The hottest summer since 1955 in Iowa and Illinois is eroding yield prospects for corn and soybean crops in the U.S., the largest grower and exporter. Signs of diminished output appeared this week during a four-day, seven-state sampling of about 2,000 fields in the Midwest organized by the Professional Farmers of America, which will report its findings later today. A Bloomberg survey of 25 tour participants showed all expected the government to cut its corn-harvest forecasts and 21 predicted a reduction for soybeans. (Bloomberg)
World wheat production will be 0.4 percent higher than a July estimate at 677 million metric tons on better production in the European Union, Russia and China, the International Grains Council said yesterday. The EU estimate was increased 0.5 percent to 137.5 million tons. (Bloomberg)
The new head of the IMF on Saturday, Aug 27 called on global policymakers to pursue urgent action, including forcing European banks to bulk up their capital, to prevent a descent into a renewed world recession...."Monetary policy also should remain highly accommodative, as the risk of recession outweighs the risk of inflation," Lagarde said, adding that central banks should stand ready to jump back into unconventional policy actions if needed. (Reuters)
The U.S. won’t slip into recession after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank has more tools to support growth if needed, said Templeton Asset Management’s Mark Mobius....Mobius is positive on commodity stocks and expects higher raw-material prices as inflation accelerates...He is “pretty positive” about Southeast Asian equity markets, he added. “Looking at Southeast Asia, it’s Thailand and Indonesia.” (Bloomberg)
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