The FED under pressure to get Obama Re-elected in November 2012

The FED under pressure to get Obama Re-elected in November 2012

Jim Rogers said: 

"Mr Bernanke he has been out of ideas since he went to Washington , what's wrong with you , you kidding , why do people think that he knows anything for God's sake and he has never been right , please go back you should have somebody do a study how wrong he has been for the past seven or eight years so yes he says everything is OK but he also says he is going to stop QE2 I take him at his word cause he said it so many times but what's going to happen is when thing starting going tough again later in the year or next year when they are going to come back with more the same because that's all they know it's the wrong the wrong thing to do but they do not know any better , remember there is an election in 2012 and he knows where is his bread and his butter and Mr Obama knows there is an election in 2012 enormous pressure to get Obama reelected , Hold it ( The economy ) together for November 2012 that's everybody's plan right now , not my plan but their plan - in Yahoo Finance"

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Larry Henson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Memorial Day cookout will cost you 29% more this year thanks to inflation | Mail Online

Memorial Day cookout will cost you 29% more this year thanks to inflation | Mail Online

Who besides Democrats, Obama, and Pelosi do we have to thank for the high prices this Memorial Day?

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Boehner and Obama Tangle

Big Oil's $4B tax break in doubt as Obama, Boehner tangle

President Obama once again calls for the subsidies to end as high gas prices erode Republican opposition.

By Steve Hargreaves, senior writer

CNNMONEY.COM — 04/29/11

President Obama repeated his call Tuesday for an end to $4 billion in oil industry tax breaks as gas prices approach $4 a gallon and after a top lawmaker indicated a possible shift in Republican policy.
In a letter to congressional leaders, the president said the oil industry is profitable enough without the tax incentives and that the money should be spent on alternative energy sources and conservation.
"CEOs of the major oil companies have made it clear that high oil prices provide more than enough profit motive to invest in domestic production without special tax breaks," said Obama. "As we work together to reduce our deficits, we simply can't afford these wasteful subsidies."
This week those profits are going to be front and center. BP is expected to report earnings on Wednesday. Exxon is slated to announce its results on Thursday. Some analysts expect the company's profits to jump 50% from last year. Chevron (Symbol : CVX

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) is scheduled to make its earnings announcement on Friday.
The oil industry and many of its supporters in Congress have long argued that the tax breaks encourage domestic oil production and provide jobs for millions of Americans. Republicans in particular have resisted efforts to eliminate these tax breaks, something many Democrats have been trying to do since at least 2008.
But on Monday night, Speaker of the House John Boehner indicated he might be open to taking some of those breaks off the table.
"I don't think the big oil companies need to have the oil depletion allowances, but for small, independent oil and gas producers, if they didn't have this, there'd be even less exploration in America than there is today," Boehner said on ABC's (Symbol : DIS

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) World News Tonight. "It's certainly something we need to be looking at."
Depletion allowances let oil companies treat the oil in the ground as capital equipment, and they can write off a certain percentage for each barrel that comes out.
On Tuesday the speaker appeared to backtrack from those comments, with an aid telling CNN (Symbol : TWX

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) that "what the President has suggested so far would simply raise taxes and increase the price at the pump."
Nonetheless, Obama took the chance to pounce, saying in his letter that he was "heartened that Speaker Boehner yesterday expressed openness to eliminating these tax subsidies."
This all comes as the price of gasoline surges above $4 a gallon in many states, making it increasingly difficult politically to defend Big Oil.
As gas prices approach their record highs set in 2008 they are threatening to derail the nation's nascent economic recovery.

