Flying For 79 Floors

Twice a week,New York Timescolumnist Thomas L. Friedman drives political and economic policy-makers into full rant on topics as opposite as global free trade (he loves it) and national industrial policy (he loves it, too). Kiss him or kick him, Friedman can turn a phrase. A current Friedmanism notes that “If you jump off the

Boiling Water — But Not For Tea

If ascendant Republicans act on what they say was the clear message sent by voters Nov. 2, the 112th Congress ain’t gonna be a tea party. Oh, something will boil, all right. It may be the fat most politicians claim is stored in all those pork barrels on Capitol Hill. After that, maybe some of


China’s Tight-Money Policy Drags Down Commodities

Canola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform maintained an upward price trend for much of the week before the Chinese government’s decision to keep a tight monetary policy sent world currencies into a frenzy and sparked a massive speculative sell-off of commodity positions. The speculative liquidation essentially sent CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade)

USDA Issues Draft Plan

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a draft proposal to again allow farmers to grow Monsanto Co.’s genetically modified sugar beets. A U.S. district court in California has ruled that the sugar beets cannot be produced until the USDA issues a full environmental impact study, which the department does not expect to complete until


Higher Corn Prices Lead To Fertilizer Price Spike

U. S. fertilizer prices have doubled over the past year, with a quarter of the gains coming in the last three months, signalling that farmers will expand corn planting next spring to capitalize on high prices. Trade sources said increased fertilizer orders by farmers, coupled with corn prices hovering around two-year highs near $6 per

Canola Trend Seen Continuing Upward

Canola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform continued their upward trek during the week ended Oct. 22. The strength displayed by canola was again linked to Canada’s domestic processing industry who have an aggressive crush program in place. Favourable crush margins and good canola product sales on the books have resulted in this


Wheat Prices Seen Rising Further As Fall Seedings Decline

Canola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform strengthened during the week ended Oct. 15, with much of the upward price momentum encouraged by the gains experienced by CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) soybean futures as well as by the aggressive demand from the Canadian canola-processing industry. Fresh speculative demand surfaced during the week,

Soybeans Fighting Canola To Get Markets Back

Soybeans are fighting back. Soybean oil is still the most consumed vegetable oil in North America, but it’s been losing ground to canola, which is regarded as the healthiest vegetable oil because it contains just seven per cent saturated fat. Part of canola’s gains have resulted from the development of high-stability, omega-9 oil. It has


Farmer Hedges Follow Canola Upward

The roller-coaster ICE Futures Canada canola market climbed to some very high levels during the week ended Oct. 8, hitting the elusive $500-per-tonne level for the first time in many months at one point Friday before backing away as harvest pressure and profit-taking came forward. The gains were largely a knee-jerk speculative reaction to some