NEW YORK - April 26, 2011 - Global food prices may rise 4.4% to a record by the end of the year, driven by demand for meat, oilseeds and grains used to make ethanol, adding to costs that mean inflation is accelerating from the U.S. to China.

The United Nations Food Price Index may climb to 240 points from 229.84 last month, said William Adams, a fund manager at Zurich-based Resilience AG, which has $22.2 million of assets.

CHICAGO, Illinois - April 25, 2011 - That morning cup of coffee is going to cost you more. Coffee prices are at a 34-year high - $3 a pound.

WASHINGTON - April 25, 2011 - Weakness in the U.S. dollar, which is causing everything to go up in price - including gas prices, food and stocks - is unlikely to go away soon as a selling frenzy hits the currency market.

NEW YORK - April 25, 2011 - Nearly one-fifth of full-time employed Amerikans have raided retirement accounts in the past year to cover emergencies, according to a national Bankrate survey.

Despite politically expedient, if not truthful claims of a stabilizing U.S. economy, 19% of Amerikans - including 17% of full-time workers - have been compelled to take money from their retirement savings in the last year to cover urgent financial needs, the Financial Security Index found.

MELBOURNE, Australia - April 23, 2011 – U.S. finances are in almost as troubled a state as the worst hit members of the euro zone, economists say, underscoring the pressing need for Washington to reach agreement on how to reduce the deficit.

NEW YORK - April 22, 2011 - The combination of rising gasoline prices and the steepest increase in the cost of food in a generation is threatening to push the U.S. economy further into Depression, according to Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners.

DETROIT, Michigan - April 22. 2011 - Detroit Public Library officials say finances have grown so bad they could close most neighborhood branches, but in a few weeks plan to unveil a revamped wing of a main library that even administrators say spares few expenses.