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Food costs at records as U.N. warns of volatile era

MILAN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Global food prices tracked by a U.N. agency hit their highest level on record in January, a problem set to worsen after a massive snowstorm in the United States and floods in Australia.

The United Nations said on Thursday its Food and Agriculture Organization Food Price Index rose for the seventh month in a row to reach 231 in January, topping the peak of 224.1 last seen in June 2008. It is the highest level the index has reached since records began in 1990.

"These high prices are likely to persist in the months to come," FAO economist and grains expert Abdolreza Abbassian said in a statement.

Wheat underscored the problem affecting commodity prices around the world, settling on Thursday slightly lower after hitting a 2- year high earlier in the day. Corn and soybeans, which also have been hovering near long-term highs, also declined.

Global food inflation is a mounting worry for world leaders. It has contributed to political unrest in countries with high poverty rates and unemployment, as evidenced in the toppling of Tunisia's president in January. That unrest has spilled into Egypt, Yemen and Jordan.

In response, some countries are increasing food imports and have built stockpiles to meet their domestic needs. Among them is Algeria, wary after food riots in early January. It has made huge wheat purchases to avoid shortages, and on Thursday it announced plans to lift a 19-year-old state of emergency in a bid toavert spreading protests.

In Central America, Honduras has frozen prices on many basic foodstuffs despite complaints from farmers. El Salvador is increasing anti-poverty programs by 30 percent, and Guatemala is considering slashing import tariffs on wheat and is handing out food and cash vouchers to landless peasants.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick in a Reuters interview urged world leaders to "wake up" to the dangers of rising food inflation, a problem said he sees no relief from.

"We are going to be facing a broader trend of increasing commodity prices, including food commodity prices," he said.

SUPPLY THE KEY

Catastrophic storms and droughts have slammed the world's leading agriculture countries in recent months, including flooding and a massive cyclone in Australia and a powerful winter storm that swept across the United States.

Dubbed "Stormageddon," one of the biggest snowstorm in decades dumped up to 20 inches of snow in some parts of the U.S. grain belt this week, paralyzing the shipment of grain and livestock.

A deep-freeze forecast for the Midwest, the bread basket of the United States, threatens the region's winter wheat because it may lack sufficient insulating moisture to withstand the cold.

Sugar prices also have surged to three-decade highs on fears of damage Cyclone Yasi would bring to the Australian cane crop. Prices for Malaysian palm oil, a cooking staple in the developing world, hit 3-year highs on flooding.

Big companies have had to adjust to higher raw material costs. Kellogg Co, the world's largest breakfast cereal company, said on Thursday it has boosted prices on many of its products to offset rising costs for ingredients such as grains and sugar.

"Today's announcement by the Food and Agriculture Organization should ring alarm bells in capitals around the world," said Gawain Kripke, a policy and research director for Oxfam America, an international development group.

"Governments must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past when countries reacted to spiraling prices by banning exports and hoarding food. This will only make the situation worse and it is the world's poorest people who will pay the price," he said.

Janis Huebner, economist at Germany's DekaBank said inflation partly fueled by increasing food prices could in turn trigger interest rate rises in several countries this year.

"This could mean a slowing down of growth in the countries which raise their interest rates," he said. "This could involve Asian countries and other regions, this would somewhat brake growth but I do not expect a hard landing."

STOCK BUILDING

Some countries, particularly where food prices loom large in household budgets, have been building up food stocks to contain prices -- and to limit the political and social fallout.

During the last food price crisis, the World Bank estimated that some 870 million people in developing countries were hungry or malnourished. The FAO estimates that number has increased to 925 million.

"2008 should have been a wake-up call, but I'm not yet sure all the countries in the world that we need to support this have woken up to it," the World Bank's Zoellick said.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, last week bought 820,000 tons of rice, lifting rice prices, while suspending import duties on rice, soybeans and wheat.

Algeria last week bought almost 1 million tons of wheat, bringing its purchases to at least 1.75 million since the start of January, and ordered a speeding up of grain imports.

On a day of bloody confrontation in Egypt, where protesters are demanding an end to the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, the U.N. World Food Programme's Executive Director Josette Sheeran said the world was now in an era where it had to be very serious about food supply.

"If people don't have enough to eat they only have three options: they can revolt, they can migrate or they can die. We need a better action plan," she said.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul in London, Martinne Geller in New York, Lesley Wroughton and Christopher Doering in Washington and Michael Hogan in Hamburg; editing by Jonathan Thatcher, Keiron Henderson, Russell Blinch and Xavier Briand)

Austrian Reichelt ends long victory wait

HINTERSTODER, Austria (Reuters) – Austrian Hannes Reichelt found his best form just in time to snatch a berth at next week's world championships by claiming his first World Cup Super-G win in nearly three years on Saturday.

The speed specialist, winner of the World Cup Super-G title in 2008, was not in the Austrian team for Garmisch-Partenkirchen following two disappointing seasons but this unexpected victory has suddenly brought him back in the picture.

"It's great to make the team with a victory on home soil. It's so difficult to make the Austrian team even when some of our best skiers are injured," Reichelt told reporters.

