food prices

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Food Crisis Lurks in Soaring Prices, Says IMF Chief

Predicts widespread starvation, conflict

(Newser) - Rising food prices may soon have dire global consequences with starving people rioting in the streets, warns the head of the International Monetary Fund. “Hundred of thousands of people will be starving,” he said yesterday at a meeting in Washington. “Children will be suffering from malnutrition, with...

Haitian Senate Sacks Prime Minister

Food riots spark ouster of president's close ally

(Newser) - Amid skyrocketing food prices and deadly riots in Haiti, the country's senate has voted to oust Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis. President Rene Preval, who appointed his ally Alexis in 2006 to lead the country's coalition government, must now choose a new cabinet. The vote came in spite of a recently...

Surging Energy Prices Drive Global Inflation

Food costs, up 83% in 3 years, also slap worldwide economies

(Newser) - Inflation in Europe and the US is projected to reach its highest point since 1995, the Wall Street Journal reports, with food prices up 83% in three years and rising energy and transportation costs. The International Monetary Fund predicts the US and Europe will see inflation of 2.6% this...

Record 28 Million Americans to Get Food Stamps

Slip into poverty a grim economic indicator

(Newser) - In an economic indicator that paints a grim future for swaths of the US population, an all-time record 28 million Americans are expected to be close enough to poverty to receive $36 billion in food stamps in the coming fiscal year, reports the New York Times. There is a surge...

Easter Bunny's Budget Strained as Egg Prices Skyrocket

But 29% jump is windfall for farmers

(Newser) - As far as the egg industry is concerned, Easter might as well have been Christmas. Prices skyrocketed 29% over the last year, and show no sign of slowing, as eggs are such a staple that demand hasn’t slowed a bit. “We’ve never seen profits like this,”...

Rising Cost of Essentials Slams Poor Families

Prices of "core" items are rising twice as fast as wages

(Newser) - The rising price of essentials and sluggish growth in wages mean that inflation is hitting low- to middle-income families hardest, the Washington Post reports. Americans are paying 9.2% more for staples—groceries, gas, health care, etc.— than they did in 2006, nearly twice the pace of the growth...

Consumer Prices Flat in Feb.
 Consumer Prices Flat in Feb. 

Consumer Prices Flat in Feb.

Lack of increase means Fed has an open door to a big rate cute next week

(Newser) - Consumer prices were flat for February, pleasantly surprising economists who expected a 0.2% increase, reports the Wall Street Journal. This morning’s consumer price index eases concerns that inflation is accelerating as the economy slows, and it gives the Federal Reserve more reason to float a large interest rate...

Beer and Pizza Getting Pricey
Beer and Pizza Getting Pricey

Beer and Pizza Getting Pricey

Rising fuel and ingredient costs affect traditional cheap eats

(Newser) - Even cheap foods like pizza and bagels are getting pricey these days over a mix of inflationary pressures, MSNBC reports. Last year's shocking 4% food price hike was driven by more than gas prices, one analyst says: It's diesel that fuels the trucks and trains that transport goods. "It's...

Retailers Slash Prices to Boost Slumping Season

Plagued by high gas and food prices, shoppers hold out for bargains

(Newser) - Retailers slashed prices nationwide this weekend in a bid to draw last-minute shoppers and lift a slumping holiday season, Bloomberg reports. Pressed by high gas and food prices, consumers are holding out for zero-hour deals; retailers have obliged with half-off sales and extra hours, counting on the last days before...

Global Food Prices Soar
Global Food Prices Soar

Global Food Prices Soar

Wheat and rice futures reach new highs; costs sure to be passed on to consumers

(Newser) - Expect another surge in the cost of breakfast cereal: The benchmark price for wheat rose above $10 a bushel for the first time today, further fueling the inflation in global food costs that kicked in last summer. Benchmark prices for rice futures also hit a new high, and corn and...

Russia Freezes Food Prices as Election Looms

Across the globe, rising agriculture costs take a political toll

(Newser) - In an effort to halt spiraling food prices ahead of parliamentary elections, Russia will today sign an agreement with its biggest grocers that freezes the cost of basic foodstuffs at October 15 levels. But while the move sounds a bit Soviet, Russia joins a host of nations in reacting to...

More People Skipping Basics to Pay the Bills

Analysts shocked as food banks run short, stores adjust prices

(Newser) - More Americans are skipping breakfast and other basics just to pay the bills, the AP reports. With gas hitting highs this year and food prices up as much as 44%, even $35,000-plus wage earners are lining up for food, and food banks report acute shortages. One consultant says he...

Grain Price Hikes: Here to Stay
Grain Price Hikes: Here to Stay

Grain Price Hikes: Here to Stay

Lasting hikes triggering profound changes for farmers and consumers

(Newser) - Rising global demand is pushing prices for grain and other crops to record heights and dramatically altering the food landscape for both farmers and consumers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Unlike ordinary price hikes, caused by crop failures, these increases—corn up 40%, soybeans 75%, wheat 70%—could last 10...

Soaring Inflation Rocks China
Soaring Inflation Rocks China

Soaring Inflation Rocks China

Food prices feeding public unrest

(Newser) - China's soaring inflation rate is the highest in a decade, putting pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates for the fifth time in six months to cool China's superheated economy. Food prices have jumped 18%, raising fears of public unrest., Bloomberg reports. Consumer prices rose across the board...

High Food Prices Hurt World's Poor
High Food Prices Hurt World's Poor

High Food Prices Hurt World's Poor

Relief groups find resources, ability to help stretched thin

(Newser) - For the world's poorest people, the quantity and quality of food are increasingly at risk. Wholesale prices of  basic foods are 21% higher now than in 2005, with grain surging more than 30%. What's more, the total volume of food delivered by US-funded groups has declined 52% in the last...

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