Inflation Woes Heighten

PARIS (AP) — World food prices are set to fall from current peaks in the coming years but will remain "substantially above" average levels from the past decade, a report said Thursday. The world's poorest nations are most vulnerable — particularly the urban poor in food-importing countries — and will require increased humanitarian aid to stave off hunger and undernourishment, a joint agricultural outlook by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said. High oil prices, changing diets, urbanization, expanding populations, flawed trade policies, extreme weather, growth in biofuel production and speculation have sent food prices soaring worldwide, trigging protests from Africa to Asia and raising fears that millions more will suffer malnutrition.

MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — Dow Chemical says it's raising product prices as much as 20% to offset the soaring cost of energy and raw materials. The chemical giant said Wednesday that the increases take effect Sunday and will be based on a product's exposure to those cost increases. "For years, Washington has failed to address the issue of rising energy costs and, as a result, the country now faces a true energy crisis, one that is causing serious harm to America's manufacturing sector and all consumers of energy," Chairman and Chief Executive Andrew Liveris says in the company's press release. "The government's failure to develop a comprehensive energy policy is causing U.S. industry to lose ground when it comes to global competitiveness, and our own domestic markets are now starting to see demand destruction throughout the U.S.," Liveris said. Dow says it spent $8 billion on energy and raw materials in 2002. It says that could climb fourfold to $32 billion this year. Dow Chemical makes a broad range of chemical, plastic and agricultural products that are sold in 160 countries.