The 30-year-old was not a first-choice starter in earlier World Cup races this season until injury struck down countrymen Hans Grugger, Mario Scheiber and Georg Streitberger, the World Cup Super-G leader.

Reichelt's win, in one minute 43.91 seconds, came as a morale booster for his country ahead of the world championships especially as Benjamin Raich, the darling of Austrian skiing, was in second place, 0.34 behind.

"I didn't put too much pressure on myself today as I had a bad experience last year when I missed Olympic qualification because of bad results in Kranjska Gora," Reichelt said.

Knowledge of the Hannes Trinkl piste, on which few skiers had trained before, was a key element as the course was one of the longest for a Super-G.

MILLER THIRD

"It was one of the most difficult Super-G races I can remember. This course was extremely long and technically challenging with tough turns in some parts," said Reichelt who recorded his last World Cup win in Bormio in March 2008.

Bode Miller (1:44.84), back after a short break, showed he would again be a serious contender in Garmisch by finishing third.

The American won the only other Super-G held in Hinterstoder five years ago but on a different course.

"I felt bad from the top to the bottom, it was very brutal, challenging and tactical," said Miller. "I'm always trying to win races but a podium finish is a pretty encouraging result."

With two podium places in his last two races, Miller has high hopes for Garmisch.

"I'm always going to the worlds to win but there are so many variables. The level in men's skiing is increasing," he said.

Last year's World Cup winner Carlo Janka of Switzerland, who has also taken some time off recently, finished fourth ahead of Croat Ivica Kostelic.

Kostelic now leads closest rival, Swiss Silvan Zurbriggen, by 523 points and seems destined to win the World Cup.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

Djokovic vs. Murray for Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia – After growing up together on the tennis circuit, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have yet to meet in a major. That all changes Sunday at the Australian Open.

The two men who have come to be considered the best of the rest — that is, after Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal — will face each other for the first time in a Grand Slam. One will walk away with the title.

It may seem as though it's been a long time coming for Djokovic and Murray, who in practice sessions and pickup soccer games this year have rekindled a friendship first struck when they were gangly preteens on the tour.

That's due in part to the dominance of Federer and Nadal, who between them have won 21 of the past 23 majors. As consistently high-ranked players — Djokovic is No. 3 and Murray No. 5 — they invariably start on opposite sides of the draw at majors, and that means they are almost certain to bump into the No. 1 or the No. 2 before they meet each other.

Not this time.

Djokovic beat defending champion Federer in the semifinals and an injured Nadal was ousted in the quarterfinals by David Ferrer on the other side of the draw, leaving the door open for Murray. Sunday's final will be the first time neither Federer nor Nadal have played in a Grand Slam final since the 2008 Australian Open, when Djokovic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win his first major.

For Djokovic, it's about time.

"They have been so dominant, such a strong two tennis players mentally, it's just been fantastic to watch them dominate the tennis on one hand," Djokovic said Saturday. "On the other hand, it was frustrating because you don't have the opportunity of maybe winning more Grand Slams.

"But over the years playing against them, you kind of get to know them better and start believing in yourself more that you can win. I think right now there are a couple players that are actually believing they can win against Rafa and Roger."

With one major trophy already on Djokovic's shelf, the stakes on Sunday are higher for his friend.

Murray, who jokes dryly that he is considered British when he wins and Scottish when he loses, is being watched by a United Kingdom that has been waiting almost 75 years for a new men's singles champion. Sunday might be his best chance.

Djokovic and Murray, both 23, have played each other seven times on the men's tour. The Serbian won the first four, but Murray has won the last three, all on hard courts.

The two men, born within a week of each other in May 1987, first met in juniors at 11 or 12, when Murray won in straight sets. They played a few more times and got along well, even teaming up for doubles, when Djokovic's basic English skills and Murray's thick Scottish brogue made communication difficult.

"Back then, we were speaking kind of more with the signs, you know, hands and legs and stuff," Djokovic said.

They took different paths through Europe to the professional tour, Murray training in Spain while Djokovic went to Italy and Germany. They met for the first time on the men's tour in 2006.

Since then, Djokovic has won 18 career titles; Murray 16. Djokovic has the Australian Open trophy and was runner-up at the U.S. Open in 2007 and last year. Murray's best Grand Slam results were runner-up at the U.S. Open in 2008 and the Australian Open last year — he lost both to Federer.

"It's been a great, well, childhood, if you can say, that we had together," Djokovic said. "So it's been a nice story, you know, about both of us. And to be able to meet him in a Grand Slam final, it makes it even more special."

The two practiced together in Perth ahead of the Australian Open, and kicked the soccer ball around — "he won, unfortunately," Djokovic said.

Djokovic recalls Murray as a kid with big hair who was under media pressure even then as Britain's best hope to win a major for the first time since Fred Perry in 1936.

The Serb has developed an off-court persona as a jokester, with comic impersonations of other players and a relaxed confidence that belies his on-court intensity. When an ATP official started a news conference on Saturday by mistakenly announcing "questions for Andy," Djokovic made a joke out of it, pretending to storm out before retaking his seat and saying he didn't know how he could work under such conditions.

