The era of falling food prices has come to an end with the world population set to add another 2 billion people, according to Cargill Inc., the U.S. farm commodities trader.
The United Nations
Solve your money worries and apply for a faxless payday loan today!
A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran’s alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons.
The U.N. nuclear agency delegation includes two senior weapons experts _ Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa _ suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations.
The delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency is led by Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts, who is in charge of the Iran nuclear file. Also on the team is Rafael Grossi, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano’s right-hand man.
In unusually blunt comments ahead of his arrival in Tehran, Nackaerts urged Iran to work with his mission on probing the allegations about Iran’s alleged attempts to develop nuclear weapons, reflecting the importance the IAEA is attaching to the issue.
Tehran has refused to discuss the alleged weapons experiments for three years, saying they are based on “fabricated documents” provided by a “few arrogant countries” _ a phrase authorities in Iran often use to refer to the United States and its allies.
Ahead of his departure, Nackaerts told reporters at Vienna airport he hopes Iran “will engage with us on all concerns.”
“So we’re looking forward to the start of a dialogue,” he said: “A dialogue that is overdue since very long.”
In a sign of the difficulties the team faces and the tensions that surround Iran’s disputed nuclear program, a dozen Iranian hard-liners carrying photos of slain nuclear expert Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan were waiting at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport early Sunday to challenge the team upon arrival.
That prompted security officials to whisk the IAEA team away from the tarmac to avoid any confrontation with the hard-liners.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency confirmed the team’s arrival and said the IAEA experts are likely to visit the underground Fordo uranium enrichment site near the holy city of Qom, 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of the capital, Tehran.
During their three-day visit, the IAEA team will be looking for permission to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of working on a weapons program, inspect documents related to such suspected work and secure commitments from Iranian authorities to allow future visits to sites linked to such allegations. But even a decision to enter a discussion over the allegations would be a major departure from Iran’s frequent simple refusal to talk about them.
The United States and its allies want Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium, which they worry could eventually lead to weapons-grade material and the production of nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes, such as generating electricity and producing medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.
Iran has accused the IAEA in the past of security leaks that expose its scientists and their families to the threat of assassination by the U.S. and Israel.
Iranian state media say Roshan, a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, was interviewed by IAEA inspectors before being killed in a brazen bomb attack in Tehran earlier this month.
Iranian media have urged the government to be vigil, saying some IAEA inspectors are “spies,” reflecting the deep suspicion many in Iran have for the U.N. experts sent to inspect Iran’s nuclear sites.
If you are interested in getting free instant credit score, here is a reliable site that you can go to for the same.
Germany floated the idea of combining Europe
Iran has begun uranium enrichment at a new underground site well protected from possible airstrikes, a leading hardline newspaper reported Sunday in another show of defiance against Western pressure to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.
Another newspaper quoted a senior commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard force as saying Tehran’s leadership has decided to order the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic oil route, if the country’s petroleum exports are blocked. Revolutionary Guard ground forces also staged war games in eastern Iran in an apparent display of resolve against U.S. forces just over the border in Afghanistan.
“The supreme authorities … have insisted that if enemies block the export of our oil, we won’t allow a drop of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This is the strategy of the Islamic Republic in countering such threats,” Revolutionary Guard deputy commander Ali Ashraf Nouri was quoted as saying by the Khorasan daily.
Iranian politicians have issued similar threats in the past, but this is the strongest statement yet by a top commander in the security establishment.
The latest statements are certain to fuel tensions with the U.S. and its allies, which are trying to turn up pressure on Iran with new sanctions to punish it over its disputed nuclear program. The West suspects Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons, but Iran denies this.
The United Nations has already sanctioned Iran for refusing to stop uranium enrichment _ which can produce both nuclear fuel and fissile warhead material. Tehran says its nuclear program is only for energy and medical research, and refuses to halt uranium enrichment.
Kayhan daily, which is close to Iran’s ruling clerics, said Tehran has begun injecting uranium gas into sophisticated centrifuges at the Fordo facility near the holy city of Qom.
“Kayhan received reports yesterday that show Iran has begun uranium enrichment at the Fordo facility amid heightened foreign enemy threats,” the paper said in a front-page report. Kayhan’s manager is a representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word on all important matters of state.
