Non-Defense Capital Orders Increase! Drought "Victims" Decrease Farm Inventories!

[mascale]

Boeing actually took in only one new order for airplanes in August. Not reported is whether or not it was paper mache or a kite on a string. People are wondering in fact, if manufacturing will continue to expand. Transports are a volatile sector of the new durable goods orders at any rate. Even car orders went down with car sales rising back to pre-Bush-Recession levels.

Famously, Governor Romney is solidly on record as knowing a thing or two about "victims." In the midwest, they are now called, "Republicans(?)!" Many, in fact, would of course contend that the drought is secondary to just how the Midwest GOP: Suddenly all became "victims."

An unusual drop in farm inventories--drought related--brought U. S. National GDP for 2nd quarter down two-tenths of one percent. The Obama-Biden economic policies had nothing to do with it. Not even the Ivy League had anything to do with it, which is nowhere being admitted.

GDP: Drought knocked 0.2 points off growth in second quarter

That means that other sectors were likely improving--in second quarter--at "soft-patch" rates of growth.

What is also noted in August is the unexpectedly sharp increase in consumer confidence, auto sales, back-to-school sales, and suddenly even in new housing activity. The inventory of homes for sale is dropping. People buying up foreclosures have been a boon to the recovery. That now will continue, and with Fed Chief Bernanke's QE3.

So New claims for unemployment insurance further dropped suddenly, just last week. Others point to GDP Q2 and say, "See how smart Bernanke really was!"

Other data are actually supportive, in other words, of the liklihood of further recovery going forward--Consequent policies of Obama-Biden. Market-Unfriendly, Rep. Ryan: Will of course give no credit to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

"Crow, James Crow: Shaken, Not Stirred!"
(Mostly investors fund companies that buy quality materials and products from other companies like the ones being funded. "Hoarding Among The Rich" is bad news for proponents of tax cuts among the already prosperous! It is not likely that the rich companies will buy from the poor companies, actually!)

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd worries if his g/f gonna have enough money when dey go out to eat...

Drought leads restaurants to raise prices, cut portions
October 14, 2012 - The effects of the Midwest drought on prices for corn, meat and poultry are showing up on restaurant menus. Small eateries are being hit hardest.

Smokin' Jonny's BBQ opened less than a year ago, but pricey corn on the cob has already disappeared from the menu. Rising beef prices are causing owner Jon Sekiguchi headaches as well. His Gardena restaurant sells beef ribs only on the weekends, when customers are more willing to splurge. And he's struggling to find affordable beef sausage for his $6.95 smoked sausage sandwich. Scorching weather this summer in the Midwest left crops parched and livestock famished. Restaurants, already struggling with high fuel costs and a sluggish economy, are starting to feel the pinch of higher food costs. "It's a tough one," Sekiguchi sighed. "I didn't want to sell corn for $3 when I used to charge $1.50. And it used to be better quality too."

Commodity prices were increasing even before the dry spell. Economists say even bigger hikes are ahead as the poor U.S. harvest ripples through the food chain. Now fast-food giants, fancy eateries and even corner coffee shops are scrambling to adjust. The cost of food rivals labor as the top expense for most restaurants. Restaurateurs are revamping menus, reducing portion sizes and even considering staff cuts. In the months to come, they say, watch for smaller steaks, fewer tortillas per entree and maybe even menu-wide price increases. Customers are already seeing a change. Gina Grad, a radio network content producer, said she's noticing smaller servings, steeper bills and thinner crowds at the trendy restaurants in her Los Feliz neighborhood, where organic and locally grown ingredients reign.

The "only good thing" to come out of it: "The number of people out to brunch on weekends is down," said Grad, 34. "You can finally get a table in less than an hour." Actor Chase Edmondson, 22, of North Hollywood, said he's taken to ordering kids meals to combat menu shock. "It's kind of ridiculous when you're getting a hamburger for $12," Edmondson said. Restaurant prices have been rising for more than a year. Wholesale food costs rocketed 8.1% last year, the largest jump in more than three decades. The Olive Garden's Never-Ending Pasta Bowl, offered at $8.95 for the last five years, jumped to $9.95 in late August, partly because of higher food costs.

And this summer, a Big Mac cost $4.33 on average in the U.S., up from $4.20 in January and $4.07 a year earlier, according to the popular Big Mac index compiled by the Economist. Those increases will continue, but at a faster pace.

MORE

 

[Mr. H.]

Well, no shit- when 40% off the corn crop ends up in our gas tanks.

 

[Freemason9]

Meanwhile--in the "corn belt" made up of Deep Red States--farmers are doing just fine. As prices escalate due to the drought, farmers are farming the mailboxes for government checks. The average farm income in Nebraska, for example, is even more than last year's high levels--despite the severe drought.

Farmers don't have to grow anything to make money, and they don't need to get an education. All they have to do is walk to the mailbox and vote Republican.

Farmers are part of Romney's 47%.

 

[waltky]

America gettin' to be Dry Bones Gulch...