Murray appears more stern, or at least serious. His reputation is for rebuking himself on the court and maintaining a cautious demeanor before the media. Asked to recall his early memories of his final rival, Murray said Djokovic developed a lot faster as a player, but says he's caught up now.

As kids, they shared big dreams.

"I don't think we were planning to meet each other, but we were dreaming of being in a Grand Slam final," Djokovic said. "You could already feel at that stage when we were 12, 13, 14, that we both have a talent and we both have great motivation and mentality to succeed."

But expect no quarter given by either of them on Sunday.

"We have to forget about all that when we step on the court," Djokovic said. "It's all business."

New Controversial Book Claims That the Song Lyrics of Jay-Z Reveals the Secrets to Success for the Hip-Hop Generation

"I Will Not Lose! The blueprint for greatness when good is not enough" is a street-smart self-help guide inspired by the song lyrics of Jay-Z. The book gives a unique approach to personal development, revealing how the lyrics of one of Hip-Hop's most successful artists can be a source of inspiration for a highly ambitious generation during these challenging times.

Alexandria, VA (PRWEB) January 26, 2011

There has been extensive coverage in recent years of Jay-Z’s meteoric rise in the entertainment industry and the world of business, but what fans, critics and the media seem to find most intriguing about the Brooklyn born rapper is his cryptic song lyrics. Every new lyric by the rapper is met with anticipation and debate; his music continues to be a hot topic on the web and in the streets.

Author, Duane L. Lawton, has written a new self-help ebook, “I Will Not Lose! The blueprint for greatness when good is not enough” that is inspired by the song lyrics of Jay-Z. The book, whose main title is taken from a self-affirming statement of confidence that Jay-Z has famously declared out-loud in his music, champions a ‘street-smart’, think-outside-the-box approach to personal development and is aimed at readers from all walks of life that share one powerful trait -- undeterred ambition. Broken down into 7 sections, “I Will Not Lose!” lays out a complete “blueprint for greatness” for ordinary people who have extraordinary expectations for their personal lives.

In "I Will Not Lose!" Lawton devotes over 300 pages examining lyrics from more than 90 of Jay-Z's songs -- it's the most in-depth work ever written about the music of a rap artist. The author makes the argument that while Jay-Z’s lyrics are perceived as self-aggrandizing, his words actually give profound insight into what it takes to be successful in life whether you’re a platinum-selling rapper turned business mogul or a young hustler from Brooklyn with dreams of going to college or owning a business. Jay-Z used to be that guy.

Jay-Z’s lyrics about his drug-dealing past and his music’s focus on materialism has made him a target of critics who say that his work glorifies crime and violence and glamorizes an opulent lifestyle that’s out of reach for most of his listeners. Lawton, a fan of Jay-Z's music since the rapper’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt, disagrees. “Anybody who thinks Jay-Z’s lyrics are just about 'money, cash and hoes' (in reference to the title of one of Jay-Z’s biggest hits in the late 90’s) may hear his words but aren’t really listening. I think Jay’s lyrics resonate with fans because in his words he’s able to reflect on the ups and downs of ambition in a way that is universally understood. Through his lyrics, Jay-Z vividly gives a complete 'picture' of both struggle and success, in which you see yoursel

'Anonymous' Members Arrested for Cyber Attacks in Support of WikiLeaks

British police have arrested five men for alleged involvement in a string of denial-of-service attacks in defense of WikiLeaks launched late last year by hacker group Anonymous.

Two men, ages 20 and 26, and three teenagers, ages 15, 16, and 19, were charged with violating the Computer Misuse Act of 1990, the . The arrests were carried out by the Central e-Crime Unit in the U.K. residential neighborhoods of West Midlands, Surrey, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Surrey, and London as a part of an ongoing investigation into the DDoS attacks by European and American authorities.

Aftermore than 250,000 confidential U.S. diplomatic cables nearly three months ago, a flood of companies yanked their support for the site. The whistle-blowing site was , it , and financial companies ceased processing the donations necessary to support the non-profit.

"Hacktivist" group Anonymous, in turn, started toagainst those attempting to silence WikiLeaks. MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal were among the companies targeted.

However, not all of the targets were crippled. An attack against Amazon proved unsuccessful.

Anonymous operates hacker group Operation Payback, which reportedly includes members of the "/b/" bulletin board 4chan.org. In addition to defending WikiLeaks, Operation Payback runs a campaign against anti-piracy organizations, and has targeted the Web properties of groups like , the , and the .

The BBC said Anonymous' members prefer to call themselves "average Internet citizens," as opposed to hackers. Their efforts have most recently extended to Egypt, where amid mounting government protests, the authorities have .

U.S. authorities are continuing an investigation into WikiLeaks. Julian Assange, the site's editor, is fighting extradition to Sweden where he faces unrelated rape charges filed by two former WikiLeaks volunteers. He's currently residing in London, where he wasand is set tofor a full extradition hearing early next month.