Interesting news articles

A range of really interesting economics stories have made the news over the last week or so. Here are just a couple which are well worth a read:

1. Rising price of sugar, cereal and oil prices drives global food prices to a record high in December - click here
2. The floods in Queensland, Australia, are likely to have an effect on the global steel industry. Three quarters of the areas coal fields are unable to operate and they usually export half the coal for use in making the metal. The price of coking coal from $225 to $253 a tonne in the last 3 weeks - click here