Food prices expected to rise for prolonged period; panic selling hits world markets; US surpasses EU in green tech investment...

22 January :: British agribusiness report suggests steep rise in food prices to continue over prolonged period; environmental degradation, water scarcity and climbing fuel prices will contribute to short supply, higher cost of production... Panic selling and steep Asian drop, for second day running, have caused massive losses in stocks across the world, as fears of US recession take root; FT reports "Tumbling Asian shares – which continued to fall early on Tuesday – led European stock markets into their biggest one-day fall since 9/11 as the prospect of a US recession and further fall-out from credit market turmoil prompted near panic among investors, who rushed to the safety of government bonds", with $490 billion lost on FTSE Eurofirst 300 index... Boom in Silicon Valley venture capital investment in renewables has US poised to overtake Europe as world leader in green technologies; according to FT, "European investment in clean technology companies last year was only a third of the $3.7bn ploughed into the field in the US, according to Cleantech Group, a specialist US research firm"...