Plunge in corn prices may ease food inflation

The price of corn suffered its biggest fall for 15 years on Thursday, prompting speculation that the high cost of food may start to ease.Corn prices fell 10% after a US Department of Agriculture report said that farmers were sowing unexpectedly large amounts of the grain.The price of other crops, including soybeans, also fell on speculation that future stock levels will remain high.Corn prices recently hit a record, helping to fuel inflation worries.The report said farmers in the vast crop regions of Iowa and Minnesota had been planting substantially more grain.Corn futures, which were just...

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Russia rescues Bank of Moscow in record bail-out

The bank's erstwhile head, Andrei Borodin, has fled the country Russia's fifth largest bank, Bank of Moscow, has been given the biggest bail-out in Russian history.The $14bn rescue came after another bank, VTB, gained control through a hostile bid, only to uncover bad loans valued at $9bn - a third of the bank's assets.Bank of Moscow's former head, Andrei Borodin, has fled the country, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.The bank was used by ex-Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov to fund property projects.'Fraudulent lending'Mr Luzhkov was sacked by Russian President Dmitry...

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