| Cost of corn pinches plants
High corn prices have created a cash-flow problem for a South Dakota ethanol plant.
Poet Biorefining in Chancellor has borrowed $6.3 million from its partner, Poet, in response to an increase in the price of corn futures that shows little sign of abating.
On Jan. 14, the Chancellor ethanol company and Poet agreed to a short-term loan to be repaid Feb. 13, including interest at an annual rate of 9.25 percent. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the money was needed to cover margin calls triggered by a price increase in the corn futures market at the Chicago Board of Trade. "We did not have the necessary funds from operations to cover the margin calls," General Manager Rick Serie wrote in the filing.
The plant, which produced about 51 million gallons of ethanol last year, was securing grain with plans to distill 100 million gallons this year.
Commodity ETF Jumps As Wheat Hits Record
The market may have lost its appetite for stocks, but it's hungry for commodities, especially wheat. Wheat soared to a record Friday as the Agriculture Department forecast that supplies will drop 40% from last year to a 60-year low in May. It already has more than doubled in the past year. Corn, soybeans, gold and platinum have also soared to new records. "We're in an inflationary cycle that's heating up, so things such as commodities are becoming more valuable than paper assets," said Adam Harter, director of operations at Financial Enhancement Group, with $200 million in assets. "People in developing economies are seeing incomes rise and are able to buy more and that's putting a pressure on the demand side of the equation." Trading Futures In lock step, PowerShares DB Commodity Index (DBC) broke out to a new high Friday.
DTN analyst, USDA official square-off on reports
Last Friday, USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) cut its estimate of U.S. corn ending stocks by 359 million bushels compared to its estimate of a month before. The move set off a bullish shockwave that pushed corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade over $5 a bushel in successive limit-up trading sessions.In its World Agricultural Supply-Demand Estimates (WASDE), USDA attributed the drawdown in corn stocks to an increase in feed and residual use. But DTN Senior Market Analyst Darin Newsom, in an article published Wednesday, expressed skepticism about USDA's supply-demand report, comparing USDA's report process to the Bowl Championship Series' method of selecting a national college football champion. And Newsom told Brownfield an increase in livestock feeding is almost certainly not the real reason there's less corn on hand.
Aboriginal numbers soar, census shows
Canada's aboriginal population has increased 45 per cent over a decade and cracked the one-million mark for the first time since records have been kept, new census data indicate. In 2006, 1,172,790 people said they were members of at least one of three aboriginal groups: North American Indian, Métis (mixed native-European descent) or Inuit. The fastest gain in population of the three groups was in the Métis population, which almost doubled in 10 years. Those who identified themselves as Indian increased by 29 per cent, while the Inuit population went up 26 per cent. Between 1996 and 2006, the aboriginal population increased 45 per cent, a rate nearly six times faster than the 8-per-cent growth for the non-aboriginal population over the same period.
Big profit tipped for BHP
BHP Billiton is expected to deliver a strong interim profit tomorrow, and likely formalise its massive takeover offer for rival Rio Tinto. BHP Billiton's first half profit for fiscal 2008 is set to eclipse the previous corresponding result of $US6.168 billion ($A6.84 billion), analysts say. ABN Amro analyst Warren Edney is forecasting a profit of $US6.3 billion ($A6.99 billion) and says investors will be looking for an update by the resources giant on impact of flooding in Queensland on its coal operations and power issues in South Africa. "BHP may be able to quantify the impact of the floods and I think that will be relatively important," Mr Edney said. "The other key thing will be seeing what they say about the issues of southern African power." Last month, heavy rain in central Queensland forced the closure of a number of coal operations, while electricity shortages in South Africa have disrupted a number of different operations in the country.
The BIG Immigration Debate
Regarding the migration to the north from the south, its only natural that if you teach me that all that is good is in the north, why will i not like to experience it first hand. It becomes a problem in the north based on 2 main issues 1. When the immigrant becomes successful ( economically or literally= jealousy e.g. Al Fayed ) 2. Unsuccessful ( economically or literally= crime, destitute, social welfare benefits e.g. a Jamaican rude-boy) In other words, immigrants are just not wanted in the north. What then is the essence of Globalization? .
Legg Mason Partners Launches 130/30 U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund
NEW YORK, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Legg Mason, Inc., a leading global asset manager, today announced that it has entered the 130/30 retail and institutional funds marketplace by launching the Legg Mason Partners 130/30 U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund. The fund is subadvised by Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc., which in 2007 introduced a 130/30 U.S. Large Cap separate-account strategy for institutional investors. The new fund will be an important product focus for Legg Mason's funds distribution arm, directed at individual investors as well as 401K and other defined contribution programs. The Legg Mason Partners 130/30 U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund, which began trading on November 8, 2007, may be appropriate for retail investors who seek additional return from active managers, want to diversify their portfolios and understand the risks and rewards associated with shorting.
A Family Affair
His art looks deceptively simple, but behind it all is a great talent that deftly guides the quick lines and dashes of color. It's safe to say Abla's talent has come to fruition in this exhibition, arguably one of his best to date. In one painting, a father, mother and daughter are posing for a picture. The man is dressed in a galabeyya, jacket and turban, marks of a well-to-do merchant of the 1930s and 1940s. The lady is dressed in a long dress; she is modest yet unveiled. In the middle is their child, standing on a chair to be on the same level as the parents. It is all fairly simple, yet what Abla says about emotion is true: You feel the bond between the three; although they are not looking at each other, the love is there, revealed in their eyes. The background of this painting is overwhelmed with huge floral motifs, and at one point, one of the flowers blends with the woman, becoming her hair accessory.
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