Hedge Funds Buying up Land, Fertilizer, Shipping Equipment and Grain Elevators!!!

[OregonBlue]

Huge investment funds have already poured hundreds of billions of dollars into booming financial markets for commodities like wheat, corn and soybeans.

But a few big private investors are starting to make bolder and longer-term bets that the world’s need for food will greatly increase — by buying farmland, fertilizer, grain elevators and shipping equipment.

Grain elevators, especially, could give these investors new ways to make money, because they can buy or sell the actual bushels of corn or soybeans, rather than buying and selling financial derivatives that are linked to those commodities.

“It’s a huge disadvantage to not be able to trade the physical commodity,” said Andrew J. Redleaf, founder of Whitebox Advisors, a hedge fund management firm in Minneapolis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/business/05farm.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

In short, they want to be able to buy and sell the actual commodities, not the financial dirivatives. They will own the farms, the fertilizers, the grain elevators, the container ships. They will own it all and we will be at their mercy.

THESE ARE THE SAME HEDGE FUND MANAGERS THAT BROUGHT US THE CURRENT OIL CRISIS. WHERE THE HELL IS CONGRESS? We have no food reserves at all. Congress is allowing Hedge Funds to buy up the actual commodities and the means of producing and distributing those commodities worldwide.

[yourout]

1. A bunch of damn parasites.

[OregonBlue]

2. Much worse than that. This is a plan to control the world food supply and

distribution of that food. Does anyone believe that these scum will actually put the U.S. first, they make it clear in the article that they plan to sell to the "highest bidder". That would be China since they the the money and we do not!!!

[SpiralHawk]

6. The republicons have put the US in deep, dee hock to 'godless red commie China'

for the next seven generations or more...

Ptoooey on the republicons' so-called 'conservativism...

Borrow and spend republicons.

[sarcasmo]

30. One day we will not be able to afford food or fuel. Hedge fund scum.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

48. No. It's called "fascism". It can't happen here, though. Right? nt

[Lasher]

3. Don't worry, that's just the invisible hand performing its magic for the good of all.

All that laissez faire bullshit doesn't seem to be working out too hot, does it? Kinda like the tax cuts for billionaires.

[bluesmail]

39. Forgive me, I don't think I understand your important post. n/t

[stubtoe]

44. The "Invisible Hand of the Market" - that all-knowing force (farce?) that

supposedly drives individuals' capitalistic behavior towards an economic "common good". The theory is that no regulation is necessary. The anti-regulation crowd LOVES the Invisible Hand, as you might well imagine.

We've seen how well the Invisible Hand works, alright. Think California / Enron / Energy "crisis". x(

[Warpy]

4. They're waddling around with their heads up their asses

because as long as their cash flow is positive, to hell with us. It's why this election is so important, to get the old thieves out of office and bring in new thieves who don't know how to steal as efficiently.

However, this too shall pass. The funny money the hedge funds are using is based on exotic "investments" they've been using for years, things that are held up only by hot air and consensus.

Control over the food supply will be sold at bargain basement rates when those assets evaporate, and they will. We'll be back to the cartels of rich old men called corporations before you know it.

[OregonBlue]

5. Unfortunately, they are buying up the small farms all over Africa and Latin America.

They will destroy the small local economies by turning them into mega agri-business which may indeed fail. Where does that then leave the populations of those countries?

[conspirator]

11. The populations of those countries should get their pitchforks and guilottines and riot

It's happening already.
Riots in Mozambique when they increased the price of bread. They had to lower the price back.
The riots in South Africa, which are related to xenophoby, but they are first the result of generalised poverty.

[brokensymmetry]

35. Gee, I wonder where our military will go next....

It's so predictable.

[ensho]

7. if that doesn't tell you we are in crisis, nothing will

food and water

and transporting both

before you know it, survival will be local.

(you might buy stock in glass canning jars with metal/rubber lids)

oh, and pressure cookers.

[knitter4democracy]

22. Already got mine here at home.

Good idea on the stock, though. I'm going to look into it. I wonder who owns Ball Jar.

[msongs]

8. c'mon, u think the dems in congress are gonna bite the hands tht feed them??????? nt

[OregonBlue]

9. Didn't they just pass a farm bill. Bet there were NO CURBS on this. Look what they let

happen with mortgages and oil. Why would we think they will do ANYTHING about food. Guess they all figure they will be able to afford it. As for the rest of us, "let them eat cake".

[leftofthedial]

10. hedge funds are the mouth through which capitalism is devouring

what little is left of the planet

[OregonBlue]

12. Those hedge fund managers might want to remember what happened to the

French aristocracy. Do they really believe their wealth and gated communities will save them?

[lonestarnot]

13. So dick and bush itler are hedge fund managers?

[OregonBlue]

14. Huh?

[lonestarnot]

15. You said THESE ARE THE SAME HEDGE FUND MANAGERS THAT BROUGHT US THE CURRENT OIL CRISIS

:shrug:

[OregonBlue]

17. From what I'm reading and discussions here, it's the hedge fund speculators that

are drive up the housing, oil prices, etc. While the President supports free wheeling and dealing and speculation, Congress has done NOTHING to stop it. They are just as much to blame. But yes, you are right, Bush/Cheney and their policies are to blame.

