Corn, Soybeans May Rise as Condition of U.S. Crops Decline; Wheat May Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Corn and soybeans may rise in Chicago
after a government report said warm, dry weather caused U.S.
crops to deteriorate for the fourth straight week. Wheat may fall
as harvesting speeds up, increasing supplies.

An estimated 58 percent of the corn crop was in good or
excellent condition as of July 29, down from 62 percent a week
earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. About
58 percent of soybeans got the top ratings as of July 29, down
from 61 percent a week earlier.


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U.S., China Start Food, Drug Safety Talks, Aim for Agreement by End-2007

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. said it aims to reach
agreements with China on food and drug safety by December as a
U.S. delegation arrived in Beijing for talks to head off further
trade friction over the Asian nation's food exports.

A team led by U.S. Health and Human Services Department
Chief of Staff Rich McKeown will focus on developing joint plans
with China to address the safety of food, livestock feed, drugs
and medical devices, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary
Michael Leavitt said in a statement sent by e-mail.


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NAPM-Milwaukee says purchasing index down in July

(Reuters) - New orders were down 15 points to 60 while production
slumped 18 points to 54. Supplier lead times rose 12 points to
50 and order backlogs dropped 18 points, also to 50.




Capital equipment spending held steady at 67.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Company default risk index rises modestly-Kamakura

(Reuters) - High-grade corporate bond spreads widened 28 basis points
in July to 128 basis points. High-yield spreads widened 126
basis points to 424 basis points in July, according to Merrill
Lynch & Co. data.




"Credit spreads continue to widen but the Kamakura troubled
company index shows that actual default rates remain very low
by historical standards," Warren Sherman, the company's
president, said in a statement.


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TREASURIES-Bonds fall as stocks surge on confidence data

(Reuters) - Treasuries were little moved by tame inflation data and
news that business activity in the U.S. Midwest region
unexpectedly slowed sharply in July, as investors focused on
the stock market where stocks gained for a second day.




Rebounding stock markets reversed recent flight-to-quality
flows into Treasuries that had pushed benchmark 10-year
Treasury yields to two-month lows on Friday.


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Mexico stocks jump and peso firms aided by US data

(Reuters) - The benchmark IPC stock index moved up to 31,132
points, an increase of 0.75 percent. The peso currency
also firmed by 0.19 percent to 10.93 per dollar.




In debt trading, the price of the benchmark 10-year
government peso bond gained 0.248 point to bid
101.958, with a yield of 7.68 percent.


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S.Africa worried GMO labels could raise food prices

(Reuters) - South Africa is resisting labelling its genetically modified foods because of fears it could raise prices and make food less available for consumers, a senior health official told the country's parliament on Tuesday.

The country, Africa's economic powerhouse and one of the few on the continent to accept genetically modified organisms, or GMOs as they are popularly known, does not currently require that the modified foods be labelled.


Read more at Reuters Africa