U.S. consumers feel bite of growing Global food need

Will the rising price of food in the U.S. affect economic recovery? Greater competition globally for agricultural commodities is trickling down to U.S. customers in the form of more expensive groceries.

Problem with food costs

There was a year-over-year increase of food inflation in January of 1.8 percent. The U.S. Consumer Price Index came out to state this. The price of goods throughout the world are going up with the bad weather, need and fuel costs increasing. Meat costs seemed to be affected by this the most. In January, corn costs went to a 30 month high since supplies are going down. The livestock price is increasing a ton since corn is used in livestock feeding. More people in developing countries such as China and India want more meat too. In just the last 5 years, the export on beef in the U.S. has gone up 1.5 billion pounds.

Average U.S. food costs

Other countries are starting to bid against U.S. consumers. The supply of meat is limited. Pork costs are up 12 percent from a year ago, beef is up 6 percent and poultry 2 percent. The grocery store costs are going up in other products too since commodity prices are increasing. January CPI data shows that costs for bread, milk, eggs and other staples are increasing significantly. Since the coffee bean costs went up 77 percent last year, coffee has started becoming more expensive while cereal isn't as cheap with increasing wheat prices. At the grocery store this year, pork costs are expected to raise the most, more than 10 percent. Over a 7 percent climb in beef costs is expected. The cost of chicken should go up over 5 percent since Americans should be eating more chicken.

U.S. food cost perspective for 2011

The U.S. Department of Agriculture points out that a 3 to 4 percent increase in U.S. food costs is expected this year. U.S. lawmakers are trying to act like the food inflation doesn't affect Americans. Last week Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee that effect of food inflation on consumers will be “temporary and relatively modest.”. The Fed doesn’t factor in food and energy costs when it calculates inflation, but more than 12 percent of after-tax income in U.S. households is now spent on fuel and food. The customers that don't have jobs and aren't getting raises are worried about these increases. The average taxpayer made $33,000 a year in 2008.

Information from

CNN Money

money.cnn.com/2011/03/08/news/economy/food_prices/index.htm” target=”_blank

Seeking Alpha

seekingalpha.com/article/256992-rising-prices-are-hitting-consumers-harder-than-the-fed-will-admit” target=”_blank

Agrimoney.com

agrimoney.com/news/meat—and-oil—to-lead-climb-in-us-food-prices–2903.html” target=”_blank

Gasoline price goes up nationwide fueling speculation of power turmoil

Since the national average gas cost has been rising regularly for weeks, there is little reason to assume that it won’t reach $4 per gallon by this summer. Unrest in Libya and in Middle Eastern oil producing states has brought on the cost of petroleum to rise. Since gasoline is a petroleum product, the price of gas has been increasing at a faster rate than for crude oil. The federal government has said it is open to using its own oil reserves, should the market not be able to stabilize itself. Post resource – Gas price rises nationwide fueling speculation of energy crisis by MoneyBlogNewz.

Government contemplating use of crisis reserves

Oil costs went up significantly contemplating the Libya problems caused oil exports to be stopped completely. By summer, fuel prices could reach $4 a gallon at this rate, reports CNN. On Monday, March 7, the typical fuel prices were at $3.51. The prices have been going up every single day for the last two weeks. There has been a 34 cent total boost per gallon. Keeping these prices down is a goal the Obama administration has, states Reuters. The government as considered tapping into the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to stop the prices from continuing upward. Oil supply in the U.S. for the month is about 730 million barrels of crude oil. That is how much is found in the Reserve. Reserves will only be used if necessary, administration officials continue to say. The last release from the reserves was in 2005, after the Hurricane Katrina devastation, and it has only been used three times since it was established during the Nixon administration.

Prices increase

The Libya unrest caused many to be worried about the world oil market. The supply hasn't dropped at all though. Libya produces less than 2 million barrels per day, and exports little oil to the United States. Over 12 million a day is produced in Saudi Arabia. The Department of Energy made this comparison. The Saudi government has also increased oil production by 25 percent, which will cover any losses because of a drop in production in Libya. The rise of gas prices is not because of a shortage in supply; rather, markets are uneasy because political turmoil is spreading to other oil exporting nations. Saudi Arabia revolts would be a significant problem, although Libya revolts mean hardly anything.

Gasbuddy might help

The website Gasbuddy.com will help individuals discover the cheapest gasoline in their area. Fuel costs are reported in areas to Gasbuddy through many websites. Gasbuddy is everywhere. Hardly any U.S. or Canadian cities do not have information on there. The iPhone, Android and Windows smartphones can get a Gasbuddy app. Since Gasbuddy relies on people reporting the gasoline prices they see, the site is fast becoming a resource that is quoted by major news agencies also as a valuable tool for customers.

Information from

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/03/07/news/economy/gas_prices/

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/03/07/us-usa-oil-idUSTRE7252X520110307?pageNumber=1

Department of Energy

eia.doe.gov/cabs/newint.html

Gasbuddy

gasbuddy.com/

Gross Domestic Product is not the best way of measuring financial health

The percentage of progress in GDP is used, at times, to measure health of the economy. The United States GDP estimate has been downgraded recently to just a couple percentage points. The health of the economy, as calculated by the Fed and others, is often measured using GDP. However, the Gross Domestic Product is an outdated and inaccurate way of measuring economic growth.