The tax breaks in question

The Obama administration is targeting nine tax breaks, according to a paper from the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Four account for the lion's share of the money:
Domestic manufacturing tax deduction: This is the largest single tax break, and would save over $1.7 billion a year if eliminated.
The tax deduction, passed in 2004, is designed to keep factories in the United States. Companies that manufacture here can deduct 9% of their income from operations that are attributed to domestic production.
But some question if that incentive is really appropriate for oil companies. "What are they going to do, move the oil field to the North Sea," said one staffer at the Center for American Progress said in an interview earlier this year.
No, but higher costs in the United States may make them move the drill rigs to the North Sea or some other place.
Eliminating the tax breaks "would actually discourage new energy projects and new hiring in one of the nation's most dependable job-creating industries," the American Petroleum Institute said in a statement at the time, noting the industry currently supports over 9 million jobs.
The percentage depletion allowance: This lets oil companies deduct about 15% of the money generated from a well from its taxes. Eliminating it would save about $1 billion a year.
The deduction essentially lets oil companies treat oil in the ground as capital equipment. For any industry, the value of that equipment can be written down each year.
But critics say oil in the ground is not capital equipment, but a national resource that the oil companies are simply using for their own profit.
The foreign tax credit: This provision gives companies a credit for any taxes they pay to other countries. Altering this tax credit would save about $850 million a year.
Foreign governments can collect money from oil companies through royalties -- fees for depleting their national resources -- and income taxes.
A royalty would be deducted as a cost of doing business, and would likely shave about 30% off a company's tax bill. Categorized as income tax, it is 100% deductible.
Foreign governments long ago grew wise to the U.S. tax code. To reduce costs for everyone involved and attract business, they agreed to call some royalties income taxes, allowing oil companies to take the 100% deduction on a bigger slice of their bill.
Intangible drilling costs: This lets the industry write off about $780 million a year for things like wages, fuel, repairs and hauling costs.
All industries get to write off the costs of doing business, but they must take it over the life of an investment. The oil industry gets to take the drilling credit in the first year.

The 9 places where inflation is crushing us

BY Jeff Reeves, 

MarketWatch

Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MarketWatch — 04/28/11

Meat, gas, even diapers are costing regular folks.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Inflation is far from under control and it’s time that Americans demand our government officials do something about it.
The Federal Reserve would have you believe that everything is fine, focusing on core inflation rates and ignoring broader measures of inflation as they affect food and energy. These commodity-driven prices, as our central banking overlords would have you believe, are naturally more volatile and shouldn’t be overstated.
You would think after Fed bureaucrat William Dudley was castigated for talking up the affordability of iPads while ignoring real family expenses, our Federal Reserve officials would have woken up to reality. But after the publicity stunt by Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday, it’s clear that the Fed — and perhaps many Americans as a result — is in denial when it comes to the inflationary trends crippling U.S. households.

1. Beef

In a revised forecast Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said consumers will see higher price tags on ground beef and steak, projecting 6% to 7% increases year over year. That’s up from a previous forecast of just 4.5% to 5.5% inflation for beef prices. Beef prices have surged in the last several months as supplies shrink, exports boom and grain costs soar.

2. Pork

Don’t think you can just switch from cow to pig to avoid this trend — pork could see retail price increases of as much as 7.5% over 2010 levels according to the USDA.

3. Grains

Even going vegetarian is more expensive than it was a year ago. Corn prices have doubled, from $3.49 a bushel in July to well over $7.70 currently. Wheat prices have rolled back a bit in recent weeks, but topped 2008 highs in February to set a new record and remain very high currently.

4. Gasoline

The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped about 12 cents over the last two weeks to $3.88, with the highest average price for gas tallying $4.27 in Chicago. This is with oil at $112 a barrel — if crude prices reach 2008 peak levels of $145, four bucks for gas may seem cheap.

5. Copper

The price of copper at the end of 2008 was just $1.30 per pound. Currently, copper is trading around $4.30 after setting a record of $4.60 in February. Unlike gold and silver, which are largely used in luxury goods or as investments, copper is used in a wide range of household items — from electrical wiring to air conditioners to water pipes.

6. Diapers

Consumer-products company Procter & Gamble (PG

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) said this week that list prices for Pampers are up 7% on average over last year, with even Pampers wipes up 3%. To be clear, that’s not a retail price hike, just a cost increase to stores. Retailers will decide how much of those price increases to pass along to shoppers. Kimberly-Clark (KMB

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), maker of Huggies, said Monday it plans to raise prices for similar reasons — rising costs for the petroleum products and paper pulp that go into the diapers. It will be the third such announcement for Kimberly-Clark since the middle of March.

7. Paper towels and toilet paper

If you don’t have infants, you’re not off the hook. P&G also said that Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels are both listing for 5% more now with retailers and distributors than they were a year ago. KMB’s diaper price update will also be accompanied by a boost for its flagship Kleenex tissues.

