Today, the U.N Food and Agriculture Organization said that food prices rose to a record high in December past a 2008 level that sparked riots in a number of countries. Reuters reports, “Up for the sixth month in a row and fuelled by surging sugar prices and rises in cereals and oils, the index was the highest since records began in 1990, in nominal terms, and topped the high of 213.5 in June 2008, during the food crisis of 2007/08.” Given the floods in Australia cover an area larger than France and Germany combined, the crop destruction and the mine … …READ MORE
Tag Archives: commodities
Chinese Real Estate Party Over?
Xinhua News reported today that the government will target excessive growth in property prices in some cities. This comes on the heels of the Chinese cabinet saying that it will impose a sales tax on homes sold within 5 years. China’s Ministry of Finance has tightened rules regarding the purchasing of land, raising the minimum down payment for buyers to 50% as the government continues to clamp down on the real estate market amid growing concerns about a bubble forming in some large cities according to Xinhua.
The Ministry of Finance statement also said that developers need to pay the … …READ MORE
