In the 1970s, the trap was stagflation, a combination of high inflation and low growth. The U.S. was already burdened by Vietnam War-related inflation when the Arab oil embargo sprung the snare. The economy jerked to a stop, but energy costs kept the inflation rate up and made recovery painfully hard to come by.

Before you reach for the medicine cabinet, take comfort in some important then-vs.-now differences. The Fed, and the feds, today act earlier in a downturn. The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates 2.25 percentage points since August.

Company turns to Danforth plant center to develop a 'green' plastic

Imagine an oilseed, not part of the food chain, that can produce biodegradable plastic and improve the economics of making biodiesel.

That is the vision of scientists at Cambridge, Mass.-based Metabolix Inc. and their research partners at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Creve Coeur.

If it pans out, the result could be a green-green, win-win-win for Missouri's economy, Metabolix and the environment, say the partners and state economic development officials.

"It's exactly what the civic leadership in St. Louis has been positioning St. Louis and the state to become," said Rob Monsees, executive director of the Missouri Technology Corp., which gave a $1.14 million state grant to the project. "Metabolix is hopefully the first of many examples of plant biotechnology companies that are going to be finding their way to Missouri." .

Firm waited to recall rancid baby food

Umm... Toronto from Canada writes: Gavin, you don't have kids, do you? To tell you the truth, most baby food smells absolutely disgusting to me! Perhaps not rancid, but certainly not good. The real question is this: Why did My Organic Baby Foods not properly test the liners prior to putting them on the market? What else do they not adequately test?
I'm still waiting for all the stay at home moms to chirp in and tell the world how great they are because they make their own baby food from oats grown in their living room using only their own breast milk to mix it with... Posted 29/01/08 at 10:38 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment .

Uncertainty weighs on see-saw Sensex

MUMBAI: The temblor may have passed, but Dalal Street continued to reel under the impact of the aftershocks. As India lagged the recovery in key Asian markets on Thursday, tempers flared up at many brokerages as clients alleged misappropriation of margin money and even unauthorised sale of shares from demat accounts. Many brokers remained selective in taking orders from clients.

It is learnt that one of the exchanges allowed the shortfall in funds pay-in by brokers to be temporarily met through pledging of shares. However, this was done selectively only to some of the large brokers.

A recently-listed large brokerage reportedly took a big hit in its proprietary book, while speculation was rife that another high-profile retail broker had defaulted in his commitment and was trying to organise money.

Keeping the wage monster at bay presages interest rate pain

Wage inflation, the monster lurking beneath the bed of every central banker, is creeping higher.

If you hold the figures at arm's length and squint you can convince yourself the trend is actually flat.

But it isn't.

The 1.1 per cent seasonally adjusted rise in the bellwether measure, the index of total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses, was little different from the previous four quarterly moves of either 1.0 or 1.1per cent.

Even so, annual growth of 4.3 per cent was still the highest for the series, which started in 1997.

There is no clear trend for employees in the public sector, where annual growth of 4.2 per cent was near the previous five years' average of 4.3 per cent.

But the trend in the private sector, where the forces of supply and demand pack more punch, is clearly upward.

Inovo Technologies, Inc. Company Profile - View Inovo Technologies ...

About Inovo Technologies, Inc.

Inovo understands that consistent and repeat innovation requires discipline, structure and process. Founded in 2001, Inovo has continuously worked to understand what individuals and organizations need and desire in order to become more innovative and has worked to develop the innovation technology, products and services to meet these needs. This approach to developing our own products and services reflects our understanding that technology creates possibilities but, more importantly, that opportunities come from people and the communities they form.

Wrigley Company Foundation Awards Special Grants to Address Critical ...

CHICAGO, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company Foundation (NYSE: WWY) today announced that it will give a total of $5 million to two organizations in recognition of crossing the $5 billion threshold in global sales. These special grants build on the Wrigley Company's longstanding history of philanthropy and community involvement and will help to nurture two resources that are crucial to the world's future -- today's youth and the natural environment.

The International Youth Foundation -- which prepares young people to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens -- and Conservation International -- which applies innovation in a wide range of disciplines to conserve the environment -- will each receive a $2.5 million grant. Both organizations are working with the Wrigley Company Foundation to implement signature programs that will positively impact the global community, including a number of geographies where Wrigley has a strong business presence.

Potato futures up on concern output will fall

MUMBAI: Potato futures rose on Thursday on speculation a persistent cold wave in the northern region could hurt output, analysts said.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange of India, potato futures rose more than 1 per cent, with the most active March contract at Rs 598, up 1.15 per cent.

"Futures price is rising only on speculation," Abhijeet Choudhuri, an analyst with research house Agriwatch, said. "There are speculations that output would fall due to the cold wave." "At least 10-15 percent crop loss has been reported in India. But this rise is only temporary as arrivals will start soon."

India's potato production in 2007/08 is likely to grow 4.5 per cent, half its earlier 10 per cent estimate, on crop damage, the National Horticulture Research Development Foundation, which monitors potatoes and onions for the government said.