World Food Prices Ease for Second Month in June, UN's FAO Sayshttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5291619-world-food-prices-ease-second-month-june-uns-fao-says
World Food Prices Ease for Second Month in June, UN's FAO Says
Shop-owners display wares at the newly renovated historical Empress Market in Karachi, Pakistan, 01 July 2026. (EPA)
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World Food Prices Ease for Second Month in June, UN's FAO Says
Shop-owners display wares at the newly renovated historical Empress Market in Karachi, Pakistan, 01 July 2026. (EPA)
World food prices edged lower in June as declines in sugar, cereals and dairy outweighed increases in vegetable oils and meat, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 130.3 points in June, down from 130.8 points in May.
The index had already fallen in May from a three-year high in April, when the Iran war led to a jump in vegetable oil prices.
The June reading was 1.7% higher than a year earlier but 18.7% below a record peak in March 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the FAO said.
The cereal price index fell 3.5% from May. Wheat prices were pressured by rapid harvest progress and strong supply prospects in the Black Sea region, while maize slipped on ample South American supply prospects and weaker crude oil.
The FAO's rice index, however, rose 3.2%, supported by stronger Asian demand for Indica rice.
Sugar prices fell 5.7% as lower ethanol prices in Brazil encouraged mills to use more sugarcane to make sugar. But concerns over the potential impact of El Niño on production in India and Thailand curbed the overall decline.
Dairy prices declined 1.5%, pressured by increased supply.
On the upside, the FAO's meat index rose 0.4% from the prior month to set another record, led by poultry amid strong global demand.
Vegetable oil prices jumped 3.8%, driven by higher palm and rapeseed oil quotations, partly due to biodiesel demand.
In a separate report, the FAO forecast global cereal production in 2026 at 2.983 billion metric tons, little changed from its previous monthly estimate.
The estimate was 1.9% below the 2025 peak but would still be the second-largest on record.
Alphabet's Investment in SpaceX Multiplies 100-Fold to $94 Billionhttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5306988-alphabets-investment-spacex-multiplies-100-fold-94-billion
Alphabet's Investment in SpaceX Multiplies 100-Fold to $94 Billion
The letters of the word "Alphabet" on a computer screen featuring a Google search page in an illustration (Reuters)
Alphabet's early bet on SpaceX has multiplied more than 100-fold, with the Google parent disclosing a stake worth about $94 billion at the end of June compared with the $900 million investment it said it made in Elon Musk's rocket company in 2015.
Alphabet has emerged as by far the largest single institutional holder of SpaceX following its $86 billion IPO in June, according to a Reuters analysis of quarterly filings made public so far.
The filings shed new light on the scale of positions acquired by SpaceX's backers as the company transitioned from a closely held startup to a publicly traded giant. Together with separate public disclosures on early investments, including Alphabet's, they also highlight how dramatically the value of some early investments in SpaceX has grown.
Because the 13F filing data is compiled once per quarter and disclosed within six weeks of quarter-end, the information is dated and will not capture any buying or selling done by these large investors since June 30.
There are other limitations as well, given the vast universe of SpaceX investments and the evolving schedule of when they stand to become eligible to be sold in public markets.
"It's very, very difficult to tease out which of these institutions were holding pre-IPO shares," said Steve Sosnick, market strategist at Interactive Brokers.
Alphabet is an exception because the company publicly disclosed that it invested $900 million in SpaceX in 2015, providing a rare benchmark against which to compare the value of its current holding.
Alphabet did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sosnick added that the 13F filings did not reveal investors' lockup status or intentions with respect to realizing profits on pre-IPO positions.
FILE - The SpaceX logo is displayed on a building, May 26, 2020, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Alphabet held 551.2 million SpaceX shares at the end of the second quarter, according to the firm's filing, worth about $94.2 billion at SpaceX's June 30 share price of $170.86.
At Thursday's price, Alphabet's disclosed position would be worth about $77.9 billion, still about 86.5 times the size of Google's original investment. Fidelity Investments was the second-largest reported institutional holder, with 302.6 million SpaceX shares, followed by Gigafund Management with 171.8 million, Baillie Gifford with 51.4 million and BlackRock with 51.0 million.
Alphabet, Fidelity, Gigafund Management, Baillie Gifford and BlackRock, the five largest reported holders in the data, accounted for nearly three quarters of reported SpaceX shares, highlighting the concentration of reported institutional ownership among a handful of investors.
Separately, SpaceX said in a regulatory filing that Musk owned a 48.4% stake in the company. SpaceX went public on June 12 at $135 a share. Its shares have since retreated from their end-June level. SpaceX closed at $141.29 on Thursday, 4.7% above its IPO price but 17.3% below the June 30 close.
Sosnick told Reuters that SpaceX remains one of the most actively traded stocks among customers at Interactive Brokers, receiving a "fresh jolt of buying last week when market fears about what would happen when the first lockup expiry arrived proved to be unfounded."
Retail owners of SpaceX shares, who do not have to submit their holdings to the SEC, turned into net sellers of the stock on Friday for the first time since the IPO, according to data from Vanda Research.
The research firm, which tracks the activity of self-directed individual investors, calculated that this group sold a net $4.5 million on that day. SpaceX shares were down 3% on Thursday but have risen 30% since August 5.
Iraqi Daily Oil Exports in August Highest since Start of Warhttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5306916-iraqi-daily-oil-exports-august-highest-start-war
Iraqi Daily Oil Exports in August Highest since Start of War
A view across Shatt al-Arab of the 'Bin Omar' oil field north of Basra, Iraq (Reuters)
Iraq's average daily oil exports since the beginning of August are the highest since the outbreak of the Middle East war between Iran and the United States, which has choked off the Strait of Hormuz, the oil ministry said Friday.
Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair told a press conference that "exports since the beginning of the month have reached a rate of two million barrels" per day, for a total of around 26 million barrels, saying the daily rate was achieved "for the first time since the crisis began".
Fitch Keeps US at 'AA+', Cites Economic Resilience amid Fiscal Riskshttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5306818-fitch-keeps-us-aa-cites-economic-resilience-amid-fiscal-risks
Fitch Keeps US at 'AA+', Cites Economic Resilience amid Fiscal Risks
The American flag flies in the National Mall near the Capitol building in Washington (Reuters)
Fitch on Thursday affirmed the sovereign credit rating for the United States at "AA+" with a stable outlook, citing its large economy, high per-capita income and the US dollar's status as the world's leading reserve currency.
The US economy remained resilient despite higher tariffs, government spending cuts, tighter border controls and heightened policy uncertainty, reflecting its ability to absorb shocks and economic flexibility, Reuters quoted the credit ratings agency as saying.
Fitch, however, estimated economic growth of 1.9% in 2026-2027, lower than the 2.8% in 2025, and noted weakening labor demand and a significant slowdown in job creation this year.
Inflation remains a concern, with the agency expecting it to average 3.4% in 2026, above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Tariffs have added to core goods inflation, though their impact has been less severe than expected.
Fitch expects the general government deficit to widen to 7.4% of GDP in 2026 and remain at that level in 2027, the highest among "AA"-rated sovereigns.
Higher military and interest costs, along with rising Medicare and Social Security spending, would limit efforts to reduce the deficit.
Peer S&P Global also maintained its "AA+" rating on the US in June, citing the economy's resilience and strong institutions.
Fitch had downgraded the US sovereign rating by one notch from the top-tier triple-A rating in 2023, pointing to expected fiscal deterioration and repeated down-to-the-wire debt ceiling negotiations.
Moody's downgraded the US by one notch last year, citing rising debt levels and stripping the country of its last remaining triple-A rating.
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