GDP facts

All that the GDP is, is one number. It represents that country's value of goods and services. GDP began as a measurement of the standard of living in various nations, but it’s used in several other ways. When adding private consumption, gross investment, government spending and exports and subtracting the gross amount imported, GDP could be found. Congress was given a report of GDP in 1934 for the first time. Simon Kuznets put it together. The Federal Reserve bases many of its monetary decisions, at least partially, on the Gross Domestic Product figure.

Inflation, customer price and the Gross Domestic Product measure

The limitations of the GDP have been clear for a long time. The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases a number referred to as “real” Gross Domestic Product that adjusts the number for inflation. Without that adjustment, the Gross Domestic Product would always appear to be growing with the rate of inflation. The inflation and deflation of household goods is measured by the Customer Price Index. This does not affect the Gross Domestic Product in any way. There could be a rise of Gross Domestic Product with a 400 percent increase in household items costs. This is despite the disposable income Americans have being decreased.

Charge card and GDP similarities

There is one huge limitation the GDP has. It cannot take negative numbers into account. The Gross Domestic Product can be compared to a household budget easily. It’s the way of measuring household finances depending on money, credit cards and money, spent. You will find many things left out. There is the possibility a mortgage payment will not be made, the spending budget could be damaged and eventually the cards have to be paid. It is too simple to really be correct to measure the economic progress in the U.S.

Information from

The Money Alert

themoneyalert.com/GDP.html

Blogging Stocks

bloggingstocks.com/2010/09/10/economists-lower-2011-u-s-gdp-growth-forecasts-to-2-5/

Investopedia

investopedia.com/study-guide/cfa-exam/level-1/macroeconomics/cfa3.asp

Reid believes Nevada brothels should be prohibited

Reid is a Democratic United States Senator from NV. Harry Reid, however, has been asking the Nevada legislature to take expansive steps towards changing laws. Specifically, Harry Reid wants to ban prostitution in the state. In the Nevada Legislature, this suggestion was not very well-received. Resource for this article – US Senator Harry Reid trying to ban brothels in Nevada by MoneyBlogNewz.

Suggestions from Reid consist of stopping Nevada brothels

Harry Reid is a Democratic NV Senator. He spoke with Congress on Tuesday in a joint session. While talking, he covered lots of topics. These involved home foreclosures, renewable energy, education reform, and job creation. At one point during the speech, however, Reid suggested that Nevada should prohibit brothels. Reid said that when thinking about Nevada, “it should think about the world’s newest ideas and newest careers – not about its oldest profession.”

Details about Nevada brothels

NV is the only state in the United States that has areas where prostitution is legal. Counties in NV allow brothels. This is only some of the NV counties though. Reno and Las Vegas do not allow brothels though. These are the largest NV cities. Tax income is brought in with legal sex trade. Smaller cities benefit from this in Nevada. Nye County alone received $150,000 from brothel taxes to pay for veterans’ care and ambulance services. Last year, a bill was proposed to create more taxes on the service, although it failed. It was supported by both brothel owners and legal prostitutes.

Harry Reid does not have power to prohibit brothels in Nevada

Reid can only ask for the change in Nevada legislature to get prostitution to become illegal. The federal government has stayed out of prostitution. It has been a state decision for a while. As a United States Senator, Reid doesn't have very much control in Nevada. He has no control on laws. Prostitution most likely won't be banned. Nobody in Nevada legislature will most likely be willing to cut off something that brings in so much revenue from taxes.

Citations

CBS News

cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20035310-504083.html

Pentagon examining if psyops were utilized on Congressmen

The Pentagon is investigating the alleged use of "psyops," or psychological operations, on United States Congressmen while they were visiting Afghanistan. Psychological procedures are techniques of psychological and emotional manipulation used by the U.S. army. They contain disinformation and propaganda. These techniques were allegedly used to persuade members of Congress in order to get more military funding.

Army ordered it, says Rolling Stone

MSNBC reports that a Rolling Stone article explained that a "psyops" or psychological operation was ordered by members of the army to get Congress members visiting Afghanistan to give more financing and personnel to the military. In 2009, Lieutenant General William Caldwell supposedly had a psyops team study Congressmen visiting in order to find out how more financing and troops for military operations there could possibly be received somehow. The head of the psyops unit, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Holmes, refused the order and was reprimanded for it.

Leading study is Petraeus

General David Petraeus, commander of Afghan procedures, has launched an investigation to the allegations. Lt. Gen. Caldwell “categorically denies” the accusations, according to the Washington Post. The use of “psyops” or propaganda of any sort on United States citizens is illegal, and Intelligence Procedures personnel are well aware of that. There were specific Congressmen targeted for this. It included Senators Al Franken, Carl Levin, Joe Lieberman, Jack Reed and John McCain. There were more targets too. These integrated Representative Steve Israel and Admiral Mike Mullen.

