U.S. farmers will plant the most acres in a generation this year, led by the biggest corn crop since World War II, taking advantage of the highest agricultural prices in at least four decades. They will sow corn, soybeans and wheat on 226.9 million acres, the most since 1984, a Bloomberg survey of 36 farmers, bankers and analysts showed. The 2.5 percent gain means an expansion the size of New Jersey as growers target fields left fallow last year and land freed up from conservation programs. Read full article > >

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Farmers to plant most acres since 1984, prompted by higher crop prices

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in November rose to the highest level in a year and a half. Normally, such a gain would suggest a turnaround for the depressed housing market. But a growing number of buyers are canceling their contracts at the last minute, making it a less reliable gauge. Read full article > >

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Contract signings for US homes up 7 percent in November, highest since April 2010

Venezuela experienced a record number of murders this year – 53 a day on average – the highest in South America, a campaign group says.

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Venezuela ‘highest murder rate’

The number of qualified staff for each vacancy in the City of London is at the highest for two years, according to a financial services recruitment firm.

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‘More competition’ for City jobs

Annual net migration to the UK was 252,000 in 2010 – the highest calendar year figure on record, Office for National Statistics figures show.

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Migration in 2010 at record high

The Olympic flame will be taken by rail to the summit of Snowdon, the highest point of the 2012 relay route.

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Top of Snowdon for Olympic flame

A new record is set for the highest temperature recorded in October – at 29.9C (85.8F)

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October heat record set at 29.9C

The record for the highest temperature recorded in October in Wales is broken with 28.2C (82.8F) reached at Hawarden in Flintshire.

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October heat record set at 28.2C

Initial jobless claims rose again to 428,000 from 417,000 for the week ending Sept. 10, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the highest number the country has seen since June. According to a Reuters report , a Labor Department official said that Hurricane Irene did not appear to affect the number of claims. Read full article > >

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Jobless claims rise for second week

The nation’s poverty rate spiked to 15.1 percent in 2010, the highest level since 1993, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday, providing vivid new evidence about the nation’s inability to escape the lingering effects of the recession. About 46.2 million Americans lived in poverty last year, marking an increase of 2.6 million over 2009 and the fourth consecutive annual increase in poverty. Read full article > >

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U.S. poverty rate reaches 15.1 percent

A morning mix of entertainment headlines… Tyler Perry is the highest paid man in entertainment according to yet another list in the endless parade of Forbes lists. He earned $130 million between May of 2010 and May of 2011, ranking him ahead of Jerry Bruckheimer , Steven Spielberg and Simon Cowell . In a bit of gender irony, Perry collected some of that cash by dressing up as a woman: Madea. ( Forbes ) Read full article > >

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Tyler Perry tops list of highest paid men in entertainment; ‘Bachelor Pad’ winners revealed

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — The swollen Susquehanna River began returning to its banks Friday in Pennsylvania and New York after swamping thousands of homes and businesses in some of the highest floodwaters ever seen. But most of the 100,000 people forced from their homes could do little more than worry as they waited for the all-clear. “I haven’t even been able to get close to it to see what’s left. I don’t know what we’re going to do,” said 68-year-old Carolyn White of West Pittston, Pa., who is disabled and uses a scooter to get around. Her son managed to get close enough to see that the first floor of her house was flooded, but that was about all she knew. Read full article > >

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Homes and businesses swamped in Pa., NY; most of the 100,000 evacuees wait for the all-clear

The proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds in England not in school, training or work rises to 18.4%, the highest second-quarter figure since 2006, official figures suggest.

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Rise in number of ‘Neet’ youths

WASHINGTON — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose back above 400,000 last week. Still, the four-week average, a more reliable gauge of the job market, fell to the lowest level since mid-April. The report suggests that the economy is creating jobs but not nearly enough to lower the high unemployment rate. Weekly applications rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 408,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the highest level in four weeks. Applications have been above 400,000 for 18 of the past 19 weeks. Read full article > >

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Weekly applications rose back above 400K, but four-week average dropped for 7th straight week

Farmland in Wales is currently among the highest priced in the UK, according to a survey.

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Farmland prices among UK highest