Iran’s nuclear chief, Fereidoun Abbasi, said late Saturday that his country will “soon” begin enrichment at Fordo. It was impossible to immediately reconcile the two reports.
Iran has a major uranium enrichment facility in Natanz in central Iran, where nearly 8,000 centrifuges are operating. Tehran began enrichment at Natanz in April 2006.
The Fordo centrifuges, however, are reportedly more efficient. And the site better shielded from aerial attack.
Nouri said Iran’s leadership has made a strategic decision to close the Strait of Hormuz, should the country’s exports be blocked. One-sixth of the world’s oil flows to market through the Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf unsecured personal loans.
President Barack Obama approved new sanctions against Iran a week ago, targeting the central bank and its ability to sell petroleum abroad. The U.S. has delayed implementing the sanctions for at least six months, worried about sending the price of oil higher at a time when the global economy is already struggling. But the new sanctions nevertheless prompted a series of threats from Iranian officials about closing the Strait of Hormuz.
The newspaper paraphrased Nouri as saying that a 10-day naval war game which ended Tuesday was preparation for such a closure. The Guard, which is Iran’s most powerful military force and which has its own naval arm, has planned more sea maneuvers for February.
“The exalted leader (Khamenei) determined a new strategy for the armed forces, by which any threat from enemies will be responded to with threats,” Nouri said.
The U.S. and Israel have said that all options remain open, including military action, should Iran continue with its enrichment program.
Tehran says it needs the program to produce fuel for future nuclear reactors and medical radioisotopes needed for cancer patients.
The country has been enriching uranium to less than 5 percent for years, but it began to further enrich part of its uranium stockpile to nearly 20 percent as of February 2010, saying it needs the higher grade material to produce fuel for a Tehran reactor that makes medical radioisotopes needed for cancer patients. Weapons-grade uranium is usually about 90 percent enriched.
Iran says the higher enrichment activities _ to nearly 20 percent _ will be carried out at Fordo. These operations are of particular concern to the West because uranium at 20 percent enrichment can be converted into fissile material for a nuclear warhead much more quickly than that at 3.5 percent.
Built next to a military complex, Fordo was long kept secret and was only acknowledged by Iran after it was identified by Western intelligence agencies in September 2009.
Buried under 300 feet (90 meters) of rock, the facility is a hardened tunnel and is protected by air defense missile batteries and the Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s most powerful military force. The site is located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Qom, the religious nerve center of Iran’s ruling system.
“The Fordo facility, like Natanz, has been designed and built underground. The enemy doesn’t have the ability to damage it,” the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted nuclear chief Abbasi as saying Sunday.
U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday, kicking off the new year on a high note, as investors welcomed upbeat reports on economic activity around the world.
The Dow Jones industrial average () jumped 180 points, or 1.5%, to end at 12,397. The S&P 500 () gained 19 points, or 1.5%, to 1,277. The Nasdaq () added 43 points, or 1.7%, to 2,649.
The gains came after reports on manufacturing growth in China and India came in better than expected over the weekend. On Tuesday, a report showed U.S. manufacturing activity grew at a faster rate in December.
U.S. markets were closed Monday for the New Year holiday.
"There were no major negative headlines out of Europe, and we had some data suggesting the global economy is expanding," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG.
Investors scooped up shares of companies that would benefit from a strengthening global economy.
Bank stocks, which were among the worst performing sectors last year, led the Dow higher. Bank of America (, Fortune 500), Citigroup (, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan (, Fortune 500) all posted strong gains.
Industrial names Caterpillar (, Fortune 500) and Alcoa (, Fortune 500) were also higher, as were multinationals such as GE (, Fortune 500), Microsoft (, Fortune 500) and 3M (, Fortune 500).
But traders say the market is vulnerable to concerns about the debt crisis in Europe, which has been the main driver of stock prices for several months.
Stocks in 2012: Choppy but higher
"At least for today, there’s no disaster in Europe," said Art Hogan, a managing director at Lazard Capital Markets. "The market remains focused on what’s going on in the eurozone."
Meanwhile, oil prices surged more than 4% on continued anxiety over Iran’s growing threat to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. stocks finished little changed Friday, bringing to an end a year in which the S&P dropped just 0.04 point — the smallest annual change in history. The Dow rose 5.5% for the year, while the Nasdaq lost 1.8%.
