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☆ Opinion | Why the Supreme Court Is Blind to Its Own Corruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Randall D. Eliason | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The landmark case is the court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. A five-justice majority — including Justice Thomas — struck down decades-old restrictions on independent campaign expenditures by corporations, holding that they violated the companies’ free speech rights. The government’s legitimate interest in fighting corruption, the court held, is limited to direct quid pro quo deals, in which a public official makes a specific commitment to act in exchange for something of value. In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens accused the majority of adopting a “crabbed view of corruption” that the court itself had rejected in an earlier case. But the decision didn’t come out of nowhere: The court has often been unanimous in its zeal for curtailing criminal corruption laws.

REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - Expanding work requirements for the largest U.S. food assistance program is still a "red line" in negotiations over raising the country's debt ceiling to avert a looming default, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow said Monday in an interview with Reuters. Republicans, whose party control the House of Representatives, have proposed increasing work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, as part of a spending deal. Expanding work requirements for SNAP would affect about 1 million people, the Department of Agriculture has estimated. "It is a red line as far as I’m concerned," the senator said of tying the expansion of work requirements to the debt ceiling talks. The debt ceiling plan released by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in April would raise that top age to 56.

☆ Honduras will 'soon' launch trade talks with China as ties deepen
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TEGUCIGALPA, May 12 (Reuters) - Honduras will soon begin talks toward a trade deal with China, the Central American country's top diplomat said on Friday, marking the latest step toward stronger bilateral ties between the two nations after Honduras broke off relations with Taiwan. Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina told reporters at a press conference that the goal is to launch talks "soon" and eventually ink a "free trade" agreement with the Asian giant, the world's second-largest economy. "It will be good news and (offer) opportunities for access to our products to China," said Reina. Reina said that China has also expressed interest in buying Honduran beef and bananas, among other products. In April, the diplomat said Honduras also hopes to reach agreements with China to lighten the nation's debt burden with the support of financial organizations from its new partner.

☆ More than 25% of biodiversity is under our feet — but we're destroying it. A biotech startup that's raised $56 million has a plan to help save our soil.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Amanda Paule | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The women-led biotech startup Trace Genomics is working to reverse human-caused soil erosion. Soil-data companies such as the Iowa startup Trace Genomics are trying to help farmers reverse that trend. Prasanna Kankanala, Trace Genomics' director of research and development, visits a client's farm. The opportunity to help fight crop diseases led Parameswaran and Diane Wu, her cofounder, to start Trace Genomics in 2015. Where a chemical test might run him $20, Trace's test could run him $200.

☆ The top large-cap fund manager from the past 12 months shares the simple change he made that completely turned around his performance — and 13 stocks he loves now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

That realization led portfolio manager David Miller to launch the Catalyst Insider Buying Fund (INSIX) nearly 12 years ago. While many funds factor in insider transactions when selecting stocks, few use it as their main prerequisite when screening investments. But in the last 12 months, it's the best-performing large-cap fund on the market through April 30, according to Kiplinger. All of these companies have benefitted from insider buying to some extent, but some have been lifted even more by company buybacks. "They've just been gobbling up their own stock," Miller said of O'Reilly Automotive.

☆ Bernadine Strik, Whose Insights Helped Blueberries Thrive, Dies at 60
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Daniel E. Slotnik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bernadine Strik, a horticulture professor at Oregon State University whose innovative cultivation strategies shook up the American blueberry industry, died on April 14 at a hospital in Corvallis, Ore. She was 60. The cause was complications of ovarian cancer, said her husband, Neil Bell. Modern farming is as much science as labor, and Dr. Strik, whose career at Oregon State began in 1987, brought a skeptical, scientific approach to blueberry cultivation. “She was able to connect with the growers,” Scott Lukas, who took on Oregon State’s endowed professorship for Northwest berry production after Dr. Strik retired in 2021, said in a phone interview. She could view research “from that down-to-earth perspective,” he added, “and be a human about it and not get lost in the science.”

☆ BeeHero: 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Enter agtech startup BeeHero with a solution. Last December, BeeHero snared $42 million in a Series B round led by impact growth fund Covent Capital in Amsterdam. But BeeHero is not the only startup providing honeybee pollution services, a market estimated by the USDA at $320 million annually. Last year, Limor Farchy, who previously worked at two acquired Israeli tech startups, was recruited as CFO. The agtech startup supplies several top almond growers in California and expects to expand to other crops that rely on pollination.

Crop Watch farmers last week continued planting their corn and soybeans at a faster-than-normal pace, mirroring national progress, though field work has barely started in North Dakota. As of Monday, 15 of the 22 Crop Watch fields had been planted, most recently the ones in eastern Iowa, finished Thursday and Friday. Unplanted soybean fields include those in Kansas, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Ohio. Crop Watch planting is moving slower than in 2021, when 19 of the 22 fields had been planted by May 7. The final two fields, Ohio corn and North Dakota soybeans, wrapped up on May 18 that year.