8. Shipping surcharges

Freight shipper United Parcel Service (UPS

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) will be hiking its fuel surcharges from 7.5% to 8.5% as of May 2 for ground freight and from 13% to 15% for air freight. That really hurts small businesses. If you are a storekeeper simply trying to keep your shelves stocked, you have no choice but to pay more and endure smaller margins — or hike prices yourself and add to this inflationary mess.

9. Wages

Perhaps the most insidious factor of our current inflationary spiral is the fact that while all these other items are costing more, household purchasing power is shrinking because wages and salaries aren’t keeping up. While the consumer price index rose 2.7% in March to clock the fastest 12-month pace since December 2009, a staggering 18% of personal income is now made up government transfer payments while wages account for just 50.5%. That’s the lowest since the government started keeping records in 1929.

Food prices to rise 2 to 3 percent this year - baltimoresun.com

Food prices to rise 2 to 3 percent this year - baltimoresun.com

Shoppers should brace for higher grocery bills, especially on basics such as milk and ground beef, as food prices are expected to rise this year. Food inflation is expected to accelerate this year to as much as 3 percent after two years of more moderate or declining prices, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some economists are warning of even higher inflation given the volatile food market. That could add more than $20 to the average monthly food bill for a family of four. Some Baltimore-area grocery stores already have begun to raise prices and cut back on sales. Giant Food, the region's largest grocer, hit customers the hardest with a 4.5 percent increase in prices since October, according to a Morgan Stanley survey that included Baltimore-area grocers. Food Lion raised prices by 4.2 percent in that time, while Walmart held the line with a 0.1 percent increase.

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Rising food costs upset Valley shoppers - Business - fresnobee.com

Rising food costs upset Valley shoppers - Business - fresnobee.com

The cost of everything from the cheese on your pizza to the corn in your cornflakes is on the rise, and experts say food prices are expected to keep going up. A combination of bad weather that stunted crops worldwide, growing fuel costs, and rising prices in food ingredients are driving the increases. For months, supermarkets and restaurants have held back on passing the higher costs along to cash-strapped consumers. Now it appears they can't hold back anymore. In January, the average price of a USDA Choice boneless sirloin steak in the western U.S. was $1.84 a pound more than it was a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks prices. A half-gallon of ice cream went up 87 cents, and broccoli rose 36 cents a pound.

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Food prices at 'dangerous' levels: World Bank - World - CBC News

Food prices at 'dangerous' levels: World Bank - World - CBC News

The World Bank said Tuesday food prices have hit "dangerous levels" that could contribute to political instability, push millions of people into poverty and raise the cost of groceries. The bank's president, Robert Zoellick, said in Washington rising prices have hit people hardest in the developing world because they spend as much as half their income on food.

he bank, in a report released Tuesday, said that global food prices have jumped 29 per cent in the past year, and are just three per cent below the all-time peak hit in 2008.
On Feb. 3, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said prices are already there.
Its food price index rose in January by 3.4 per cent from December to 231 points. The rise was the seventh straight monthly increase.
The index measures monthly price changes for a basket of foods including cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar.
High prices sparked rioting in 61 countries in 2007 and 2008. Back then, the FAO index was at 200 points for all of 2008.
Wheat prices have traded at record levels recently as commodity traders worry about the quality and quantity of the global wheat supply, given continuing drought in China, and after devastating floods damaged Australia's crop. Last year, yields were affected by drought in Russia and Ukraine and by flooding in Canada.
Wheat futures for May delivery retreated by 3.8 per cent Tuesday, to $8.70 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. A day earlier, the price touched $9.15 a bushel, its highest since Aug. 22, 2008.

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Obama is not providing any Leadership!

Obama unveils $3.73 trillion budget for 2012 - Yahoo! News

Obama's new budget projects that the deficit for the current year will surge to an all-time high of $1.65 trillion. That reflects a sizable tax-cut agreement reached with Republicans in December. For 2012, the administration sees the imbalance declining to $1.1 trillion, giving the country a record four straight years of $1 trillion-plus deficits.

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The Dollar is no longer King!