Economy: The Institute of Supply Management’s survey of manufacturing purchasing managers rose to 53.9 from 52.7. That’s a bit better than the 53.4 forecast of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Any reading above 50 signals expansion in the sector.
The Commerce Department said construction spending jumped 1 quick guaranteed personal loans.2% in November, after a revised 0.2% decline in October. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expect construction spending to have risen by 0.5%.
Over the weekend, the Chinese government released its official reading on manufacturing activity, showing the sector expanded slightly in December, after contracting the month before. And on Monday, a report compiled by HSBC and Markit showed India’s manufacturing activity picked up significantly during the month.
The manufacturing data "provides further evidence that global industrial production is likely to be stabilizing in the months to come," analysts at Barclays Capital wrote in a note to clients.
The Federal Reserve plans to give even more detailed forecasts about where it expects its key interest rate to be years from now, according to minutes of the Fed’s December meeting released Tuesday.
Companies: Chesapeake Energy (, Fortune 500) shares rose after the Oklahoma City-based energy company announced it completed a venture with an affiliate of French oil company Total () that gives the French firm a 25% stake in more than 600,000 acres in eastern Ohio, an area rich in shale oil.
20 Stocks For January 2012
Mead Johnson Nutrition () shares gained after two U.S. government agencies said they have completed their investigation of Enfamil and found the baby formula safe to use. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had stepped in after a newborn baby died of a rare bacterial infection that they suspected could be linked to the powder-based infant formula.
World markets: European stocks also rose. Britain’s FTSE 100 () added 2%, the DAX () in Germany added 1.5% and France’s CAC 40 () gained 0.4%.
The Hang Seng () in Hong Kong added 2.4%. Markets in Shanghai () and Tokyo () were both closed for an extended New Year holiday.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Oil for February delivery added $4.20, or 4.2%, to $103.03 a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery rose $33.70 to end at $1,600.50 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.96% from 1.87% late Friday.
Nigeria, Africa
Gas prices unexpectedly rose more than 30 percent for the new year in Myanmar and sparked fears of other goods costing more as well.
Motorists learned of the increase at the pump Sunday when prices increased from 2,500 kyat (3.15 dollars) to 3,350 kyat (4.2 dollars) per Imperial gallon (4.5 liters).
The government made no announcement. But with the fuel price hike, and a new 40 percent electricity cost increase announced late last year, people are concerned about inflation of consumer goods, too.
Myanmar’s energy production is not enough to meet domestic demand, and it imports petrol and other fuels. The government subsidizes gas prices and rations it to two Imperial gallons (9 liters) a day.
An unannounced price hike in 2007 sparked anti-government protests that led to the “saffron rebellion.” The military government then in power crushed it, leaving at least 15 dead and thousands arrested.
The nominally civilian government that took power early last year has made political changes that have improved its relationship with citizens.
(This version CORRECTS Corrects conversion of Imperial gallon to liter, from 4.2 to 4.5. This story is part of AP’s general news and financial services.)
Asian policy makers eager to sustain growth in 2012 may put their economies at risk with interest- rate cuts or fiscal stimulus that some can ill-afford.
The likelihood of
The holiday shopping season turned out to be two seasons: the Black Friday binge and a last-minute surge.
Together, they added up to decent sales gains for retailers. And the doldrums in between showed how shoppers have learned to wait for the discounts they know will come.
“The days that the American consumer gets excited about 25 percent off are over,” said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America’s Research Group. “Shoppers are keeping their eye on the ball for the big sales events.”
In November, spending rose 4.1 percent. And from Dec. 1 to Dec. 24, it rose 4.7 percent compared with the same period last year, according to research firm ShopperTrak. A 4 percent increase is considered a healthy season.
The higher sales are good news for the economy, because they show shoppers were willing to fund a holiday splurge despite high unemployment and other lingering economic woes. Consumer spending, including major items such as health care, accounts for 70 percent of the economy.
Still, plenty of people are pinched for cash in the slow economic recovery, and they were seeking the best deals, which could squeeze stores’ profits for the fourth quarter, says Hana Ben-Shabat, a partner in the retail practice of A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm.
Stores have trained even shoppers who are primed to spend to look for a discount.
Heading into the season, stores were nervous that shoppers would be tight-fisted. Many officially opened the season with discounts on TVs and toys that started as early as Thanksgiving Day. Consumers came out in droves, resulting in record spending.
