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Worsening Illinois drought points to increasingly ominous signs
for crops - (www.chicagotribune.com)
More than 95 percent of
Illinois is in a severe drought or worse, according to a national report
Thursday that increased concerns about how the hot, dry summer is affecting
farming. Most of Cook County is in a moderate drought, and other parts of the
Chicago area are suffering through severe drought. But the central and southern
portions of Illinois are experiencing even worse conditions that are classified
as extreme or exceptional, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Surrounding states, especially Missouri and Indiana, have also been hit hard,
with 55.5 percent of the Midwest experiencing at least a severe drought,
compared with 45.6 percent of the country.
Spanish Banks Hit by Real-Estate Woes - (online.wsj.com) One large and two midsize
Spanish banks reported sharply lower second-quarter profit Friday after setting
aside billions of euros to cover real-estate-related losses amid a deepening
economic slump. Caixabank SA, Spain's
third-largest lender by market value, number five bank Banco Popular Español SA and smaller Banco Español de Credito SA, all
said they had set aside most of their profit to bolster their buffers against
property sector losses, after the government twice this year raised the minimum
required provisioning level for banks.
Shale Writedowns Begin as Lower Prices Follow Record M&A
- (www.bloomberg.com) The record slump in
natural-gas prices signals companies from BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) to Ultra
Petroleum Corp. (UPL) (UPL) are at risk of writing off
billions of dollars of assets following a bubble in U.S. shale-gas acreage. The
clearest sign came yesterday, when BG Group Plc (BG/) and Encana Corp. (ECA)
said they were writing down a total of $3 billion in the value of their gas
properties in North America. “This is not something we are alone in facing as
natural- gas prices remain low,” Encana Chief Financial Officer Sherri Brillon
said at a June 21 investor meeting when she warned of impending impairment
charges. Energy companies have been struggling to adjust to lower prices since
a glut in supplies from booming shale production deflated gas futures to a
10-year low this year.
Greek Budget Talks Stumble As EU Urges Samaras To Deliver -
(www.bloomberg.com) Greek political leaders
struggled to clinch agreement on an 11.5 billion-euro ($14 billion) package of
budget cuts, as international creditors began a review of Greece’s
progress that may determine its future in the euro. Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras and his coalition partners, Evangelos Venizelos of Pasok and Fotis Kouvelis of
Democratic Left, are to meet again on July 30 to determine the savings required
to receive the funds pledged under Greece’s two rescue packages totaling 240
billion euros. European Commission President Jose
Barroso urged Samaras to make good on promises. “The key word
here is deliver,” Barroso said after meeting the premier, the first visit to
Greece by a senior European Union official in more than a year. “Deliver, deliver,
deliver. The delays must end. Words are not enough.”
Euro-Zone Gloom Deepens - (online.wsj.com)
The pace of economic
contraction in the euro-zone picked up in July compared with the previous month
as consumer and business confidence weakened amid the deepening fiscal and
banking crises, according to a measure of activity compiled by the Centre for
Economic Policy Research and the Bank of Italy. A monthly survey also released
Friday showed consumer confidence in France, the euro zone's second-largest
economy, weakened in July, and the unemployment rate in Spain continued to rise
in the second quarter, hitting a record high of 24.63%.
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