Drought Update

Economies of India and China will become larger than US: Expert
..The US is moving towards a service economy and away from manufacturing, leaving the country in a situation where it will not be able to produce its way out of debt," he said...
We have to pay interest or dividends or, in some way, ultimately give them a return on the assets they have bought. That means a claim on future American income and thus lower standards of living for our grandchildren. The second problem is that our financing requirements now soak up about 80 per cent of available world savings. Once we hit 100 per cent, there is no place to go," Prestowitz said

Quick Overview

• The U.S. economy grew at a 3.4 percent annual pace from April through June, the ninth straight quarter exceeding 3 percent.
  
  

• China's National Grain and Oil Information Center issued an estimate for this years Chinese Corn production at 128 mmt. versus 132 mmt. last year.
  
  

• A 25% slump in house prices would wipe out $4.5 trillion of household wealth but wouldn't be as damaging as the Internet bust, according to Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank.
  

• The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index increased from 96.0 to 96.5 in July
  

• Canada's GDP was up 0.3% in May and up 2.8YoY.
  

• France's unemployment rate fell from 10.2% to 10.1% in June, the first improvement in six months.
  

• The unemployment rate in Japan dropped from 4.4% to 4.2% in June, the lowest in seven years. Consumer prices in June were down 0.5% YoY. Industrial production was up 1.5% in June. Household spending was down 1.4% in June.
  

Japanese develop 'female' android She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like a human. She even appears to breathe.

General Is Said To Have Urged Use of Dogs
"It was a technique I had personally discussed with General Miller, when he was here" visiting the prison, testified Pappas,

US faces fresh challenge on farm subsidies
The US is the world’s third largest rice exporter. With costs higher than many of its big competitors, its rice sector is one of the largest recipients of US farm subsidies, receiving about $1.5bn (€1.2bn, £871m) a year. Some of the payments to farmers are similar to those ruled illegal in the WTO cotton case.

Quick Overview

• The House of Representatives approved the controversial Central American Free Trade Agreement early Thursday after intense last-minute lobbying by the White House.
  
  

• The Standard & Poor's 500 index and Nasdaq composite index both reached four-year highs.
  

• The USDA drought monitor shows severe to extreme drought conditions persisting in northern Illinois and northeast Missouri.
  

• U.S. jobless claims were up 5,000 last week to 310,000.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas increased 42 billion cubic feet last week to 2.381 trillion cubic feet.
  

• Germany's unemployment rate improved from 11.7% to 11.6% in July.
  

• Argentina's trade surplus narrowed in June to $692 million from $908 million in June 2004, the lowest surplus for any month in nearly four years, the Economy Ministry said on Thursday.
  
  

• YoY Retail sales in Japan were up 3.1% in June.

• ITALY’s shipowners have called for military protection following two attacks in a week on Italian vessels off the coast of Somalia.

Asia's 'surprising resilience'
The region is trading at 11.5 times earnings for this year, he added, with a dividend yield of more than 3 percent.

Quick Overview

• U.S. durable goods orders were up 1.4% in June, stronger than expected -- the third monthly increase.
  

• U.S. new home sales were at an annual rate of 1.374 million units in June, up 4.0% from May's pace and a new record high. YoY new home sales are up 7%.
  

• A Cabinet-level official of the Chinese government said that China would "gradually" open its markets and import more than $1 trillion worth of goods from the United States over the next five years.
  

• The U.S. DoE said that:
  Crude oil supplies were down 2.3 million barrels last week to 317.8 million barrels.
  Unleaded gasoline supplies were down 2.1 million barrels.
  Heating oil supplies were up 1.4 million barrels.
  
  

• The Federal Reserve's Beige book said that economic activity expanded in all twelve districts in June and early July.
  

• Overall for-hire trucking freight volumes fell 0.2% in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, American Trucking Associations said Tuesday.
  

• Federal officials announced Wednesday they are trying to determine if there might be a third case of mad cow disease among the country's herds.
  

• Bombay..parts of the city had been hit by up to 37.1 inches of rain
  

Has Greenspan Committed Fraud? The Dr. Ravi Batra Interview
The financial fraud is actually very serious fraud. It has resulted in almost $2 trillion worth of wastage as far as the average taxpayer is concerned...

Conflicts' costs may exceed $700 billion
..the costs of the war -- many multiples greater than what the White House had estimated in 2003 -- are throwing U.S. fiscal priorities out of balance. "It's dangerously irresponsible," Hagel said ..

Quick Overview

• The Conference Board said Consumer confidence was softer than expected in July falling to 103.2 from a revised 106.2 in June.
  
