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The Revolution was a technological success.

The Revolution was a technological success.

"Before the 1960s, the population of India was multiplying like rats in a barn," said Jagjit Singh Hara, "but we didn't have the grain to feed them. After the Green Revolution, we doubled our yield and now we have proved that India can feed the world".

But the process has limits and they may have been reached. Population, on the other hand, has continued to rise in poor parts of the world.

The graph, compiled for the BBC by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, shows that while yield per hectare has increased, the amount of land used for the major staple grains has remained fairly constant; this is because the amount of good farmland is finite.

NYSE Amex Options reviewing large number of erroneous trades

NEW YORK Aug 20 (Reuters) - NYSE Amex Options is reviewing a large number of erroneous trades that took place in stocks beginning with H, I, J, K, and L between 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT) and 9:47 a.m. EDT (1347 GMT), NYSE Euronext said. The exchange operator said while it is still reviewing the issue, it anticipates that most of the impacted trades will be busted.Nasdaq OMX Group and CBOE Holdings have also said they are reviewing a batch of options trades from this morning.

This article is taken from Reuters.com

Finnish adjusted jobless rate 7.7 percent in July

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was roughly flat at 7.7 percent in July, compared to a revised 7.8 percent in June, Statistics Finland (SF) said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Helsinki Newsroom)

This article is taken from Reuters.com

FINNEWS LATAM-Latin America corporate defaults hit four-year high, Moody's says

The default rate for speculative-grade Latin American companies rose to 4.2 percent in the 12 months through July 2013, the highest level for the indicator since June 2010, when it stood at 4.4 percent, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday. According to the ratings company, modest regional and global economic growth will present challenges for Latin American issuers amid modest economic activity. The forecast for the region's speculative-grade default rate in the next 12 months is 3.3 percent, compared with 2.5 percent for global corporates. Seven companies - two from Brazil and five from Mexico - fell behind on their payments during the period, Moody's said. The default by Brazil-based Banco Cruzeiro do Sul SA was the largest corporate default by volume in the region since 2002.Other notable defaults in the past year were those afflicting the Mexican homebuilding industry. Over the past year, rating downgrades have been more numerous than upgrades in Latin America, according to Moody's. For methodological purposes, Moody's rated the debt of 336 companies in 21 Latin American countries by the end of July 2013, a 10 percent increase during the year. The majority of new issuers were based in Brazil and Peru.

This article is taken from Reuters.com

European shares hit three week low as volatility spikes

* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1.1 percent * Fears of reduced U.S. monetary stimulus hit banks* Miners suffer after Glencore, BHP updates* AXA hit by concerns over equity exposureBy Alistair SmoutLONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - European shares hit a three-week low and a major volatility index spiked higher on Tuesday, as expectations hardened that the U.S. Federal Reserve will start to scale back monetary stimulus measures next month.The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 1.4 percent to 1,207.89 points in afternoon trade, marking the index's lowest point in August, led lower by a 2.3 percent drop in banks.At 1435 GMT, the index traded 1.1 percent lower at 1,211.69 points.The FTSEurofirst 300 reached a five-year high of 1,258.09 points in late May but has since slipped back on growing speculation that the Fed will soon start to scale back its monthly bond buying programme, which has driven much of the global equity rally this year by hitting returns on bonds.Minutes from the Fed's July meeting, due out on Wednesday, could indicate whether the U.S. central bank is preparing to start withdrawing stimulus, which could hurt growth-sensitive "cyclical" stocks."If the Federal Reserve are to start cutting back on quantitative easing, it would be the financial sector that would take the initial hit, and defensive stocks are doing relatively well today versus cyclicals such as financials," Manoj Ladwa, head of trading at TJM Partners, said, although he cautioned against reading too much into the session's moves."The market is very thin at the moment. We've had a few corporate stories, from the likes of Glencore, that are not so great, but volumes down over 10 percent on this time last year, so you expect a few exaggerated moves in the market and a bit of intraday volatility."The Euro STOXX 50 Volatility Index surged 12.8 percent to 19.73 points, highlighting investor uncertainty over the near-term outlook for financial markets, but volumes were a mere 62.5 percent of an already low 90 day average.Glencore Xstrata fell 2.3 percent after taking a $7.7 billion hit on Xstrata's mining assets, with fellow basic materials firm BHP Billiton down 1.3 percent after profit missed forecasts.The cyclical basic resources sector fell 1.7 percent, suffering along with other stocks that are sensitive to economic optimism.NOT RIGHT TIMEThe prospect of reduced Fed stimulus has led to parallel gains in core sovereign debt yields that have made stocks less attractive to investors.Concern over the outlook for stock markets hit insurer AXA , down 4.7 percent and the top FTSEurofirst faller, with investors worried about its exposure to the asset class.British insurer Prudential fell 4.1 percent.However, Swiss bank Reyl's chief investment officer, Francois Savary, categorised the current pullback as a "consolidation" as investors book profits on this year's rally, rather than a more serious stock market collapse."The short term is shaky, but we should still finish the year higher," he said.Savary said he remained optimistic on the longer-term outlook for European equities due to signs that the region's economy is recovering from the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.He was considering adding to his European equity exposure, but felt now was not the right time as the market retreat was "not advanced enough".

This article is taken from Reuters.com