Papandreou told parliament in Athens today, kicking off a three-day debate on a confidence motion in his new government

2. USA Flood - Devastation caused by week-long flooding in America's farm belt is threatening to push up food prices which are already at record highs

3. China Flood  - Farmers quoted by Xinhua reported shortages of fruit and grains. Prices for green vegetables were up 40%, the agency said, adding pressure to inflation already at a three-year high of 5.5%.

Cheer

NEW YORK (AP) -- What's the difference between an ostrich and a Wall Street analyst? An ostrich occasionally takes its head out of the sand. 

Despite a flurry of signs that the economy is slowing, stock analysts -- nearly every single one -- have remained bullish on stocks. Greece may be hurtling toward default, the U.S. unemployment rate remains high, and house prices are still declining. But the hundreds of pros paid to tell us when to buy and sell stocks have barely touched their call for fast growth in corporate sales and profits for the next several quarters.

 

" There's a lot of optimism here," says Howard Silverblatt, chief index analyst at Standard & Poor's. " They're predicting the second half of the year will be the best ever for profits. Do you feel that way?"

 

Among the 9,015 analyst recommendations on S& P 500 stocks available today, only 300 are to sell, or 3.3 percent, according to data provider FactSet. That's the same proportion from a month earlier when the economy was considered to be in better shape. All else being equal, you want to sell if you think profit growth could slow.

 

Analysts work for banks, brokerages and research firms. To form their opinions on stocks, they pore over the financials of companies, visit their offices and factories and grill their executives. Then they churn out voluminous reports backing those opinions. Those are widely read -- even by professional investors who like to poke fun at their relentless bullishness./////source: finance.yahoo.com

chew on it........oops, no chewing gum to buy...