food processors in exchange for further processed agricultural products that will be distributed through USDA domestic and international food assistance programs. The barter initiative will provide benefits to those in need both domestically and internationally, and it will save taxpayers' dollars by reducing government costs while enhancing storage space available for 2007 crops. This initiative will provide additional commodities to food banks and other entities to help meet food...

Companies in China had illegally added melamine to wheat gluten and rice protein in a bid to meet the contractual demand for the amount of protein in the pet food products. The snacks including soft drinks, candied fruits, gelatin desserts and some types of crackers were taken from 70 supermarkets, department stores and wholesale markets in seven cities in the region, it said. Few could have anticipated the run of bad publicity, crises and scandals that China has weathered since about last...

Noster "intended to use the bombs he possessed to destroy buildings or property and to make money in the wake of that destruction" by shorting stock of companies affected, or through trades on the commodities market, Assistant U. Prosecutors are asking that Noster, who in 2004 finished serving a 16-month state prison sentence for stealing vehicles and motorcycles, be sentenced to another 91 months in federal prison. In a search of two Lancaster storage units, authorities found that he had...

There exists some speculation that large institutional traders, such as hedge funds, are presently engaged in similar attempts to corner base metal markets. During that same year, Amaranth, a large hedge fund, suffered heavy losses after one of its energy traders, Brian Hunter, allegedly attempted to corner the natural gas market. These sharp peaks are sometimes associated with an attempt to corner the commodity by either a single large entity or collusion of smaller participants. Even in...

The Department of Energy has doubled its 2005 commitment to funding research into biofuels any non-petroleum fuel source, including corn, soybean, switchgrass, municipal waste and (ick) used cooking oil. Municipal waste, wood pulp and leftover grain and corn husks are all quite attractive; they can produce something called cellulosic ethanol, which contains more energy than corn. That's why researchers are prospecting for more alternatives, preferably ones that don't rely on food crops or...