GOOD DAY FOR: Frankenfoods, as rising grain prices and dwindling supplies are making governments, food companies, and consumers opposed to genetically modified plants rethink their objections. Japanese and South Korean firms are starting to use GM corn, and resistance is even dropping in Europe. Europeans’ “hearts may be on the left, but their pockets are on the right,” said EU parliamentarian Neil Parish. (The New York Times, free registration)
BAD DAY FOR: Losing gracefully, as insurance firms, police, and state agencies are reporting an uptick in apparent arson among homeowners facing foreclosure. As people face increasingly high payments on homes worth less than they paid for them, some are torching their houses, and cars, for insurance money, says fraud investigator Dan Bales at Mercury Insurance. People “are pretty quick to burn their property right now,” he adds. (Los Angeles Times, free registration)
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