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Archive for February 14, 2011

The supply of corn keeps getting smaller

February 14, 2011 Comments off

675 million bushels of corn may seem like a lot, but that is only an 18 day supply for the US grain market, and that is the reason corn prices pushed above $7 Wednesday on the CME. March corn did not close above that level, but settled at $6.98 per bushel following USDA’s February Supply and Demand report that indicated the ethanol industry was refining corn faster than previously thought.

Corn, beans and wheat prices have all been rising, but so has the price for ethanol. A year ago, ethanol was in the $1.70 per gallon range, but Wednesday closed at $2.457 per gallon, the highest it has been since the early summer price spike in 2008 when it exceeded $2.80 per gallon.

The result of the ethanol industry’s demand for corn tightens down the supply, says University of Missouri marketing specialist Melvin Brees. In his Crop Report Commentary Brees says USDA economists raised corn use by 70 million bushels and 50 million of that was added to Read more…

Gaddafi tells Palestinians: revolt against Israel

February 14, 2011 Comments off

Ali Shuaib and Salah Sarrar

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Palestinian refugees should capitalize on the wave of popular revolts in the Middle East by massing peacefully on the borders of Israel until it gives in to their demands, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Sunday.

Gaddafi is respected in many parts of the Arab world for his uncompromising criticism of Israel and Arab leaders who have dealings with the Jewish state, though some people in the region dismiss his initiatives as unrealistic.

He was giving his first major speech since a popular uprising in neighboring Egypt forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign, an event which electrified the Arab world and prompted speculation that other Arab governments could also be toppled.

“Fleets of boats should take Palestinians … and wait by the Palestinian shores until the problem is resolved,” Gaddafi was shown saying on state television. “This is a time of popular revolutions.”

“We need to create a Read more…

Chile: fifth earthquake in three days

February 14, 2011 Comments off
CHILE-EARTHQUAKE

Shaky ground: A local resident hurries to abandon the waterfront after an earthquake in Constitucion, south from Santiago, on February 11, 2011. Picture: Diego Garcia Source: AFP

A MAGNITUDE 5.6 earthquake struck Chile – the third to hit within hours and the fifth tremor in three days.

The latest tremor hit 41 kilometres northwest of the central city of Concepcion at a depth of 17.7 kilometres. The quakes earlier in the day measured 6.0 and 5.8.

On Friday two quakes – measuring 6.3 and a 6.8 – rattled the region.

All the tremors have occurred in the same area heavily damaged by an 8.8 magnitude quake nearly a year ago.

That disaster resulted in more than 500 deaths and $30 billion in damage, and led to an inquiry over the lack of a timely tsunami warning.

2012: Leaks In Earth’s Magnetic Field Found

February 14, 2011 Comments off

Scientists have found two large leaks in Earth’s magnetosphere, the region around our planet that shields us from severe solar storms.

The leaks are defying many of scientists’ previous ideas on how the interaction between Earth’s magnetosphere and solar wind occurs: The leaks are in an unexpected location, let in solar particles in faster than expected and the whole interaction works in a manner that is completely the opposite of what scientists had thought.