000 last week to 521,000,
  

• U.S. wholesale sales rose 1.0% MoM, but fell 17.7% YoY
  

• U.S. Inventories fell 1.3% MoM and fell 14.7% YoY
  

• The Bank of England and the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged,.

• European cocoa bean grindings in Q3 totaled 406,080 metric tons, up 16.5% YoY

Quick Overview

• Australias jobless rate fell to 5.7% from 5.8%

• U.S mortgage applications rose 16%.
  

• GDP in the EU fell 0.3% QoQ and down 4.9% YoY
  

• Japan's coincident index rose from 89.8 to 91.4 in August
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said:
  Supplies of crude oil fell 1 million barrels to 337.4 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline rose 2.9 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil rose 400,000 barrels.
  Refinery use rose from 84.6% to 85.0%
  Gasoline demand rose 6.2% YoY
  Distillate demand fell 9.5% YoY.
  

• German cocoa grind rose 11% QoQ

• Conab, the Brazilian version of the USDA, estimates the upcoming bean crop at 62.3-63.3 million tonnes versus 57.1 million last year. They put the corn crop at 50.9-52.2 million tonnes vs 51 million last year. Conab's wheat guess is 5.25 million tonnes versus their September guess of 5.85 million.

• (Bloomberg) Sugar deliveries from Brazil may face delays next year after above-average rains pared cane yields and slowed the harvest, producer Grupo Jose Pessoa SA said. Deliveries originally scheduled for the first half of 2010 may be delayed until later in the year or the first half of 2011.

Quick Overview

• U.K. manufacturing output fell 1.9% in August.

• Arctic air flow may enter IA on Thurs with 3 or 4 nights of frost. Hard freeze (28F) possible Friday night over much of the state. Elvin

Quick Overview

• Australia raised interest rates by 0.25% to 3.25%

• The Institute for Supply Management’s index of non- manufacturing businesses, rose to 50.9 from 48.4 in August -- higher than forecast.
  

• Retail sales in the EU fell 0.3% MoM and 1.8% YoY.
  

• EU manufacturing and services rose from 50.4 to 51.1.
  

• Services in the U.K. rose from 54.1 to 55.3 in September.
  

• FCStone to raise its estimate for a global sugar shortfall in the year ended September to 8 million tons, from 6.1 million tons previously.
  

• Roubini thinks that the piles of money being printed are leading to asset bubbles in stocks and commodities
  

• Norway is rated the best place in the world to live

• (Arlan Suderman) Commodity Weather Group raises risk of hard freeze for NW half of Mdwst by Oct. 13 to 80%. Risk for northern Delta by 14th is 20%.

• Sugar production in India'sKarnataka state is expected to decline for a second year due to flooding

• (DJ) Soybean Rust Making Fast Late-Season Push; No Damage Foreseen

• (FT) Traders are concerned that the cocoa market could face a supply deficit for a fourth year in succession as yields from ageing cocoa trees in the Ivory Coast have been affected by disease.

Quick Overview

• The U.S. unemployment rate rose from 9.7% to 9.8% in September. Non-farm payrolls fell 263,000 – more than expected.
  

• U.S. factory orders fell 0.8% in August.
  

• Japan's unemployment rate improved from 5.7% to 5.5% in August
  

• U.K. house prices rose 0.9% in September.
  

• Canada estimates its 2009 wheat crop at 24.58 million tons, up from 23.61 million tons in July.
  

• The idle container fleet worldwide has climbed to 548 ships, totaling 1.29 million TEU capacity at the end of September. This represents 10% of the total fleet capacity, or 11.6% of the total number of containerships.

Quick Overview

• The IMF said that it expects the world economy to contract 1.1% in 2009 -- but grow 3.1% in 2010
  

• The IMF expects real GDP in the U.S. to fall2.7% in 2009, but up 1.5% in 2010.
  

• U.S. jobless claims rose 17,000 last week to 551,000, more than expected.
  

• U.S. construction spending rose 0.8% MoM, but fell 11.6% YoY.
  

• U.S. personal incomes rose 0.2%
  

• U.S. Consumer spending rose 1.3%
  

• Supply Management reported that its monthly index of U.S. manufacturing activity fell to 52.6 in September from 52.9 in August -- surprisingly weak
  

• The National Association of Realtors said that its index of pending home U.S. sales rose 6.4% MoM and 12.4% YoY
  

• Unemployment in the EU rose from 9.0% to 9.1% MoM
  

• YoY Japan's retail sales fell 1.8% in August
  

• Manufacturing in Australia rose from 51.7 to 52.0 MoM
  

• Manufacturing in India rose from 53.2 to 55.0 MoM
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. GDP fell 0.2% QoQ and down 3.8% YoY.
  