[lonestarnot]

19. And how 'bout that war in Iraq?

:shrug:

[OregonBlue]

26. Yes, the war has disrupted regular oil business and speculators have taken

advantage of the disruption to hedge their bets and drive the prices up.

[anigbrowl]

31. That's silly. They don't all work for the same corporation

There are greedy unethical hedge funds and there are ethical progressive ones. Hedging is just a sensible investment strategy. To demonize all hedge fund managers without looking at individual cases is to commit the same mistake the administration does when they label everyone they don't like as terrorists, or when religious fundamentalists demonize all scientists.

Wise up and deal with things in terms of what's going on rather than what makes a good conspiracy theory. Your valid Criticisms are not going to stick or be effective if you overstate them with hyperbole or histrionics.

[KharmaTrain]

16. Keep Your Eye On This...The Next "bubble"

First...remember what hedge funds are and who uses them. These are to protect investors from losing too much in the market...a way to offset losses or make a killing and then get out. When people start hedging in a certain sector, it's in anticipation of troubles with other funds.

Now think about what's going on "down on the farm"...the planting season has begun and corn prices continue to rise due to the amount now "set-aside" for ethanol...along with the high costs in planting this year. This is a hedge that will sit in the ground all summer and when these crops come to market all the added costs will push virtually all commodity prices higher and thus a big profit for those who buy now. The tighter the supply and the higher the base cost come Septmber, the big rewards to be made by those who've hedged now.

It's another case of following the money...those with it are finding any and all ways to "maximize" it right now...running amok in a system where there is no regulation and by the time people realize what's going on, the profit has been made and the next target is selected.

[OregonBlue]

18. Yes and according to the article, they are no longer content to reap the huge profits from

speculation but now they want to actually take control of the crops themselves from every angle. They are buying up the land, fertilizers, shipping, etc. and have even stated that they stand to make so much more when they can control the production, distribution and the sale of those commodities.

[lonestarnot]

20. Sucking us fucking drier than a pile of 1000 year old bones.

And we continue on auto pilot into the ground.

[KharmaTrain]

23. I Keep Hearing Those Sirens, Too

It's frustrating as all hell...moreso when you can see the scams going on and seeing the greed that is going on. It's so short term to the extreme and there's little concern about the long-term consequences. It's like a junkie that needs to find another source...get another fix and they don't care how they get it or how much they pay for it. Except in this case, we pay for their addiction.

The saving grace, if one can find one, is that the financial implosion will bring down a lot of these robber barons as they choke on their own debt and open up new opportunities. When the airlines crash, someone's gonna pick up the ball...and the same with energy and other fields...and we could see a wave of economic reform that's 70 years overdue.

Cheers...

[lonestarnot]

24. You are sooooooooooo optimistic.

I on the other hand am not. :toast:

[OregonBlue]

27. If you read the whole article, they are buying up small farms all over

Africa and Latin America. They will turn those into huge agri-business and hire the locals to work them (of course the article also states they will be opening local schools and clinics so that will salve their consciences). When those farms collapse what happens? Where are the heritage seeds? Where are the locals who know how to manage a small farm? There will be mass famine and they will once again get off scott free while living in their McMansions and vacationing in Dubai.

Where is Congress? What is their cut?

[truedelphi]

46. But with farming, the land is more than a commodity - it is a living entity

Treat it right and it will probably produce for you, if the weather isn't too hot or too cold.

But screw around with the land for insane amounts of profit, and a half dozen years from now we might find our nation's farmlands to be one big DustBowl.

[sarcasmo]

32. Trying to Bankrupt this Country on purpose, IMHO of course.

[lonestarnot]

33. Trying?

http://zfacts.com/p/789.html

[sarcasmo]

34. What was the National Debt when slick willie left office.

[ensho]

53. a good many farms are being flooded at the moment

a crop this summer??

[knitter4democracy]

21. Buy local as much as you can, then.

I know where our meat and most of our veggies and such are from. This just makes me want to boot everything else right out of our house. Small farmers are the future of affordable food, it looks like, so we need to keep them in business!

[Trillo]

25. Kinda hard to do when local authorities have outlawed

local fruit and veggie stands in favor of corporate grocery chains.

[Greyhound]

36. This is what Americans don't get, yet, and won't get until it's too late.

Corporations have gathered enough power here that they no longer have to work through Congress to get what they want. They own Congress and the rest of the government and if/when people start working against them, they do things like that. They make it a crime to not do business with them.

Here in OR. for example, I can have repeated convictions for DUI, I can have been in multiple accidents annually for years and years, I can be convicted of eluding the police, I can do all of this and still have my car, but let me get pulled over with no insurance and the State will immediately seize my car. Won't even let me drive home, it's towed away on the spot.

They're buying the very means of survival, and yet even here, some people believe that they not only have the right to do so, but would never misuse that power over us.

