Nepali farm develops disease, heat resistant tomato
Kathmandu, Nepal (AHN) – A Nepali farm specializing in producing organic vegetables has exclusively developed nine varieties of tomatoes it says are easily tolerant to disease and heat.
The tomatoes, named Srijana (“creation”), will be available in local markets of Kathmandu within a year, according to the proprietor, Bishnu Marahatta.
The owner of Gorkha Seed Company has been cultivating other vegetables in which he hopes to develop varieties with similar resistances. The research has taken place on a four-acre farm in Kathmandu. “The varieties we have developed are bacteria-resistant and withstand hot climate,” he added. “We will soon name those varieties.”
The farm has been extensively engaged in research for four years and has been producing and selling organic vegetables in the city’s markets, although not yet in commercial quantities.
“Now we have been also conducting research on new varieties of green-bow radish, Jyapu cauliflower and cucumber which are yielding encouraging results,” he claimed.
The farm also been able to increase the production capacity of each tomato plant, which could set a record. The new varieties can yield 30 kg per plant. The research is currently being undertaken at plots in Nakkhu of Lalitpur, in the Kathmandu Valley.
Typically, farmers growing the new varieties can easily produce at least 10 kg per plant even under adverse climatic conditions, with each tomato weighing up to 80 grams. Even if the temperature is as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), they can be easily grown, a senior scientist at the company, Dr. Kedar Budhathoki, recently told the BBC.
“We are planning to export seeds of these varieties to India and Bangladesh where the climate is hot and the possibility of bacteria attack is high,” the owner, Marahatta, said. Seeds of hybrid tomatoes are selling for Rs 80,000 (US $1,200) to Rs 90,000 ( US $,350) per kilogram in the domestic market.
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Skimming Off the Top: US Army Charged Germany Fees for Afghanistan Donations
One cable obtained from WikiLeaks highlights irritation between Berlin and Washington over a 15-percent “administrative fee” the US sought to charge Germany on a 50 million euro donations made to a trust fund whose purpose is to improve the Afghan army. A top German diplomat complained the fee would be a tough sell to taxpayers.
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Gold on Verge of Major Decline; Commodity Currencies Warn of Trend Shift
The US Dollar has been well bid over the past several weeks and we are now nearing the point at which we will soon find out if the rally in the Greenback has been more of a corrective rally within a broader USD downtrend, or if the Buck is attempting to mount a significant longer-term across the board appreciation.
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IBTimesFX – Interview with Zoe Fiddes from Easy-Forex
Zoe Fiddes about the European debt crisis, and what traders need to consider. Also she talks about the QE2, its possibility of a hyperinflation in the US and the consequences for the global economy.
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Ireland to get €85bn banking loan
Potential bailout followed comments by the world’s biggest bond investor virtually inviting depositors to withdraw their money
Ireland is to be offered an €85bn (£72bn) loan from the IMF and the EU to bail out its banks and fund its public finances.
In a deal expected to include a contribution from the UK taxpayer of up to £10bn, the crippled banking sector is to be recapitalised, effectively taking Allied Irish Banks into state control and giving the government a majority stake in Bank of Ireland.
According to Irish broadcaster RTÉ, the banks will be forced to push up their capital cushions from 8% to 12% in a move that should boost confidence in the banking sector that has been suffering big deposit outflows.
RTÉ said €48bn would be used to fund the government deficit over the next three years, with €15bn-20bn to recapitalise the banks, and an extra contingency fund of €20bn.
The potential bailout of the banking system followed comments by the world’s biggest bond investor, virtually inviting depositors to take their money out of Ireland’s stricken banks.
EU authorities will be hoping the speed with which the deal appears to have been agreed will calm the markets, where there have been fears that Portugal could also need a bailout, and even Spain.
Markets were febrile yesterday, with the euro plunging more than two cents against the dollar and share prices falling heavily in Europe and North America.
Tensions between North and South Korea further strained nerves, while Germany admitted that the future of the euro was at stake through the Irish bailout.
Mohamed El-Erian, chief investment officer of the powerful bond manager Pimco, fuelled anxiety about the health of the banks yesterday by describing Ireland’s banks as “bleeding deposits”.