  

• The Chicago Purchasing Managers' index fell from 50.0 to 46.1
  

• ADP said the U.S. lost 254,000 private-sector jobs in September

• Canada’s GDP was unchanged in July and down 4.6% YoY
  

• Industrial output in Japan rose 1.8% in August
  

• Germany's unemployment rate improved from 8.3% to 8.2% in September.
  
  

• Australia's retail sales rose 0.9% in August,
  
  

• The USDA estimated U.S. soybean stocks at 138 million bushels, vs. 111 million expected.
  
  

• The USDA pegged U.S. corn stocks at 1.674 billion bushels vs. 1.719 billion expected
  
  

• The USDA estimates wheat stocks at 2.215 billion bushels compared to the average analyst’s estimate of 2.132 billion bushels.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said:
  Supplies of crude oil rose 2.8 million barrels last week to 338.4 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline fell 1.6 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil rose 400,000 barrels
  Refinery use fell from 85.6% to 84.6%
  Gasoline demand rose 5.4% YoY
  Distillate demand fell 9.2% YoY.
  
  

• Barclays Capital expects world Sugar use to outpace production by 8.1 million tons in 2009-2010

• (Bloomberg) -- India’s monsoon rainfall, the main source of irrigation for the country’s 235 million farmers, is the weakest in more than three decades, threatening farm output in the world’s second-biggest producer of rice, wheat and sugar

• Yum Brands Inc.'s (YUM) board approved an 11% dividend increase andauthorized $300 million of share repurchase.
  
  
  

Quick Overview

• The S&P & Case-Shiller index of U.S. home prices rose 1.6% in July and fell 13.3% YoY
  
  

• U.S. consumer confidence fell from 54.5 to 53.1 in September
  
  

• U.K. GDP fell 0.6% in the second quarter and down 5.5% YoY
  
  

• Consumer confidence in Canada rose from 88.4 to 90.9 in September

• (Bloomberg) -- Cocoa production in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer of the chocolate ingredient, may decline by as much as 15 percent next season

Baltic Dry to Jump on Chinese Bulk Demand, Cosco Says
(Bloomberg) -- The Baltic Dry Index, the main measure of shipping costs for commodities, may surge more than 80 percent by the end of the year on increased demand for shipments to China, according China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co.

Quick Overview

• (WSJ) The White House is close to committing up to $35 billion to help housing agencies provide mortgages to low- and moderate-income families.

• Japan's consumer price index fell 2.4%, the fastest pace on record
  
  

• The USDA said there were 66.626 million head of hogs and pigs as of September 1st, down 2.3% YoY
  
  
  

• The U.S. Grains Council sees smaller Chinese corn crop than USDA due to this year's drought. Based on the survey they estimate 2009 Chinese production down 9.7% YoY

Money figures show there's trouble ahead The overwhelming fact is that private spending has slumped in the deficit countries of the Anglosphere, Club Med, and East Europe but has not risen enough in the surplus countries (East Asia and Germany) to compensate. Excess capacity remains near post-war highs across the world.

Yet hawks are already stamping feet at key central banks.

Quick Overview

• (WSJ) The G-20 is near an agreement that would require members to submit economic policies to a type of "peer review." The group also will announce that the G-20 will eclipse the G-8.
  

• U.S. durable goods orders fell 2.4% in August.
  

• U.S. home sales were at an annual rate of 429,000 in August, up 0.7% from July's pace.
  

• The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose from 65.7 to 73.5 in September .
  

• The USDA said beef production totaled 2.18 billion pounds in August, down 4% YoY.
  

• The USDA said Pork production totaled 1.87 billion pounds in August, up 4% YoY .

• The global sugar deficit in the year starting October 1 may be 8.3 million tons, compared with a June estimate of 5.1 million tons, Switzerland-based sugar broker Kingsman SA said.
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. jobless claims fell 21,000 last week to 530,000
  

• U.S. existing home sales (5.10 million units) fell 2.7% MoM.
  

• U.S. inventory of homes represents an 8.5 month supply at the current sales pace.

• India will extend authorization to import duty-free white sugar until the middle of next year to fill the supply gap.
  
  
• Brazil's center-south 2009/10 sugar output should fall 600,000 tonnes from July's estimate as excess rains have reduced expected cane yields, Job Economia analysts said Wednesday.

• Brazil's 2009-10 center-south sugar cane crush is projected at 529.5 millionmetric tons, down from an April estimate of 550 million tons, the SugarcaneIndustries Association, or Unica, said Thursday.