IMF discusses plan to replace dollar as reserve currency - Feb. 10, 2011

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The International Monetary Fund issued a report Thursday on a possible replacement for the dollar as the world's reserve currency.

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Egyptians Face Soaring Food Prices by Day, Looters by Night Amid Upheaval - Bloomberg

Egyptians Face Soaring Food Prices by Day, Looters by Night Amid Upheaval - Bloomberg

Shattered glass fills the streets of Cairo as pedestrians are forced to avoid army tanks that guard banks and government buildings vulnerable to looters. Banks are closed, making it difficult for Cairenes to get cash to buy staples. For those that have money, food prices are skyrocketing as consumers flood the few open stores.

Street demonstrations and night-time riots have left the Arab world's biggest city largely paralyzed, as protester fill the city's main square and looters and neighborhood groups armed with clubs take over at night. "We have to protect our homes and children at night from the looters and in the morning we have to go to work," said Saed Ragab, a café owner from Cairo's Bab El Louq area. "The shops are at a standstill. It's very difficult." Protesters are gathering in the city for an eighth day. Today's march is aimed at drawing a million people onto the streets and forcing President Hosni Mubarak from power after 30 years. The military promised not to fire on marchers and said it recognized "the legitimacy of the people's demands."

At the same time, citizens are trying to continue their lives as best they can, faced with inflated prices since the protests started escalating on Jan. 28. Pricier Bread "Since Friday everything started to be expensive," said Om Massad, a door lady handling deliveries in Bab el Louq, who said 5 piester bread is not available anymore and 50 piester bread has jumped in price to 60 piesters. One Egyptian pound is made up of 100 piesters, or about 17 U.S. cents. "Shops are taking advantage of these conditions," she said.

Shelves at many of Cairo's supermarkets are emptying quickly with businesses failing to keep up with demand as panicked shoppers seek to stockpile in the event of further unrest. Carrefour SA has closed all seven of its Egyptian stores after looting at an outlet in a Cairo suburb, a spokesman for the company said today. Tourists are abandoning the country. TUI Travel Plc, Europe's largest tour operator, said about 40 percent of planned departures from Germany to Egypt were changed or annulled yesterday after it let vacationers cancel their bookings or change destinations without paying a penalty.

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Record Food Prices Causing Africa Riots Stoking U.S. - Businessweek

Record Food Prices Causing Africa Riots Stoking U.S. - Businessweek

Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The same record food prices causing riots in Algeria and export bans in India are allowing President Barack Obama to combine the biggest-ever U.S. farm exports with the tamest inflation since the 1960s. Global food costs jumped 25 percent last year to an all- time high in December, according to the United Nations. Countries probably spent at least $1 trillion on imports, with the poorest paying as much as 20 percent more than in 2009, the UN says. 

In the U.S., the largest exporter, retail food rose 1.5 percent last year and will gain as little as 2 percent in 2011, the Department of Agriculture estimates. Governments from Beijing to Belgrade are boosting imports, limiting sales or releasing stockpiles to curb food inflation. Higher prices will push U.S. agricultural exports up 16 percent to a record $126.5 billion this year, according to a USDA forecast. 

Consumers hit with higher food prices

Consumers will have to dust off creative cost-containing measures this year as food prices escalate after two years of very low inflation. The cost of food is expected to go up 2 percent to 3 percent, according to government economists. Some items, such as meats and dairy products, could see much steeper percentage increases — probably in double digits compared with late 2009.

To consumers, many of whom are still struggling financially, the increase could seem unbearable. Some foods have suddenly become more expensive, even as others have stayed the same or gotten a little cheaper.
A food basket survey by The Tennessean earlier this month found a 12.5 percent spike in prices for a typical grocery basket filled with staples compared with November 2009, when prices were at low ebb after world stock market turmoil.

Several factors are at work boosting today's food prices.
First, as the world's economy has started to recover, the demand for grains such as corn, wheat and soybeans has risen. Farmers are now exporting more grain internationally, while at the same time, demand in the United States has climbed, too.

Second, because there's more demand for grain, farmers who raise livestock — both for meat and dairy — are being forced to pay more to feed their herds.

And third, fuel prices are up, making it more expensive to deliver products.

