A Singapore-biased bioenergy company, JOil, says it has developed a genetically modified strain of the jatropha curcas plant, which produces a higher quality biofuel for use in the automotive, aviation and power generation industries. Hong Yan, chief scientific officer of JOil, said the GM crop was now in the final stages of approval and ready for field trials but would take three to four years to develop, "mainly due to the rigorous regulatory approval process required for GM plants in different countries." The news is a potentially significant breakthrough as jatropha is seen as a suitable biofuel because of its high oil content and ability to grow in arid regions inappropriate for food crops. Critics of the biofuel industry argue that jatropha requires too much water to be sustainable, however, and that yields from crops have failed to live up to claims.  Source: Agra Europe

Feeding cattle on grass throughout their lifecycle is the most environmentally sustainable way to rear beef, according to new research carried out in the UK. The study, commissioned by the National Trust, compared the carbon footprints of beef cattle raised on ten of the charity's livestock farms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Four of these were organic, four conventional and two semi-intensive conventional farms in both upland and lowland areas. While the carbon footprint of grass-fed and conventional farms were comparable, the report says the carbon sequestration contribution of well-managed grass pasture on the less intensive systems reduced net emissions by up to 94 percent, even resulting in a carbon net gain in upland areas. The farms that had recently converted to organic status showed even greater gains.  Source: Agra Europe

California cantaloupe handlers taking part in a recent state-wide referendum unanimously voted to support a mandatory food safety program that will be implemented by a state commodity board. The California Cantaloupe Advisory Board thus becomes the first state commodity board and associated marketing order to convert itself into a food safety agency, albeit one targeted only to cantaloupes. The new rules will include mandatory inspections looking at what happens to cantaloupes from the field to the produce department. The new requirements will apply to all cantaloupes grown and marketed in the state. Seventy percent of all California cantaloupe handers participated in the vote, and all cast their ballots for the amendments.

The three remaining contenders to acquire the London Metal Exchange (LME) have all valued it at more than $1.6 billion, the Financial Times reported on Friday. CME Group, InterContinental Exchange and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. are set to contest for control of the bourse, the FT said, citing people familiar with the situation. The LME is the world's biggest metals marketplace.

The Senate on Thursday by a wide-margin voted to confirm President Obama's nominees for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Harvard economist Jeremy Stein and investment banker Jerome Powell. In a statement, the White House thanked lawmakers, saying the “broad bipartisan vote in the Senate reflects their deep knowledge of economic and monetary policy, as well as their distinguished backgrounds and unique experience."

The Associated Press reported that Senate Banking Chairman South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson (D) has invited JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon "to testify about the loss at the nation's largest bank," and bank spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli "sayid Dimon will accept the invitation." Bloomberg News reported Zuccarelli said, "As always, we will continue to be open and transparent with our regulators and Congress." McClatchy reported Johnson said Dimon "would be called to testify sometime in June" after the committee "has completed two hearings on the slow pace with which banking regulators are drawing up rules" required by the Dodd-Frank act. The Wall Street Journal meanwhile, reported that JPMorganChase had no treasurer, and a relatively inexperienced risk management chief, during the period that the trades that resulted in more than $2 billion in losses were made.

The Argentine Ag Ministry reduced their estimates of 2011/12 soybean and corn production, cutting their estimate for soybeans to 41.5 million tonnes compared to a prior mark of 42.9 million tonnes. For corn, the agency trimmed the crop peg to 20.1 million tonnes, down from 20.3 million tonnes previously.

China managed to replace India as the number one consumer of gold in the world for the first quarter of 2012, according to the World Gold Council. Indian gold demand dropped 19 percent in the first three months from a year earlier, to 207.6 tonnes, while Chinese gold demand rose 7 percent in the same period, to 255.2 tonnes. The two countries accounted for 54 percent of global gold demand in the quarter.

McDonald's plans to hire an additional 70,000 new employees in China this year, nearly doubling its current workforce of 80,000 in the country. A company spokeswoman told Bloomberg News that the chain has 1,400 stores in China and intends to open as many as 250 this year, up from 200 last year. Worldwide, McDonald's operates more than 33,500 restaurants.

Tyson Foods will expand production by at least 50 percent in three key foreign markets by 2014, according to company executives. Specifically, the plan is to expand chicken processing capacity by 50 percent in China, 50 percent in Brazil and 60 percent in India. In China, Tyson says its goal is to boost chicken slaughter from 2 million to 3 million birds per week.