General McChrystal article written by press reporter

Michael Hastings wrote the Rolling Stone article. He said the job was to “get the enemy to behave the way we want,” and Holmes said “when you ask me to use these skills on senators and congressmen you are crossing a line," for Lt. Col. Holmes. He added that people in the Information Procedures field know from day one that propaganda and psychological manipulation are to be used only on the enemy. Hastings also wrote the article on General Stanley McChrystal that led to McChrystal resigning from the Military last year.

Articles cited

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/41753749/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia

Washington Post

voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/02/psychological_operations_manip.html

Rolling Stone

rollingstone.com/politics/news/another-runaway-general-army-deploys-psy-ops-on-u-s-senators-20110223?page=1

The unusual affliction of Parry-Romberg syndrome

Eleven-year-old Christine Honeycutt never envisioned a lifetime of disability and neurological damage. Diagnosed with an unusual autoimmune disorder called Parry-Romberg syndrome, the left side of Honeycutt’s face stopped developing when she was five years old. CNN reports that through plastic surgery and immunosuppressant drugs, Christine Honeycutt may be able to live with her Parry-Romberg. Article resource – Surgery saves girl’s face from Parry-Romberg syndrome by MoneyBlogNewz.

When seeing a slim line, Parry-Romberg syndrome was unexpected

When Honeycutt was five, a line appeared down the middle of her forehead. Friends told her it was ink while her parents assumed it was a bruise. When the mark was still there after a few weeks, Christine’s mother took her to see a doctor, who prescribed a cream to treat the "discoloration.".

After five months, the line became more pronounced. The Honeycutt’s moved from Charlotte, N.C., to southern California so Christine could see a specialist. The Honeycutt’s were given the advice to keep Christine out of the sun though which they had heard before. Before first grade even began, Honeycutt was having violent seizures. These were accompanied by weight gain and fevers. The right side of her face appeared normal, however the left side was swollen. Her face has a symmetry start to develop. A few years later, Parry-Romberg syndrome would be what she is diagnosed with, in 2008.

One in a million are afflicted by Parry-Romberg syndrome

The extremely uncommon autoimmune condition Parry-Romberg syndrome (aka progressive facial hemiatrophy) is found in only one in 1 million individuals, most commonly in females. Some believe Lincoln may have had the disorder. The left side of Christine Honeycutt was hurt with her immune system. Her face was where this was seen most clearly. The "coup de sabre" or "cut of saber" was the line down Christine's forehead making it look like a sword cut her there. When looking at Parry-Romberg syndrome photos on the Internet, it looked alike.

"There were horrifying pictures,” said Vicki Honeycutt, Christine’s mother. "One side [of a patient's face] was a skeleton and the other side wasn’t."

Cure will not happen, but remedies and surgical procedure can help out

There is no cure for Parry-Romberg syndrome. Honeycutt has had to have facial rebuilding surgical procedure and immune suppressant drugs to help. She has gotten closer to normal with the Extensive plastic surgery done taking seven hours to complete. Christine has been able to go to school even though there is a little bit of swelling still.

“I like my nose better now,” she said.

Citations

CNN

cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/25/surgery.parry.romberg.disorder/

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

ninds.nih.gov/disorders/parry_romberg/parry_romberg.htm

PRS Resource

prsresource.com/

New Small Business Administration financing program to start Feb. 28 with large limitations

The SBA has released the rules for a New lending program. The program was intended, by Congress, to help businesses who have buildings facing foreclosure. The limitations on the loans, however, are cutting out most companies that could benefit.

Rules declared for New SBA lending

Several companies have been waiting for the lending program rules from the Small business administration since January of this year. The rules have been something the SBA has worked on since 2010 when the program passed in Congress. On Thurs, February 24, the rules were officially announced. Underwater mortgages can be covered by the loans that companies with mortgages can get. These could be due in the next 24 months. About 10 percent of the loan amount is going to be something the business has to have in money or equity to be able to put down.

Small Business Administration program limitations

Help from the Small Business Administration lending program is meant to give businesses a helping hand. Really, this ought to stop foreclosures in the business. Business watchers, however, are concerned the limitations of the financing program could cut out so many companies that it will be practically ineffective. Any companies that don't have the down payment money accessible, that cannot pay the additional 1 percent fee or that already have short-term Small Business Administration mortgage loans are not allowed to get the loans. The purpose of the rules, according to the Small Business Administration, is to narrow down whom really needs help. The companies that are viable, however, about to shut down will get the first help.

Opening up small company loans

Getting small businesses the help they have to stay open is a tricky challenge, especially because payday loans are generally too small to help businesses. Whether or not the economy is doing well, companies might just fail. The chance of success in a business is the first thing to determine. Ensuring that the government does not loan $15 billion to businesses that can’t repay it is also tough. The Small Business Administration program is there to help companies that really need it. These are only the companies that will work though.

Information from

LA Times

articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/18/business/la-fi-sba-loans-20110218