He said: “What you advise your sister in Ireland now is that you’d say take your money out of an Irish bank and put it in another bank headquartered elsewhere.
“That’s what happened in Argentina and in emerging economies. People worry about their savings.”
Ireland’s central bank had immediately denounced Erian’s remarks by saying there was “no basis for concern” and all deposits were guaranteed by the government. But the central bank’s admission that major international firms had been withdrawing their funds from Ireland highlighted the anxious mood of the markets on the eve of the government’s four-year fiscal plan, which is a crucial component on the deal with the IMF and EU.
Erian, who was interviewed by the Bloomberg news agency, said Ireland needed to conclude those negotiations to restore confidence in the banking system.
“It will seriously undermine the prosperity of this country for a generation. The first thing they must do is execute on what they announced this weekend, which is a big external aid package and steps by the Irish government,” he said.
According to RTÉ, Ireland’s banks will be made considerably smaller and the bad loans will be taken out of the troubled UK arm of AIB in an attempt to allow the operation to be sold off.
Irish bank shares had been hit hard before details of the package leaked and central bank boss Patrick Honohan had invited bidders. “They [the banks] are for sale as far as I am concerned. I have been an advocate for a number of years for small countries to have foreign owners for their banks,” he said. US billionaire Wilbur Ross said he was “very far along” in the process of buying a bank.
Ireland’s woes prompted concerns that the authorities had failed to use the Republic as a firebreak for the crisis which now risks enveloping Portugal and even Spain. The cost of borrowing for both countries rose yesterday. Spain did not manage to raise as much money as it had hoped in its regular bond auction and was forced to pay more to raise the funds.
Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, warned that the Irish rescue package did not solve the problems at the heart of the single currency.
Other market experts were also concerned about the eurozone. Graham Turner of GFC Economics said the solution for weak members might be for Germany to walk away from the single currency.
He suggested that Austria, Finland, the Netherlands and Germany could form a new deutschemark bloc which would allow the other 12 members of the eurozone to devalue and reflate their way out of the crisis. “It has to be a better option than the present straitjacket of a single currency,” said Turner.
In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 index closed 95 points (1.8%) lower at 5581.28 while Germany’s DAX tumbled 1.7% and the CAC-40 in France ended 2.5% lower. Spain’s Ibex closed down 2.8% and Portugal’s PSI 2.1%.
The euro fell to its lowest level in two months of 1.3377 against the dollar.
The German parliament was told of the gravity of the situation by finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble. “Our common currency is at risk,” he said, if Germany did not play its part in bailing out Ireland. Without participation, the “economic and social consequences for our country will be incalculable”. Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed his remarks, saying: “We’re in an extraordinarily serious situation.” Ireland bailout European debt crisis Ireland Euro Currencies Banking European banks Euro European Union Economics Banks and building societies Jill Treanor Larry Elliott guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Will China raise rates? Will US data guide QE talks? – Next week’s forex questions
The dust of G-20 has settled. World leaders sat around a large table set this time in South Korea, searched for that magic wand in their suit pockets, and then looked at each other’s face with disappointment. They didn’t get one to ‘calm down’ the emerging fears of a ‘world war’ on trade and currencies. They did not ‘direct’ China and/or US as some hoped.
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Risk Sentiment Takes a Hit During Asian Session
Risk markets took a hit throughout the Asian session as Euro-zone debt concerns intensified. Higher yielding currencies pairs sold off and equities traded lower; the Nikkei closed -1.39% lower while the Shanghai Composite dropped -5.29% on the day. The currency majors fell against the US Dollar, with the exception of the USDJPY which also was weaker, trading between 82.17-82.55.
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Keeping dollar low hurts others: Greenspan
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan says both the US and China are pursuing a policy of weakening their currencies.
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Daily forex forecast – 09/11/2010
A brief US Dollar rally saw the Aussie lose ground during onshore trade yesterday with a minor increase in October Job Advertisements failing to provide any support.
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Australian Dollar Outlook 08/11/2010
The AUD remains very firm this morning after touching another post float high of 1.0175 on Friday night, as the US non-farm payrolls in October rose 151k, as compared to predictions of 60k.
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