Quick Overview

• U.S. mortgage applications rose 12.8% last week.
  

• Industrial orders in the EU rose 1.6% MoM, but fell 24.9% YoY
  
  

• Britain's economy may be emerging from recession, but with bank lending still weak and unemployment rising "there could be false dawns," the Bank of England said
  
  

• Obama is calling on the world to end massive government subsidies that encourage the use of fossil fuels blamed for global warming.

• The U.S. Department of Energy said:
  Supplies of crude oil rose 2.8 million barrels to 335.6 million barrels
  Supplies of gasoline rose 5.4 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil rose 1.5 million barrels.
  Refinery use fell from 86.9% to 85.6%
  Gasoline demand rose 4.5% YoY
  Distillate demand fell 8.1% YoY
  

Quick Overview

• The dollar resumed its broad sell-off, dipping under ¥91 and coming close to its fresh 12-month low versus the euro.
  

• The Richmond Federal Reserve's regional index of manufacturing was unchanged in September at +14
  

• U.S. single family home prices rose 0.3% in July, but fell 4.2% YoY.
  

• Canada’s retail sales fell 0.6% MoM
  

• Obama said the U.S. is determined to tackle global warming at a year-end summit.
  

• Cooler temps will build for late next weekend in the U.S. Midwest, but at this point most forecasters suggest it will not bring a crop threatening frost.
  

• Airbus forecast for world commercial aircraft sales sees a more than a doubling in demand that will require 25,000 planes at a cost of US$3.1 trillion, adding that Asian and emerging market will produce more low cost carrier demand by 2029.

Quick Overview

• U.S. index of leading indicators rose 0.6% in August
  

• The USDA said there were 9.882 million head of cattle on feed as of September 1st, down 1.2% YoY
  

• The USDA said there were 492,529 acres of commercial orange trees in Florida, down 1% YoY

Quick Overview

• Canada’s wholesale sales rose 2.8% in July to C$41.7 billion
  

• China buys another 6.7 million bushels of US soybeans. Analyst says recent frost cut 110 mln bu from China's soy crop.
  

New building cancellations to top 40% of current dry bulk orderbook says National Bank of Greece
But, new building cancellations will reach about 40% of the total orderbook sayd NBG, which means that 100 million dwt will never reach the water. This, coupled with an estimated 70 million dwt of scrapping of older tonnage, could allow for a gradual recovery of dry bulk usage, close to the ten year average of 87% of available hiring days. Should this scenario materialize, dry bulk rates will drop below 2,000 points during 2010 and recover higher than 3,000 points during 2011, which could be deemed as very satisfactory, should one consider the current imbalance in the market.

Quick Overview

• U.S. housing starts rose 1.5% from July's pace
  
  

• U.S. jobless claims fell 12,000 last week to 545,000
  
  

• The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional index of manufacturing rose from 4.2 to 14.1
  
  

• Construction output in the EU fell 1.1% MoM and 11.1% YoY
  
  

• Canada’s consumer prices fell 0.8% YoY
  
  

• FedEx's CEO said he sees "encouraging signs" that the recession has ended
  

• University of Illinois economists project net farm operator returns for 2009 at minus $8 per acre for corn and minus $15 per acre for soybeans, the first negative returns for the decades beginning 1990 and 2000.
  

• Maersk Line has announced a rate increases on its eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea services to west Africa of US$200 per TEU and $360 per FEU for both dry and reefer containers from October 1.

• Informa estimates 2010-11 US Winter Wheat area At 41.6M acres, down from 43.4 million in 2009-10

Kinross Says Gold Industry Faces Reserve Crisis
(Bloomberg) -- Kinross Gold Corp., Canada’s third- largest producer of the precious metal, said the gold industry is facing a crisis of declining reserves as investor demand outpaces supply.

“We may be in the midst of a perfect storm in terms of price and industry dynamics,” Tye Burt, chief executive officer of the Toronto-based company, said at a conference in Denver today. “Globally production has been in decline since the peak of 81 million ounces in 2001 to 77 million ounces last year, and we see that decline continuing long term.”

Quick Overview

• U.S. consumer price index rose 0.4% MoM and fell 1.5% YoY
  

• U.S . Industrial production rose 0.8% in August -- better than expected.
  

• U.S. Capacity utilization was at 69.6% -- down from 77.6% YoY.
  

