Until you really see just how bad the rain is...You don't realize how much of an effect this is truly going to haveContinuing to add to Powershares DB Agriculture Fund (DBA) on pullbacks....Long Powershares DB Agriculture Fund in fund; no personal position

Financials continue to feel max pain as major banks continue to be hammered by selling. The exotic forms of investment continue to haunt those firms who were careless and did not handle risk properly. Selling has spread throughout the rest of the market as Crude Oil prices race higher. We are also seeing Grains and Agriculture futures point higher as well. These markets have and continue to signal higher inflation. The markets haven’t quite seen a peak in fear, a washout of the markets is highly likely. Along the lines of a washout will more than likely be proceeded by crude oil entering in superspike mode. The market is in chaos mode and can not be trusted. Financials might continue their trend but the short trade has become so obvious a sharp covering rally could wipe you clean. So few stocks are working ...

Here are some eye-popping stats on agriculture from Marc Chandler at RealMoney.com ...Consider the chicken. In 1900 the average hen laid 30 eggs a year. Now she can lay 250 eggs or more a year. In 1900 it took 16 weeks for a chicken to come suitable for frying (weight of 2 pounds). Today a four-pound roasting chicken is ready in just six weeks. In 1930, it took more than six pounds of feed to yield one pound of broiler meat. By 1940 it required four pounds of grain. Today, less than two pounds of feed are needed. Now that is productivity.

Brazil's state-owned National Supplies Co. will auction 55,000 metric tons of rice today, the country's ministry of agriculture said yesterday. The government currently has a stock of 1.4 million tons of rice, equivalent to 10 percent of Brazil's annual consumption. The stocks to be auctioned are held in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states.The measure is an attempt to keep prices down and establish a reference price for rice, the statement said, citing Paulo Morceli, basic foods manager of Conab, as the supplies company is known. According to information on the Conab Web site, the rice will be auctioned at 28 reais ($16.98) for a 50-kilogram bag.The most recent decision of the Brzilian government is just one more example of the way national governments are coming under pressure to offer a response to what is now a global problem: the rising demand for energy ...