Scarcity in coffee, Surplus of eggs

GOOD DAY FOR: Tea drinkers, as demand for coffee beans could outstrip supply by as much as 8 million bags in 2009-10, due to a small crop in top exporter Brazil. The crop forecasts from Brazil sent the price for arabica beans up 6.1 percent Monday, the biggest gain in three years. (Bloomberg)

BAD DAY FOR: Volunteering your wife, as the tough economy has led to a surge in egg donors and surrogate mothers for infertile couples. Today’s normal rate for a surrogate mother is $25,000, and donated eggs fetch $3,000 to $8,000, with some custom orders bringing in up to $25,000. “Whenever the employment rate is down, we get more calls,” says Robin von Halle at Alternative Reproductive Resources in Chicago. “We’re even getting men offering up their wives. It’s pretty scary.” (The Wall Street Journal)

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