USDA: Nearly Two-Thirds of U.S. Is Still In Drought
October 17, 2012 -- Almost two-thirds of the continental United States is still experiencing drought conditions as of Oct. 9, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA.)

The U.S. Drought Monitor maintained by USDA, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, indicates that 63.55 percent of the continental United States, which excludes Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, is in drought, which is a decrease from late September. On September 25, 65.45 percent of the continental United States was experiencing drought, which was the highest percentage area since the start of 2000.

The Drought Monitor attributes the slight decrease to increased rains in the South and Eastern United States, as well as the Great Plains and Midwest. “The past week featured a series of low-pressure systems that moved across the northern tier of the contiguous 48 states, with their associated cold fronts moving southward to the gulf coast,” according to the Drought Monitor’s Weekly Summary. “These cold fronts brought some rains to portions of the contiguous 48 states, with the heaviest amounts across the northern Great Plains, Mid-west, Mid-Atlantic, and Florida. Most of the areas that are west of the Rockies remained dry this week, under the influence of a persistent upper-level ridge,” the Summary said.

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. winter wheat progress as of October 14 has been below the 5-year average in the 14 of 18 states that are monitored. The decrease in wheat progress is most pronounced in South Dakota, where emergence is 56 percent below the 5-year average. Additionally, the latest Crop Production Report released on Oct. 1 noted the the 10.7 billion bushels of corn forecasted is down from the September forecast, and stands to be the lowest production in the United States since 2006.

Brad Rippey, a USDA meteorologist, wrote on the USDA blog that in spite of increased rainfall, more will be needed to, “ensure proper crop emergence and establishment.” “Some of the precipitation has begun to spill across the Rockies to the northern Plains, but more moisture is needed across the northern hard red winter wheat belt to ensure proper crop emergence and establishment,” said Rippey.

USDA: Nearly Two-Thirds of U.S. Is Still In Drought | CNSNews.com

 

[waltky]

Drought likely to be the new normal...

Global drought a 'new normal': report
Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Increasing drought conditions across the planet are part of a "new normal" which oddly presents new business opportunities, a new Bank of America Merrill Lynch report says.

The report comes just after insurer Munich Re's findings that North America has borne the brunt of weather-related natural catastrophes, with 30,000 deaths and insured losses of $510 billion in the 1980-2011 period. The ongoing drought is the worst in the United States since at least 1956, with 63 percent of the lower 48 states suffering drought conditions in August, says the BofA Merrill Lynch report, "Global Drought -- Opportunities and Risks." While conditions are far from those in the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s, drought conditions are the new normal, the report said. Previous reports in a series focused on obesity, energy efficiency and safety and security. "Food, water and energy security are increasingly bigger issues, and as governments, businesses and other players struggle to adapt to and mitigate drought conditions, there will be an evolving set of opportunities and risks for investors," the bankers said in their findings.

For investors interested in the fight against drought and in promoting food, water and energy security, the financial group has introduced a screen that identifies liquid stocks exposed to global drought-related themes under the Bloomberg ticker MLEIARID. The stocks included in the screen are those that it considers to be long-term solution providers in such areas as water, fertilizers, crop science, energy efficiency, second-generation biofuels and renewables. "The severity of the global drought underscores the long-term challenges for national and global economies," said Sarbjit Nahal, a co-author of the report. "Food, water and energy security are increasingly bigger issues, and as governments, businesses and other players struggle to adapt to and mitigate drought conditions, there will be an evolving set of opportunities and risks for investors."

The Munich Re report also cited conditions in which North American stakeholders could benefit by learning about the weather risks. The study was prepared in order to support underwriters and Munich Re clients in North America, the world's largest insurance and reinsurance market. "The North American continent is exposed to every type of hazardous weather peril -- tropical cyclone, thunderstorm, winter storm, tornado, wildfire, drought and flood. One reason for this is that there is no mountain range running east to west that separates hot from cold air," said the report.

Nowhere in the world is the rising number of natural catastrophes more evident than in North America, it said. Munich Re's Geo Risks Research unit head Peter Hoppe called on all concerned to "collaborate and close ranks" to meet the situation. Peter Roder, Munich Re board member with responsibility for the U.S. market, said, "We should prepare for the weather risk changes that lie ahead, and nowhere more so than in North America."

Read more: Drought brings new business opportunities, report says - UPI.com

 

[mascale]

Mostly, in the Midwest, all signs indicate--analysts even so-state--that the drought effect will take some time to heal.

For one thing, the percentages of areas under drought conditons are only decreasing to new levels, 2% per cent level drops per week.

Drought Monitor Statistics

The severe effects are in the Dakotas, Nebraska, and areas south of there.

So likely there has been a noticeable effect. Prices will be rising into 2013, for many normal consumable foods.

"Crow, James Crow: Shaken, Not Stirred!"
(Mercifully, the newer cash crops of Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino--in California--have been spared! Anyone notices just how many deities there are that had to get involved, in Califofrnia(?)! One fully loaded old buzzard was even seen talking to an empty chair(?)!