Then the frenzy tapered off. A mild winter and the fact that Christmas fell on a Sunday encouraged people to wait until the last minute and accentuated the peaks and valleys of spending.
Stores started to push more discounts to get shoppers to spend in the finale. In fact, retailers’ promotional e-mails from Sunday, Dec. 18, to Thursday, Dec. 22, spiked 34 percent, compared with the same period a year ago, according to Responsys, which tracks e-mail activity from more than 100 merchants.
According to Beemer’s consumer surveys, 60 percent of shoppers polled were looking for discounts of more than 50 percent to get them to buy. That’s up from last year’s 51 percent of shoppers polled.
Tracey Spears of Locust Grove, Ga., who was shopping Wednesday at Atlanta’s Lenox Square Mall, said she got 75 percent of her holiday shopping done on Black Friday or the day after Thanksgiving. She took advantage of deals, including a Keurig coffee pot from Target and clothes from Hollister on sale.
“I had more money because I got a better bonus this year, but sales are important. You always want to buy stuff cheaper,” she said.
Spears and others helped to create pronounced waves in spending.
“The downs and ups were much more accentuated,” said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. “It just shows how cautious the consumer is. Consumers are bargain hunters more today than ever before.”
In the week before Christmas, last-minute shoppers gave retailers a 4.5 percent increase in revenue over the same week last year at stores open at least a year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. The index estimates sales at 24 major chain stores including Macy’s Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp.
Revenue at stores open at least a year is an important measure of a retailer’s performance because it excludes stores that open or close during the year.
Total retail revenue for the week that ended Saturday reached $44 billion, 14.8 percent higher than a year earlier, ShopperTrak estimates.
For the week that ended Nov. 26, which included the traditional start of holiday shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, stores had the biggest sales surge from the week before since 1993, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index.
The post-Black Friday lull was deeper than usual. The two weeks after Thanksgiving weekend showed the biggest percentage sales decline since 2000.
Then, during the final two weeks before Christmas, sales surged again, by the highest rate since 2005, Niemira said.
The season “was good but uneven,” he said.
Stores are expected to benefit when shoppers come back to spend gift cards, because people often spend more than the cards’ value. In addition, gift card sales are recorded only when shoppers redeem them.
People have more money on their cards to spend. According to an ICSC-Goldman Sachs survey of shoppers conducted Sunday, 18 percent of holiday spending went toward gift cards, up from 14.6 percent last year.
A total sales figure for the whole season won’t be available until after Dec. 31. And a fuller holiday spending picture will come Jan. 5, when stores including Target Corp. and Macy’s release December sales figures. Government retail sales data will be released in mid-January.
ICSC said it expects holiday sales for November and December to rise in line with its forecast of 3.5 percent. The National Retail Federation expects total retail sales for November and December combined to increase by 3.8 percent, up from its earlier forecast of 2.8 percent issued back in October. That’s still below the 5.2 percent holiday sales increase in 2010 from the previous year.
As proof that consumers are timing their spending to seek the best bargains, Black Friday was the biggest sales day, as expected, generating sales of $11.4 billion, up 6.6 percent from a year ago, according to ShopperTrak.
But the day after Christmas ranked fourth, behind Black Friday, Friday, Dec. 23, and Saturday, Dec. 17, according to final figures from ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin. Christmas Eve was strong too.
ShopperTrak measures foot traffic in 25,000 stores in the U.S. and blends those figures with economic data and proprietary sales figures from merchants. The data exclude sales from auto dealers, gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores.
“Shoppers are willing to spend when they know the biggest discounts are available,” Martin said.
Brooks Brothers, the upscale men’s and women’s clothier that doesn’t discount before Christmas, learned that this year. The Monday after Christmas, when the company offered discounts up to 40 percent, was a record spending day at its stores and its website.
“The first three weeks leading up to holiday were soft,” Lou Amendola, chief merchandising officer, wrote in an email. “But customers really partook in the after-Christmas sales.”