☆ Fruit growers arrested for using illegal wells in drought-hit Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

During a four-year investigation, authorities uncovered more than 250 illegal wells, bore holes and ponds in the Axarquia area in Andalusia, which has been hit by drought since 2021. Spain is Europe's biggest producer of tropical fruit, which requires large volumes of water. Producers estimate that avocado production will drop by 25% this year due to high temperatures and a lack of water. Spain registered the driest and warmest April since records began, according to the national weather agency AEMET. The average water level in reservoirs in Catalonia and Andalusia - the worst hit areas - stands at around 25%.

☆ Dozens of fruit growers arrested in Spain over illegal wells as drought grips the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Al Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Spanish police have arrested 26 people in recent months for an alleged scheme to use water from illegal wells to grow subtropical fruit, as the country grapples with damaging heat and drought. Spanish police officers document illegal water pipes in Malaga province, Spain in this screen grab from an undated handout video. Authorities’ investigation into the alleged illegal wells scheme began with a complaint to the Civil Guard’s environmental investigative unit four years ago. Later various growers told authorities they also detected illegal use of water, Spanish police said. The 26 people arrested have been arraigned before the magistrate there in recent months and released, with charges pending, the Malaga Civil Guard press office told CNN.

☆ GrubMarket: 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Despite the scale of industrial farming, the produce supply chain, in which wholesalers and distributors get their produce to customers via grocers, local markets or restaurants, has remained fragmented. The goal, according to CEO Mike Xu, is to digitally transform the American food supply chain industry, while reaching $100 billion in sales — it is nowhere near that today — along the way. The company works directly with farmers and growers, as well as buyers, with a suite of software solutions that include inventory, warehouse management, grower accounting and mobile apps for food wholesalers and distributors. GrubMarket is now one of the largest suppliers of South American produce in the U.S. Last year, it was in the top 10% of suppliers for meat, peppers, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and oranges in the country. It supplies 5% of all grapes and is the country's largest distributor of South American cherries.

☆ A $1.1 trillion investment chief shares her 3-part checklist for confirming a recession has started — and details 4 stocks she expects to outperform no matter what
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Faris | Akin Oyedele | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Nuveen investment chief Saira Malik is still forecasting a recession in the next year. Malik also shares four top stocks investors can buy to set themselves up for long-term success. "The consumer — which I would have said was holding up very well — I'm worried about tighter banking conditions, tighter banking credit on the consumer," Malik said. Additionally, the labor market is now showing cracks, even though the unemployment rate remains historically low at 3.5%. 4 stocks set to outperform in a downturnDespite her concerns about the economy, Malik doesn't see a massive market sell-off coming.

☆ Morgan Stanley's top strategist says second half profits will disappoint — so own these stable growers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investors are in for a rocky second half of the year, so it's time to take a look at stable earnings growers, says Morgan Stanley's top strategist Mike Wilson. It's also rooted in the view that companies broadly have already right-sized expenses and that margin expansion can now take hold," Wilson wrote to clients on Monday. In this uncertain climate, the strategist said he prefers stocks with stable earnings. They are: Coca-Cola surfaced on Morgan Stanley's list for stable earnings growers. UnitedHealth Group was identified as a stable earnings grower.

☆ How New York and California Botched Marijuana Legalization
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Zusha Elinson | Jimmy Vielkind | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DISCOVERY BAY, Calif.—State agents broke through the doors of a stucco home in a gated community in March shouting “Police! Search warrant!” Inside, they found marijuana growing in bedrooms and the living room, with fertilizer stowed in the Jacuzzi tub. Officers piled the plants on a trailer already overflowing from a morning of busting illegal growers in this quiet Bay Area suburb. An agent jumped up and down on the mound to make more room.

☆ Minnesota Votes to Legalize Marijuana as Democrats Press Liberal Policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ernesto Londoño | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“So we came ready to work on Day 1.”Legalizing marijuana for adults to use recreationally had long been an elusive goal for Democrats in Minnesota. The state joins 22 others that have legalized cannabis for recreational use in recent years, though Minnesota’s legislation has unique features. The bill Senate Democrats passed on Friday includes provisions that will expunge the criminal records of tens of thousands of people previously charged with marijuana misdemeanors. The bill also funds substance abuse and law enforcement programs. “It just does not do enough on substance abuse prevention,” she said.

☆ This style of dividend 'aristocrat' ETF could outperform going into a recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As such, we recommend buying Dividend Aristocrats, which are companies that have a long track record of increasing dividends," Senyek said. Additionally, Dividend Aristocrats' outperformance has tended to persist during the initial stages of recoveries, which also tend to be highly uncertain environments," he added. One fund that tracks the group directly is the ProShares S & P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) . Those funds have a total return of 1.7%% and 3%, respectively, so far this year. Another similar product is the iShares Core Dividend ETF (DIVB) .