• U.S. Mortgage applications fell 8.6% last week
  

• MoM the U.K. unemployment rate rose to 7.9% from 7.8%
  

• YoY Consumer prices in the EU rose 0.6% in August
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said:
  Supplies of crude oil fell 4.7 million barrels to 332.8 million barrels
  Supplies of gasoline rose 500,000 barrels
  Supplies of heating oil rose 200,000 barrels
  Refinery use fell from 87.2% to 86.9%.
  Gasoline demand rose 3.5% YoY
  Distillate demand fell 6.8% YoY

Quick Overview

• (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the worst U.S. recession since the 1930s has probably ended, while warning that growth may not be strong enough to quickly reduce the unemployment rate.

• US retail sales rose 2.7% in August better than expected and helped by the car rebate program.
  

• U.S. producer prices rose 1.7% MoM, but fell 4.3% YoY
  

• The New York Federal Reserve’s regional index of manufacturing rose from 12.08 to 18.88 in September
  

• YoY U.K. consumer prices rose 1.6% in August
  

• Volkswagen has unveiled its answer to the recession at The Frankfurt Motor Show the L1 a 180 mile per gallon tandem two-seater hybrid car.

• Soybean/Corn futures are supported by frost threats this morning

• (FT) Central banks are set to become net buyers of gold this year for the first time since 1998, according to GFMS, the metals consultancy.

Quick Overview

• China called for talks over its trade quarrel with the U.S. in a sign the dispute may be containable.
  

• EU industrial production fell 0.2% in July and 14.7% YoY
  

• Retail sales in New Zealand fell 0.5% in July.
  

• Brazil GDP rose 1.9% QoQ
  

• The ICO’s August coffee report kept its estimate of 2008-2009 world production at 127 million bags, but raised its estimate of 2008 world consumption from 128.4 to 130.0 million bags.

A 20-year-old Styrian (Austria) was slapped with a 50 Euros fine when he farted as he talked to cops.

Lehman is a footnote in the great East-West globalisation crisis
As my colleague Jeremy Warner puts it, Lehman no more caused the economic convulsions of the last year than the assassination of an Austrian prince caused the First World War. There was the little matter of a rising Germany then, and a rising China now. Both scrambled the international system, albeit in different ways.

China Government ‘Strongly Opposes’ U.S. Tire Tariff Imposition
“By taking this unprecedented action, the Obama administration is now at odds with its own public statements about refraining from increasing tariffs,” Vic DeIorio, executive vice president of GITI Tire in the U.S., said in a statement. “This decision will cost many more American jobs than it will create.”

Quick Overview

• U.S. wholesale sales rose 0.5% in July
  

• U.S. Inventories fell 1.4% in July
  

• The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment rose from 65.7 to 70.2 in September
  

• YoY China's industrial Production rose 12.3%
  

• YoY India’s industrial production rose 6.8%.
  
  

• The USDA's 2009-2010 U.S. ending stocks estimate for:
  Corn was raised from 1.621 to 1.635 billion bushels.
  Soybeans were raised from 210 to 220 million bushels.
  Wheat unchanged at 743 million bushels.
  Sugar was raised from 709,000 to 844,000 tons.
  Cotton unchanged at 5.6 million bales.
  
  

• The USDA's 2009-2010 world ending stocks estimate for:
  Corn was lowered from 141 to 139 million tons.
  Soybeans were raised from 50.3 to 50.5 million tons.
  Wheat was raised from 184 to 187 million tons.
  Cotton was reduced from 57 to 56 million tons.
  

• The USDA lowered the estimate of China's 2009-2010 corn crop from 162.5 to 160.0 million tons because of draught
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

USDA Report

Quick Overview

• U.S. jobless claims fell 26,000 last week to 550,000 -- less than expected.
  

• U.S. exports rose $2.7 billion in July while imports rose $7.2 billion.
  

• (Reuters) - China will unswervingly apply its policy mix of massive government spending and loose money because its economic recovery remains fragile, Premier Wen Jiabao said.

• Australia's unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8% in August,
  

• Canada’s exports rose 3.3% in July while imports rose 8.3%.
  

• UK kept interest rate unchanged at 0.50%, as expected.

• The U.S. Department of Energy said:
  Supplies of crude oil fell 5.9 million barrels last week to 337.5 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline rose 2.1 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil rose 600,000 barrels.
  Refinery use was 87.2% of capacity.
  Gasoline demand rose 2.2% YoY
  Distillate demand fell 5.6% YoY.
  
  
  
  
• Japan's machinery orders fell 9.3% in July

• Swine flu can infect cells deeper in the lungs than seasonal flu, making people who catch it more likely to develop serious complications, research suggests.

Quick Overview

• The Mortgage Bankers Association said that its index of U.S. mortgage applications rose 17% last week
  
  

• Canada's housing starts rose 12% in August
  
  

• Consumer confidence in the U.K. rose from 61 to 63 in August