Canadian Ideas:Trends in Agriculture

Corn production was overestimated,according to John Stephenson,senior vice-president and portfolio manager at First Asset Investment Management.Look for higher corn and soybean prices.Corn is moving higher in the second half of the year;the U.S. is responsible for 65% of the corn trade.
The U.S. situation is extremely good for fertilizer producers.Farmers are planting so late in flooded fields.They're gonna have to refertilize-especially in the fall.
Eventually,supply will meet demand,but China looks to be an importer this year.Farmers are rushing to plant corn.
There's a very strong market for potash and nitrogen-based fertilizers.Within South America,Monsanto is doing incredibly well with its seed.China is also adopting this seed.
What happened in America in terms of the predominance of large-scale farming is also gonna happen in China,Mr.Stephenson predicts.
First Asset Investment Management is a Canadian firm that offers Toronto Stock Exchange-listed investment funds,mutual funds,principal-protected notes and flow-through limited partnerships.It has around 2.5 billion dollars under management.
PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund(DBA),PowerShares DB Commodity Fund(DBC),Monsanto(MON),Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan(POT)

Asia This Day

Asian markets were largely negative Monday morning,down slightly on concerns about a global manufacturing slowdown and forthcoming U.S. economic data,as well as local factors.
Only Singapore's Straits Times Index was up,gaining 0.24% because the government plans to build more government housing in light of considerable demand.
Honda Motors will halt stock buybacks in order to save cash,suffering from the recent earthquake and tsunami effects.
Hong Kong saw a pleasant morning at 82F under partly cloudy skies.Winds were E at 14mph,and the humidity was 58%.
Honda Motors(HMC)

Lockheed Martin Jobs

Lockheed Martin,the leading global security and IT firm,has openings in D.C.,Northern Virginia and Maryland for Engineering,Information Technology and Intelligence Analysis personnel.Lockheed is the largest provider of IT services,systems integration and training to the U.S. Government.Those selected may be subject to a security investigation and must be eligible to access classified information.
To chat with a virtual recruiter,visit the website at www.lockheedmartinjobs.com
Lockheed Martin:powered by innovation,guided by integrity.

Fighting Disease:A Corporate/Academic Partnership

The University of Maryland Institute for Genome Sciences and OpGen,Incorporated are to collaborate on a microbial database.To the untrained eye,OpGen's maps of genomic sequences look like colorful bar codes.To scientists,however,the maps enable rapid,accurate assembly and analysis of DNA sequence data of the whole genome.The OpGen maps advance the understanding of clinically relevant disease microorganisms.
OpGen and the University of Maryland Institute for Genomic Sciences have announced their collaboration in developing a database of high quality,finished and annotated microbial sequences.IGS will provide clinically characterized microbial samples and sequencing data,especially from the National Institutes of Health microbial genomic studies.OpGen will contribute the optical maps and sequence finishing technology.
This database will serve as an extraordinary set of reference organism templates to be used by the large number of resequencing efforts worldwide,said IGS director Claire Fraser-Liggett,PhD,who is also a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.Such databases inform microbiology research and clinical diagnostics,providing insight into microbial genome architecture in a more complete and accurate way.
iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund(IBB)

Assessing LinkedIn's Value

The first of the social media titans to go public,LinkedIn has earnings coming very soon,says Walter Price of RCM Capital Management.It's not a crazy valuation.If we were just looking for a one day pop,it wouldn't be worth it.We'd like to build a position in the firm.
You just have to do your work,modeling the company.If it doesn't go for the right price,we're just not gonna buy it.You just have to read through the thick prospectuses.
LinkedIn is up to 100 million users.I think that's a real endorsement that it is a valuable product.The growth rate of the company is 100% a year.We think it'll continue to grow at a high rate,Mr.Price predicts.
RCM Capital Management is a global asset manager and a company of Allianz Global Investors.It seeks to deliver an information advantage to its clients from six international offices on four continents.
RCM's parent firm,Allianz,is a German multinational financial conglomerate that is especially prominent in the insurance industry.In the U.S.,Allianz trades on the over the counter pink sheets under the ticker symbol AZSEY.
LinkedIn(LNKD)

Asia This Day

FoxConn,a major outsourcer for Apple,Hewlett-Packard and Sony,has suffered a tragic fire and explosion in Chengdu,China.Three workers were killed.All operations at that plant and similar plants were shut down.
Computers are assembled at the stricken facility.iPad and iPhone production may also be hindered by the blast in a dust duct there,which caused smoke to billow from the plant.
FoxConn is based in Taipei,Taiwan.It was plagued by a rash of worker suicides last year.
Elsewhere in Asia,Thailand's GDP growth has exceeded expectations.It grew 3.0% on the year.The growth is being attributed to very strong exports,as well as robust domestic demand.
Asian markets were lower today,Monday,on account of fears about European debt and a Chinese regulator's call for better risk management by banks.
Hong Kong saw a temperature of 73F under mostly cloudy skies,with thunderstorms in the forecast.
Apple(AAPL),Sony(SNY),Hewlett-Packard(HPQ)

School Administrators Needed

Loudoun County,Virginia,a D.C. suburb,needs public school administrators.There are vacancies at all levels for Principals and Assistant Principals.The anticipated start date is July 1,2011.Please apply online at http://jobs.teach4loudoun.com
You may also call 571-252-1100 for more information.
Let's put you in Loudoun.