☆ U.S. trade consultations on Mexico's GMO corn rule 'unacceptable violation' of law -Mexican official
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Adriana Barrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, April 27 (Reuters) - Trade consultations requested by the United States on Mexico's plan to limit the use of genetically modified corn are an "unacceptable violation" of Mexican law and feed the interests of seed "oligopolies," a top Mexican official said on Thursday. The United States, Mexico's main trading partner, requested the consultations in early March under the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, which calls for a science-based approach to domestic regulations. "The United States' request to Mexico follows the interests of seed, agrochemical, and other food-producing oligopolies," said Mexican Deputy Agriculture Minister Victor Suarez. Washington requested consultations after Mexico softened an original plan to ban GMO corn across the board and instead opened its use for animal feed and industrial use. The Mexican policy "does not affect U.S. corn producers in any way," Suarez said, contradictory to the U.S.' claims.

☆ Lululemon’s Climate Goals Hinge on Replacing Oil With Plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s need for crude oil for its leggings and other stretchy clothes presents a hurdle to meeting its climate ambitions. Its first products out this month are two shirts containing at least 50% nylon made from plant-based sugars instead of oil. A new Lululemon shirt contains at least 50% nylon made from plant-based sugars instead of oil. Lululemon’s push into biomaterials is part of a goal to make all of its products with sustainable materials by the end of the decade. Biomaterials also can help Lululemon more swiftly reduce its climate impact because using recycled materials is challenging, Ms. Speck said.

Crop Watch follows 11 corn and 11 soybean fields across nine U.S. states, including two each in Iowa and Illinois. As of Tuesday, four Crop Watch fields had been planted and a fifth, the Indiana soybeans, was in progress. Since 1980, U.S. corn planting progress has matched or exceeded 10% by April 16 only five times, most recently in 2016. Some notable corn planting progress by state as of Sunday include Illinois at 10%, Iowa 7%, Kansas 17% and Missouri 30%. The five-year average corn planting is 11% for April 23 and 26% for April 30.

Palm oil prices have fallen some 49% from last year's record, but the tight supply means they are expected to stay above pre-pandemic levels. Another palm oil giant, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLKK.KL), told Reuters it plans to replant 10,000 hectares this year, up from a lower-than-usual 6,000 hectares in 2022. The scheme targeted replanting of 2.4 million hectares but only managed to replant around 278,000 hectares by February, partly due to land legality issues. We are ageing faster than we are replanting," Malaysia Palm Oil Association chief executive Joseph Tek told Reuters. In Malaysia, replanting costs doubled to around $4,500 per hectare after the pandemic inflated prices of fertiliser and labour.

☆ Barley talks may be 'first step' toward better trade ties with China. Australia hopes wine is next
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"Barley is the first step in a long process of stabilizing our trading relationship with China," Farrell said Friday, after the two economic giants agreed this week to work toward removing tariffs on Australian barley. Since China's 2020 tariffs on barley, Australia has been essentially blocked from exports to that market worth about $620 million ($916 million Australian dollars) in 2018-19. Don Farrell Minister for Trade and TourismWhen asked about a timeline on a complete resolution to the barley tariffs, the Australian trade minister said he was looking at "the next three to four months." While the future of Australian barley returning to China again is still not confirmed, Farrell is hoping wine could be next on the list. In March 2021, China introduced a crushing five-year tariff of up to 218% on Australian wine.

☆ Next week's stock market moves hinge on the longer-term outlook for earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Next week's market action could be dictated by how well the latest quarterly reports from corporate America are received. Expectations about the immediate earnings outlook have been down for so long, the actual numbers themselves could look like up to investors. Earnings for all financials in the S & P 500 are actually expected to expand in the first quarter by 4.3%. ET: NAHB Housing Market Index (April) Earnings: Charles Schwab, M & T Bank, State Street, J.B. Hunt Transport Tuesday 8:30 a.m. ET: Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker speaks on the economic outlook Earnings: AT & T, American Express, D.R.

[1/5] Javier Ramiro, Co-Chief Scientific Officer of Spanish indoor hops farming start-up Ekonoke controls the plantation of hops in Alcobendas, Spain, March 23, 2023. "We're on a mission to save the world's beer," Ines Sagrario, chief executive and co-founder of Ekonoke, told Reuters. Strict hygiene measures such as protective clothing for staff ensure the space remains pest-free, taking the pesticides on which traditional farming often depends out of the equation. The most obvious challenge indoor farming faces, he said, is its high energy cost. "Demand from breweries is quite inelastic; you can't make beer without hops and they don't want to produce less," Sagrario said.

☆ Deepening Florida Drought Hits Ranchers, Growers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Arian Campo-Flores | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Stocks with steady earnings growth are the play to manage an upcoming economic downturn, according to David Kostin, Goldman Sachs' chief U.S. equity strategist. Goldman Sachs projects that there is a 35% probability that the U.S. economy will enter a recession within the next 12 months. What's perhaps not priced in our view, would be the stable growth companies." The equity strategist named household products company Colgate-Palmolive and biotechnology name Amgen as examples of stocks with low variability of earnings growth in an environment that's laden with recession risk. The firm also picked pest-control company Rollins and consumer goods company Procter & Gamble in its basket of steady earnings growers.

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