A friend thought you might be interested in this article

If food costs more, will you buy any less? Surprisingly enough, that simple question may be the key to whether 2011 sees a strong rebound in economic growth, or is, instead, a bust.
The issue is that raw food prices are indeed way up. Corn is at a two and a half year high. And some think it could rise by another 30% this year. Sugar was up 77% in the last six months of 2010. Beef prices are up as well. On the face of it, climbing food prices seem like a bad thing. It can cause inflation and cause people to buy less of everything else. Rising food prices have already lead to violent riots in Tunisia and Algeria. But a number of economists, including Goldman Sachs' Andrew Tilton and IHS Global Insight's Nariman Behravesh, say this time around, food prices won't necessarily be a recovery killer. Here's why:First of all, food prices might not be as much of a driver of economic growth as many people think. In a recent research paper World Food Prices and Monetary Policy published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Luis Catao, of the International Monetary Fund, and Rutgers University economist Roberto Chang argue that rising food prices do not always lead to slower growth. In a number of scenarios, economic growth will actually increase after a rise in food prices.
How could that be? The real determinate of whether an economy will grow or shrink has more to do with policy makers response to rising food prices. A gradual increase interest rates by a central bankers will eliminate any adverse effects of climbing food prices, and may actually boost growth.
The problem, for that scenario, is that around the world most policy makers have generally followed a policy of keeping rates as low as possible. Low rates tend to cause your local currency to fall, and that can boost exports. But that might soon be changing. Rising inflation in India and elsewhere may soon force a number of countries to raise interest rates. Indeed, China has already begun raising its lending rates. Of course, in the US, Bernanke & Co. seem to have no plans to raise rates anytime soon.


Read more: http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2011/01/20/will-rising-food-prices-kill-the-recovery/#ixzz1BhgnUBcy

Record Food Prices Causing Africa Riots Stoking U.S. - Businessweek

Record Food Prices Causing Africa Riots Stoking U.S. - Businessweek: "Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The same record food prices causing riots in Algeria and export bans in India are allowing President Barack Obama to combine the biggest-ever U.S. farm exports with the tamest inflation since the 1960s.

Global food costs jumped 25 percent last year to an all- time high in December, according to the United Nations. Countries probably spent at least $1 trillion on imports, with the poorest paying as much as 20 percent more than in 2009, the UN says. In the U.S., the largest exporter, retail food rose 1.5 percent last year and will gain as little as 2 percent in 2011, the Department of Agriculture estimates.

Governments from Beijing to Belgrade are boosting imports, limiting sales or releasing stockpiles to curb food inflation. Higher prices will push U.S. agricultural exports up 16 percent to a record $126.5 billion this year, according to a USDA forecast. While U.S. consumers haven’t been squeezed so far, grocers from Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. to SuperValu Inc. have said they plan increases. Commodities will keep rising, according to a Bloomberg survey of more than 100 analysts and traders.

“We are absolutely spoiled,” said Jason Britt, president of Central States Commodities Inc., a research and analysis company in Kansas City, Missouri. “We have the luxury that we spend a small percentage on food. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see larger bites of our incomes used.”

Raw-Material Costs

About 19 cents of every dollar spent on food covers raw- material costs in the U.S., so retailers can limit increases by cutting spending on labor or marketing, said Ephraim Leibtag, a food economist at the USDA in Washington. The consumer price index rose 4.2 percent since the end of 2007, the smallest three-year increase since 1965, Labor Department data show.

Producer spending for processed foods rose 4.9 percent in the U.S. last year, while consumer prices increased 1.5 percent, Labor Department data show. A record 43.2 million Americans received food stamps in October. The jobless rate is running at 9.4 percent, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Jan. 7 the labor market may take five years to recover.

Corn advanced 52 percent last year in Chicago, wheat jumped 47 percent and soybeans gained 34 percent. Cattle futures touched a record on Jan. 13 in Chicago, a day after coffee reached a 13-year high in New York. Rice futures jumped as much as 3.6 percent in Chicago today.

Wheat may rise as much as another 16 percent this year, with sugar, corn, soybeans, coffee and cocoa also gaining, according to the Bloomberg survey of analysts, traders and investors in December.

