The Morning Rant

Posted by Nogger - a legend in his own mind at 11:12 | Categorized as

11/10/11 -- Back from a weekend away on the lash I wouldn't so much say I'm refreshed as destroyed. Driving around North Yorks at the weekend I have to say that young wheat and OSR crops are by and large looking really rather good, thanks no doubt to the recent rains.

The general mood amongst my mixed bunch of compatriots wasn't good and these are guys across a broad section of industry from construction to computers. Job losses, lack of funding, cut backs, short time at work, there wasn't a lot of optimism out there.

Surprising then that the vibe in the financial markets yesterday seemed to be one of cautious optimism (when IS this market going to learn), but the jitters seem to be back this morning ahead of a Slovakian vote later this afternoon on whether they'd like to join the rest of the eurozone by having a whip-round for EUR7.7 billion to chuck into the EU bailout fund.

Elsewhere I see that the Australian wheat crop is getting bigger according to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, although I've also been hearing of reports of frost damage. Spoke to my brother in Melbourne this morning and he says it's "pretty nippy" over there comparing it to March back home in Blightly.

Ukraine's grain harvest is 86% done at 43.67 MMT, with corn harvesting not yet at the halfway point. They're still harvesting in Kazakhstan too, with almost 10% of the planted area left to be cut they've brought in a grain crop of 24.1 MMT.

A woman in the US ran the Chicago marathon at the weekend, went home for a sandwich and then straight to hospital to have a baby, report the BBC. No doubt leaving her distraught husband to do the dishes and put her running kit on a "smelly synthetics" wash - the lazy cow.