  

• Business confidence in Germany rose to a five-month high in July. The Ifo institute in Munich said its business confidence index rose to 95 from 93.3.
  

• German consulting agency F.O. Licht raised their estimate of
  global sugar consumption this year (2004/05) by 600,000 tonnes while raising production by only 180,000 tonnes.
  
  

• Some traders are starting to pay a bit more attention to weather in the Chinese Corn Belt because 40% of the corn growing area has received less than 50% of normal rains since June 1st.

• The average retail price of diesel fuel fell for a second straight week, dropping 5 cents to $2.342 a gallon, the Department of Energy said.
  

• U.S. sales of Class 8 trucks jumped 38.2% in June from year-ago levels, and reached their highest monthly total since December 1999, as fleets’ buying spree continued.

The US Navy...Made in China
China-Mart Takes Over
What US corporations and the free trade economists overlook is that giving Americans' jobs to foreigners raises foreign incomes and lowers American incomes. When credit cards and home equity lines are maxed out, there will be nothing to support the US consumer market. The American corporations who moved their capital and technology to China will have to find new customers.

GM crops created superweed, say scientists Unlike the results of the original trials, which were the subject of large-scale press briefings from scientists, the discovery of hybrid plants that could cause a serious problem to farmers has not been announced.

Melting Greenland glacier may hasten rise in sea level Measurements taken in 1988 and in 1996 show the glacier was moving at a rate of between 3.1 and 3.7 miles per year. The latest measurements taken this summer show it is now moving at 8.7 miles a year.

Quick Overview

• U.S. self-serve regular gasoline pump prices slid 1 cent in the past two weeks to an average $2.30 a gallon, according to the most recent Lundberg survey of filling stations released Sunday.
  
  

• Sales of existing homes rose at an annual rate of 7.33 million units in June, up 2.7% on the month and up 15% YoY.
  

• The USDA's good to excellent crop rating for:
  Corn was 53%, down from 55% last week.
  Soybeans were 54%, up from 53% last week.
  Spring wheat was 70%, down from 75% last week.
  Cotton was 61%, up from 60% last week.

Iraq: This is now an unwinnable conflict The Duke of Wellington, warning hawkish politicians in Britain against ill-considered military intervention abroad, once said: "Great nations do not have small wars." He meant that supposedly limited conflicts can inflict terrible damage on powerful states. Having seen what a small war in Spain had done to Napoleon, he knew what he was talking about.

Japan's corporate debt below 100 tril. yen

The debt totaled 97 trillion yen (US$866 billion, euro724 billion) at the end of March, down 7 trillion yen (US$62.5 million, euro52.2 million) from a year earlier and down 24 percent from the peak in 1997, the business daily said, citing its own survey of 1,181 companies. The trend indicates companies are both repaying debts and increasing the amount of cash they have on hand, with one-third of the polled companies being completely debt free, the report said.

Two New Studies on Aspartame and Diet Drinks Confirm Source of Obesity, Cancer/Malignant Brain Tumor Epidemics
"This study confirmed the previous study by Dr. Trocho and co-workers, which also found the formaldehyde breakdown product of aspartame to be damaging to cellular DNA and that this damage was accumulative. The type of damage was a duplicate of that associated with cancers. Along with this most recent study, this means that drinking a single diet cola sweetened with aspartame every day could increase one's risk of developing a lymphoma or leukemia.

Quick Overview

• China's currency rose about 2 percent against the U.S. dollar at the start of trading on Friday, a day after the government cut the yuan's link to the dollar in a move that could make Chinese exports more expensive and foreign assets cheaper for China to buy.
  
  

• The USDA said that there were 10.402 million head of cattle on feed as of July 1st, up 2.7% from a year ago. June placements were up 7% from a year ago and marketing’s were down somewhat.
  

• The USDA said that there were 70.5 million pounds of frozen bellies in storage on June 30th, up 90% from a year ago -- less than expected. Frozen pork totaled 492 million pounds, up 32% from a year ago
  
  

• The USDA said that there were 1.55 billion pounds of frozen orange juice concentrate in storage, down 25% from a year ago.
  

• The Italian economy will shrink marginally this year for the first time since 1993 and expand by slightly more than 1 percent in 2006, Bank of Italy Governor Antonio Fazio said on Friday.
  

• GDP in the U.K. was up 1.7% in the second quarter from a year ago, the slowest growth in twelve years.
  

• Consumer prices in Canada were up 1.7% in June from a year ago, less than expected. Retail sales were down 1.3% in May to C$30.4 billion.