Farm Income

The farm boom is aiding Obama’s goal of doubling U.S. exports in five years, with this year’s shipments accounting for 4 percent of the $3.14 trillion needed to meet the target.

U.S. farm income last year probably exceeded the 2004 record of $87.3 billion, and cropland values gained as much as 10 percent, according to Neil Harl, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University and former adviser to the governments of Ukraine and the Czech Republic.

Moline, Illinois-based Deere & Co., the world’s largest farm-equipment maker, will report record profit of $5.47 a share this year, according to the mean of 11 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings for Plymouth, Minnesota-based Mosaic Co., North America’s second-largest fertilizer producer, will more than double to $4.57 a share in the year ending in May, the mean of seven estimates shows.

Cover Costs

Northfield, Illinois-based Kraft Foods Inc., the world’s second-biggest food company, raised prices of Maxwell House and Yuban coffee in the U.S. three times last year. General Mills Inc., the Minneapolis-based maker of Cheerios and Lucky Charms, said in November it would increase some cereal prices.

Products for supermarkets rose 1.8 percent in the three months ended Sept. 22, while consumer prices gained 1.6 percent, Winn-Dixie Chief Executive Officer Peter Lynch said on a Nov. 2 conference call. Some will probably keep increasing to cover costs, and the Jacksonville, Florida-based company has a “relatively good” chance of passing that to consumers, he said.

Starbucks Corp., the world’s largest coffee-shop operator, said in September it would raise some prices after the jump in coffee and milk costs. Domino’s Pizza Inc., the biggest U.S. pizza-delivery chain, said in October it would charge customers more after a 29 percent jump in cheese.

Steaks, ‘Baconator’

Morton’s Restaurant Group Inc., a Chicago-based steakhouse chain, is considering its third increase in the past year, Chief Financial Officer Ronald DiNella said at a conference in Dana Point, California, on Jan. 12. Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc., the maker of the 1,360-calorie Baconator Triple burger, said in November it was raising prices in some stores.

SuperValu, the owner of Save-A-Lot and Cub Foods stores, expects most of its rises to be in the “lower single-digit range,” with “double-digit increases” for some commodity items, Chief Executive Officer Craig Herkert said on a conference call Jan. 11.

Some increases may not stick as companies compete for market share. “Low price is the focus in food,” said Bill Simon, president and chief executive of U.S. stores at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Fed Policy has consequences

Fed Policy goes Global


The Fed’s planned expansion of liquidity, while perhaps aimed at U.S. fi nancial markets, probably has placed upward pressure on foreign asset prices as well. Money flows transcend national boundaries easily in search of returns, and investors have continued to flock to the stock, bond and real estate markets of emerging economies. For example, investor flows into emerging-market equity funds reached an all-time high of $4.2
billion in September, while many country stock indexes from Turkey to Mexico also have reached
record levels.

 While this can be a positive development for national economies, it potentially can lead to asset bubbles or other distortions if prices rise too quickly or in too great a magnitude.


Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Pump prices eyed as reason Americans driving less - Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011 | 3:24 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

Pump prices eyed as reason Americans driving less - Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011 | 3:24 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun: "Americans are driving less, with the holidays behind them and gasoline at two-year highs.

Gas costs around $3.10 a gallon, the highest price since mid-October 2008. Americans usually drive less in the winter, and recent bad weather across the country was further incentive to stay home. And money needs to go towards paying off holiday credit card bills.

Analysts are closely watching economic news and consumer sentiment to determine how much high gas prices are influencing consumer habits. That could affect the pace of the economy in the months ahead.

Drivers are 'pulling back on gas right now but you can't tell whether it's weather-related,' said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. 'Unless you're in Boca Raton, Fla., or San Diego, you're seeing pretty sleepy midwinter demand.'

According to research firm MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, gasoline demand for the week ended Jan. 7 was 8.39 million barrels a day, a level not seen since Sept. 30, 2005. Demand fell 2.9 percent from a year ago.

Consumer prices rose last month by the largest amount since June 2009. Gasoline prices accounted for about 80 percent of the increase, the Labor Department said Friday. The gasoline index jumped 8.5 percent in December. Gas prices rose from about $2.86 a gallon on Dec. 1 to $.3.07 at year's end.

