Soaring Futures

WorldWatch announces that the wheat futures soaring to their highest level in two years, you could soon find yourself paying more for a loaf of bread at your local grocery store. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said Wednesday that it has cut its global wheat production forecast for 2010 nearly 4% to 651 million metric tons, down from its June estimate of 676 metric tons.

The drought in Russia is definitely the key factor to the rise in prices, but we've also seen problems in Canada, where crops are going to be smaller this year, and Australia may have a smaller crop, so there are other parts of the world that are seeing problems.

One of Europes oldest economies, Portugal has announced that next week
petrol (gas) and bread consumer prices are once more going up, now that crude is once more below the $80 a barrel,with unemployment over the 11% mark and a economy in recession Portugal will continue with serious financial issues mainly due to the monopoly in price fixing in the energy sector by the petrol companies that continue to inflate final consumer prices.

BP, Galp, Repsol, Cepsa, making Portugal somewhat less supportive of economic growth in recent months.

Dow Jones industrial

Speculation forced Stocks to rallie Monday, extending last month's gains, as investors welcomed upbeat economic reports and strong earnings from European banks.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 208 points, 2%, according to early tallies. The S&P 500 (SPX) index jumped 24 points, or 2.2%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) composite gained 41 points, or 1.8%.
The rally came after stocks rose 7% in July, marking the best monthly gain in a year, on solid second-quarter results from a range of major U.S. companies. The bullish tone carried over Monday as investors cheered quarterly results from European banks HSBC and BNP Paribas.
Energy giants Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and ExxonMobil (XOM, Fortune 500) both jumped as oil prices surged past $80 a barrel on renewed optimism about global economic growth. But the rally was broad-based too.
All 30 Dow stocks were positive, with the biggest gains in the materials and
technology sectors.
While questions remain about growth in the second half of the year, most European economies show worries that the economy could relapse into recession as crude prices are being forced beyond the $80 a barrel.
There are no convincing arguments that the economy is not going to double dip.
Stocks closed mixed Friday as economic concerns tempered upbeat earnings sentiment. Despite the rally in July, the market is up modestly for the year.
Stocks had slumped in April and May amid concerns about the European debt crisis and mixed economic indicators in the United States.
Looking ahead, investors said the focus may not shift later this week from earnings to the economy, particularly the outlook for the U.S. job market.
One of Europes oldest economies, Portugal will continue with serious financial issues mainly due to the monopoly in price fixing in the energy sector by the petrol companies that continue to inflate final consumer prices, BP, Galp, Repsol, Cepsa, making Portugal somewhat lesssupportive of economic growth in recent months.

Currencies and commodities:

The dollar was lower versus the euro and the British pound, but up against the Japanese yen.
U.S. light crude oil for September delivery rose $2.51 to settle at $81.46 a barrel.
COMEX gold's December contract edged up $1.50 to close at $1,185.40 per ounce.