+%3Cp%3E+Consumer+prices+were+flat+in+November+as+Americans+paid+less+for+cars+and+gasoline%2C+a+further+sign+of+a+cooldown+in+inflation+that+could+give+the+Federal+Reserve+more+room+to+help+a+still+weak+economy.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+Labor+Department+said+on+Friday+the+Consumer+Price+Index+was+unchanged+last+month.+Economists+had+expected+an+increase+of+0.1+percent.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EPrices+spiked+earlier+in+the+year%2C+but+the+report+showed+the+trend+has+shifted.+Over+the+past+12+months%2C+prices+have+risen+3.4+percent.+That+marked+a+second+monthly+decline+from+a+three-year+high+in+September.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+report+%22leaves+the+Fed+ample+cover+for+any+additional+monetary+policy+accommodation+they+may+see+warranted+in+the+New+Year%2C%22+said+Ian+Lyngen%2C+a+bond+strategist+at+CRT+Capital+Group+in+Stamford%2C+Connecticut.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EStill%2C+some+of+the+data+could+give+pause+to+policymakers+at+the+central+bank.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EOutside+food+and+energy%2C+prices+climbed+a+faster-than-expected+0.2+percent.+These+so-called+core+prices+rose+2.2+percent+in+the+12+months+through+November%2C+up+from+2.1+percent+in+October.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%22Core+inflation+…+is+a+bit+more+persistent+than+what+some+people+had+expected%2C%22+said+Jeremy+Lawson%2C+an+economist+at+BNP+Paribas+in+New+York.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EEconomists+polled+by+Reuters+this+week+saw+inflation+slowing+to+2.6+percent+during+the+first+quarter+of+next+year%2C+which+could+help+convince+the+Fed+to+do+more+to+bring+down+the+country%27s+8.6+percent+unemployment+rate.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EPrices+for+U.S.+government+debt+rose+slightly+on+Friday+as+investors+saw+the+data+opening+the+door+a+bit+wider+to+Fed+stimulus.+U.S.+stocks+rose+and+the+dollar+fell+against+the+euro+as+investors+remained+on+edge+over+the+euro+zone%27s+debt+crisis.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+U.S.+recovery+has+picked+up+momentum+over+the+past+few+months%2C+but+the+Fed+on+Tuesday+warned+about+turmoil+in+financial+markets+abroad+and+it+kept+the+option+of+further+monetary+action+on+the+table+%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fcash-advance-nofax.com%22%3Ecash+advance+to+savings+account%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%21–+.+–%3E.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EFED+EASE+STILL+IN+PLAY%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EIn+an+appearance+before+Congress+on+Friday%2C+New+York+Federal+Reserve+Bank+President+William+Dudley+warned+that+a+worsening+of+Europe%27s+sovereign+debt+crisis+could+hit+U.S.+banks%2C+potentially+tightening+credit+for+households+and+businesses.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%22Europe%27s+problems+are+a+serious+risk+for+the+U.S.+economic+outlook%2C%22+he+said.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EIn+recent+months%2C+cooling+gasoline+prices+have+left+more+money+for+consumers+to+spend+on+other+things%2C+helping+the+economy+gain+some+steam.+In+November+alone%2C+gasoline+prices+fell+2.4+percent.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+effects+of+Japan%27s+earthquake+disaster+in+March%2C+which+disrupted+global+supply+chains+and+pushed+auto+prices+higher+earlier+in+the+year%2C+are+also+subsiding.+Prices+for+new+vehicles+fell+0.3+percent+in+November.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EPrices+for+food+rose+0.1+percent.+Within+the+core+index%2C+prices+for+apparel+jumped+0.6+percent+%2C+but+the+increase+in+the+department%27s+main+gauge+of+homeownership+costs+cooled+to+0.1+percent+from+0.2+percent+in+October.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EMany+economists+have+said+the+Fed+might+try+to+give+the+economy+a+bit+of+help+at+a+meeting+on+January+24-25+by+laying+out+forecasts+for+interest+rates+that+could+underscore+its+willingness+to+keep+borrowing+costs+ultra-low+for+a+prolonged+period.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+U.S.+central+bank+has+held+overnight+interest+rates+near+zero+since+December+2008+and+has+bought+%242.3+trillion+in+government+and+mortgage-related+bonds+in+a+further+attempt+to+stimulate+a+robust+recovery.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EFed+watchers+also+think+the+U.S.+central+bank+could+step+up+bond+buying+later+in+2012.+A+Reuters+poll+on+Tuesday+found+most+Wall+Street+economists+think+the+central+bank+will+undertake+a+new+program+of+buying+mortgage-backed+securities.%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fassets%2Fprint%3Faid%3DUSTRE7BE12S20111216%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ERead+more%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+