The price continues to rise, although at a slower pace. The national average for unleaded regular gasoline was $3.095 a gallon Friday, according to Wright Express, AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. That's up nearly 34 cents from a year ago.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Oil price over $100 'not unrealistic': Iran

Oil price over $100 'not unrealistic': Iran: "Oil prices crossing the 100 dollars a barrel mark is possible but would not merit an emergency meeting of OPEC, Iran's Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi who currently heads the cartel said on Sunday.

'The price of 100 dollars is not unrealistic in this situation,' Mirkazemi told reporters.

'Even if the oil price crosses 100 dollars a barrel there is no need for an emergency OPEC meeting. Some OPEC members believe there is no need for an emergency meeting even if oil reaches 110 or 120 dollars a barrel.'

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, a barrel of light sweet crude for delivery in February closed at 91.54 dollars on Friday.

The rise in global oil prices has been attributed to a harsh winter hitting Europe and parts of North America, as well as growth in China and other developing nations.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has said speculation was also fuelling the price rise.

At its last meeting at Quito, the 12-nation cartel decided to leave production quotas unchanged, stressing the looming risks to the fragile global economic recovery.

Some OPEC members -- Iran, Venezuela and Libya -- were urging higher prices at Quito to above 100 dollars a barrel to offset what they said were rising production costs.

But OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia differed, saying between 70 and 80 dollars a barrel was a 'fair price.'

Iran took over the cartel's rotating presidency from January 1, the first time in 36 years that Tehran holds the leadership of the cartel which accounts for 40 percent of world output.

Mirkazemi also announced that Iran has discovered a new onshore gas field with reserves valued at 50 billion dollars east of Assaluyeh on the Gulf.

'It has 260 billion cubic metres (9.18 trillion cubic feet) of gas, of which 210 (billion) can be exploited, which is about 24 million cubic metres per day,' the minister said.

Iran is OPEC's second largest crude exporter and holds the world's second largest gas reserves.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

The Effect Of Rising Food Prices On Political Stability : NPR

The Effect Of Rising Food Prices On Political Stability : NPR: "While the Tunisian riots may be against political repression, they were sparked by an individual protest against the lack of economic opportunity. In neighboring Algeria, rioting broke out recently when food prices went up. For a look at rising food prices and how they affect political stability in poor countries, host Robert Siegel speaks to Gary Blumenthal, president and chief executive officer of agricultural consulting firm World Perspectives.



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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

G20 to tackle food prices « Follow The Money

G20 to tackle food prices « Follow The Money: "The world’s biggest economies are working to find ways to bring down soaring food prices, a G20 official said on Friday, as top exporter Thailand vowed to keep rice supply steady and avert a repeat of the 2008 food crisis.

Global food prices hit a record high last month, outstripping the levels that sparked riots in several countries in 2008, and key grains could rise further, the United Nations’ food agency said this week.

Policymakers are concerned that, if unchecked, rising food prices could stoke inflation, protectionism and unrest.

High food prices and unemployment were blamed for a second day of rioting in Algeria Friday with police deployed around mosques and authorities suspending football matches.

Rhee Chang-yong, who represents South Korea at the G20, said working-group talks were under way aimed at improving global cooperation to resolve food security problems.

“France is emphasizing food security. As a former host country of G20, we would like to deal with the price volatility problem thoroughly,” Rhee said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked the World Bank to conduct urgent research on the impact of food prices, a source familiar with the matter said.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said this week that one of France’s priorities at the G20, where it holds the rotating presidency, was to find a collective response to “excessive volatility” in prices of food and energy.

One concern is that high food prices could hit consumer spending in fast-growing emerging countries that are leading the revival of the global economy.

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Global food chain stretched to the limit - Business - Consumer news - Food Inc. - msnbc.com

Global food chain stretched to the limit - Business - Consumer news - Food Inc. - msnbc.com: "Strained by rising demand and battered by bad weather, the global food supply chain is stretched to the limit, sending prices soaring and sparking concerns about a repeat of food riots last seen three years ago.

Signs of the strain can be found from Australia to Argentina, Canada to Russia.

'We are entering a danger territory,' Abdolreza Abbassian, chief economist at the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said last week.

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