[knitter4democracy]

40. Where's that? Not here in Michigan.

We have local veggie stands and local farms all over the place.

[Trillo]

42. We had that, too, in a non-incorporated town,

meaning county government only, 10 years ago when we moved in, and in fact the fruit and veggie stands were one of the things we considered 'a plus' or benefit of living in the county and away from the city. About 5-6 years ago, most of the stands were shut down (a few remain closer to the freeway, about 10 miles from town), the rationale was asserted that some neighbors allegedly complained. Where we are located is known as The Avocado Capital of the U.S., i.e., Southern California.

The local farmers get water subsidies from the rest of us, and nobody minded much when they could buy local avocados and citrus cheap, direct from the stand at the driveway of the grower. Now that the stands are all gone, save a joke of a weekly farmers market where mostly trinkets, instead of food, is sold, the local corporate grocery chains, including so-called 'independents', captured that water subsidy from local water district homeowners to the growers.

It's simply corruption based in greed. Businesses do everything they can think of to eliminate competition, and I suspect that includes sending so-called 'neighbors' to complain about existing veggie stands. By the time others in the area who liked the stands realized they were no longer around, the change had already been made.

[knitter4democracy]

54. Wow. That's awful!!

My mom grew up on a ranch in Rancho Cucamonga, and she cries whenever she goes back, it's so hard to see the changes.

I can't imagine anyone here complaining of roadside stands. Of course, most of them are further out in the country, but even the state government encourages them, putting out a free book every year with almost all of them listed with hours, directions, and what they sell and more with a website, too. Our farmer's market in town is small, but I got a great free-range chicken there on Saturday and some good tomatoes that should hold me over until our produce delivery from the CSA on Wednesday.

Maybe it was about land, too. In Southern Cal, that always seems to be a problem.

[Tippy]

28. It's time to contact Congress.....

"Hedge Funds Buying up Land, Fertilizer, Shipping Equipment and Grain Elevators!!!
Edited on Sun Jun-08-08 03:37 PM by OregonBlue
Huge investment funds have already poured hundreds of billions of dollars into booming financial markets for commodities like wheat, corn and soybeans.

But a few big private investors are starting to make bolder and longer-term bets that the world’s need for food will greatly increase — by buying farmland, fertilizer, grain elevators and shipping equipment."

Without real farmers who will be going out of business....Weneed to be screaming our heads off to congress we cannot wait for Obama...

[OregonBlue]

37. I contacted Al Franken's campaign. Norm Coleman is the Repuke head of the

committee that looks at this issue. Others, please contact Al. this could be a real down to earth, grass roots issue for him. One the Minnesota farmers will understand!!!

[Buzz Clik]

29. "THESE ARE THE SAME HEDGE FUND MANAGERS THAT BROUGHT US THE CURRENT OIL CRISIS" Indeed.

If you like $4 gas, you'll love this.

[bluesmail]

38. Logical next step.

Then they'll have enough control to colonize another planet, to usurp what might be found on them. Good Lord! Thanks St Ronnie.

[Tashca]

41. This sent a chill down my back.

I have feared something like this for along time. This would not be hard at all to do.....it would just take a huge amount of money. The way the money is flowing from our pockets to the the monied few and has accelerated in the last months.......I guess it's inevitable.

If I wanted to control your food......this is how I would do it.

:scared:

[earth mom]

43. And people think Obama-a current member of Congress-is gonna help them in '09.

:eyes:

Edwards warned us. Status Quo. Same as it ever was. :puke:

[SpiralHawk]

45. Grow your own

It's not the whole solution, but it is step.

In terms of farming and food, 2009 is going to make 2008 look like the good old days.

k & r

[WCGreen]

47. As much as you can....

Buy basics and make your own food.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

49. Same reptiles that brought us the Mortgage Crisis as well. n/t

[BigBearJohn]

50. it's the end of the world.

[Divernan]

51. Chelsea Clinton and her finacee make their millions working as hedge fund traders.

Was the notion of "family values" why some white women supported HRC? Family values does not translate to staying with a husband who blatantly philandered hroughout one's marriage (And as an aside, feminist values do not include modeling for your daughter/child that it's OK if your husband publicly cheats on you as long as you get to be Mrs. Governor or Mrs. President.)
The "family values" of the Clintons translates into market value/bank balances.

As another poster recently pointed out, Chelsea Clinton has never done a single thing for any Democrat other than her parents. As a dutiful daughter, she reflected her parents' TRUE values by parlaying her parents' connections into a lucrative career as a hedge fund trader - with not one single year given to public service/Peace Corps/ military service/working in inner city poverty programs/etc. My god, EACH of the Bush twins has performed more public service than Chelsea. Chelsea also reflected her parents belief in lying when she backed up her mother's claim re Tuzla sniper fire.
In the US, everyone is free to pursue the big bucks - but let's take a hard look at what family values this young woman was taught at her mother's knee. Relevant re who gets the VP nod.

[BigDaddy44]

52. sssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

We're all unified now, remember!!

[entanglement]

55. Unfortunately, the global working class is too divided and too weak to take these parasites on