Business Channel 2007-03-14&16（在线收听）

Well, the increased demand for ethanol is pushing up the price of corn, the key ingredient in the alternative fuel. And the Agriculture Department says that as corn prices rise, so too would food prices. It says consumers can expect to pay more for meat and poultry because of the rising demand for corn. That's because corn is used as a feed for chicken and livestock. And with corn prices rising, the cost of meat is likely to go up, too. Last year, ethanol production took 20% of the US corn crop and it's expected to use more than 25% of the corn crop this year, Richard.

Oh, hey Gerri, is it, uh, just meat?

Well, no. Coca-Cola is also feeling the effect of high corn prices. The main sweetener it uses to create soda is high fructose corn syrup. A company official speaking at a, a food industry conference said Coca is looking at using a more concentrated syrup because of high corn cost. He also indicated that Coca may be looking at using other sweeteners altogether in place of corn syrup. Richard.

Oh, yeah. It's in everything, I guess, corn is, er, (Right) switching to ethanol that's certainly one way of helping the environment. Others are making more use of commuting. Is that using mass transit if you will? You got more numbers on that? Uh?

Absolutely, that's right. Use of public transportation is on the rise. The American Public Transportation Association says last year Americans took more than 10 billion trips on mass transit. That's the highest level in nearly 50 years. Public transit use is up 30% since 1995. The trade group says not only do people save money, but they also avoid traffic in the stress of driving. The advantages are even leading some companies like Google and others to pay for shuttle bus service to work. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it, Richard?

Yeah, it does. And that was the free food, always a good idea. (Right) How the markets are doing before you take off?

Stocks posted modest gains here even though there are mounting worries about the subprime mortgage market and the impact it could have on the entire housing industry. Trading in New Century Financial was halted all day by the NYSE. This after the mortgage lender which specializes in making loans to those with poor credit said all of its bank lenders were cutting off financing. Without the money, New Century is unable to grant new mortgage loans. But those concerns were offset by a series of mergers. And the Dow gained 42 points on the day, the NASDAQ rose more than 0.5%. And the S&P 500 added 0.2%. That's the latest from New York. Richard, back to you.

Notes:

1. Standard & Poor's 500 Index - S&P 500

An index consisting of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry grouping, among other factors. The S&P 500 is designed to be a leading indicator of U.S. equities and is meant to reflect the risk/return characteristics of the large-cap universe.

Companies included in the index are selected by the S&P Index Committee, a team of analysts and economists at Standard & Poor's. The S&P 500 is a market-value weighted index - each stock's weight in the index is proportionate to its market value.

2.NYSE:

New York Stock Exchange

3. New Century

New Century Financial Corporation is an American mortgage REIT headquartered in Irvine, California. New Century originates and purchases mortgages through its subsidiaries New Century Mortgage Corporation and Home123 Corporation and via it's FastQual internet site.

As of 1 January 2007, New Century had approximately 7,200 full-time employees[1] and a market capitalization of $1.75 billion. FY 2005 net income was $417 million.[2]

New Century is listed on the NYSE with the symbol "NEW".
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