rising food & gas prices

The main factors for rising gas prices are the speculators, the uncertainty in the Middle East and the greedy oil companies who have a "make as much profit as possible while you still can" attitude. There are some crop shortages...rice is a major one...but there is also an growing shortage of feed corn due to the increased refinement of ethanol based fuel which is driving up the price in that of that commondity worlwide. When it costs more to feed livestock the price of meat, poultry and eggs rises. High fuel prices are driving up the cost of transporting and storing all commodities. The decline in the real estate market has contributed to another rise in prices as companies who benefit, either directly or indirectly, from this branch of the economy try to recapture income losses by raising prices other areas. The only group who benefits from this type of inflation is big business but not all businesses are benefitting. Retail sales are falling, the transportation industry is taking a hit, small businesses are earning less, people are losing their jobs and spending less and the U.S. dollar is weak in world markets. The question of why is a hard one to answer. Obviously the uncertainty in the Middle East is a contributing factor. Reliable sources of fuel is a necessity in all developing nations so, concern over the possibilitly of a real shortage in that area is driving up prices.