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Colombia Coffee Below are prices set by Colombia's National Federation of Coffee Growers, known as Fedecafe, for purchases by the National Coffee Fund on Monday. The prices, for a 125-kilogram bag of parchment coffee, are in Colombian pesos ($1=1782 COP) and do not include any government subsidy at the moment. REGION PRICE Armenia 452,125 Bogota 450,875 Bucaramanga 450,500 Buga 452,875 Chi Five Secrets of Short Term Stock Trading Success. nchina 452,000 Ibague 451,250 Manizales 452,000 Medellin 451,250 Neiva 450,375 Pasto 450,125 Pereira 452,000 Popayan 452,250 Santa Marta 453,750 Valledupar 451,375 Pamplona 450,125 Cucuta 450,000.

FD Fruit Some would argue that the current economic cycle does not lend itself to the public spending their hard-earned pennies on leisurely holidays, or anything enjoyable, for that matter. So how does that affect a holiday company, dependent on a consumer-driven market that is becoming increasingly aware of the need to tighten their spending habits?Bob Baddeley, the finance director of Holidaybreak, is not overly concerned about the business’s ability to cope. ‘It’s difficult to know how consumers will behave if things get more difficult, but I believe we’re fairly resilient as a business because even when consumer sentiment changes, it doesn’t stop people from going on holiday. ‘The core product offering is good, with a value product. We’re likely to be more resilient than other leisure options, which might be more fashion-orientated,’ says Baddeley. Certainly the global holiday market has grown in the last few years, with international travellers numbering 898 million last year - a figure which according to the World Tourism Organisation is projected to skyrocket to 1.6 billion in 2020. Holidaybreak specialises in camping parks, educational packages, hotel breaks and adventure tourism in the European market. What started in 1973 as Eurocamp Travel Limited - a family run business, based in Cheshire offering camping holidays in Brittany, was subject to a management buy-out in 1988. It floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991 and in 1998 changed its name from Eurocamp to Holidaybreak to better reflect its aspirations and range of activities. In 2007 the group reported ￡357.9m in revenues, compared to ￡304.5m a year earlier, and an operating profit of ￡43.8m. Despite his optimism for the business going forward, Baddeley is sober-minded on the realities of the current climate. FDs are under pressure to play their cards carefully in an environment where cash is king. ‘Few of us in this generation of FDs have had real experience of downturns, perhaps catching a little of the tail-end of issues in the late 80s to early 90s. I would like to think that on the education tour side, things are more immune to fashion. Our tours for 2008 are sold out and we’re now looking at sales for 2009/10,’ he says. Buy now, pay later But the timing of acquisitions over the last 12 months could set the accounts in a less glowing light than the previous year. Some ￡150m in deals deal saw Holidaybreak acquire West End Theatre Bookings, a London ticket agent, PGL, a UK outdoor education and adventure holiday provider, and NST, a UK educational travel tours provider. ‘Where we have been impacted by the credit crunch is the timing of our acquisitions. Since 12 months ago we had no borrowings for our 2006 balance sheet. For 2007, debt was ￡150m due to acquisitions - and then interest rates began to go up again,’ says Baddeley. Some may argue that it is probably time to claw back, but Baddeley is insistent that he runs a strict operation anyway. ‘We’ve always run a tight ship - clearly there are things one has to do when things get more difficult. Certainly, discretionary investment may be cut back unless we can get extremely good payback. At the moment, debt is very expensive. We’ll constantly look for ways to be better at managing our cash resources with a view to being more rigorous. ‘In terms of business growth, the outlook is conservative. In a difficult debt market, the implications are that it is more difficult for further acquisitions to be made - and yet again, there could be more opportunities as acquisitions could in some instances get cheaper as some businesses emerge from the private equity market,’ he says. Reflecting on how business has changed since he qualified in 1978 while at Manchester-based Whinney Murray (later Ernst & Young), Baddeley recalls how there was no corporate governance regime that would have necessitated the rigorous checks and systems that must now be in place.

Sweet Tamarind "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper" is full of instructive recipes such as plumped ginger-caramel shrimp. I've spent a week trying to figure out why I so like "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper," by Lynn Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift, host and producer, respectively, of the popular National Public Radio show. I keep suspecting it's for the wrong reasons, like the book's typeface, a bouncy mix of quirky-yet-legible fonts; the way the recipes are larded with sidebars, literary quotes, cooking tips; and unpretentious photographs. By the time I'd gone through the book once, it was bristling with yellow stickies, like a well-read hedgehog. Ingredients are multicultural, but not esoteric - preserved lemon, hoisin sauce, and pumpkin seeds; rather than whole lavender buds or piment d'Espelette. Yet recipes aren't dumbed-down versions of their ethnic originals; they seem completely fresh. One great idea seems to follow another. Take curry, for example. I always thought the choice was between a dose of bogus curry powder or hours of authentic spice-pounding and simmering. But chicken curry achieves a respectable depth of flavor with a small handful of fresh-ground spices, tomatoes, and yogurt. The same streamlined blend of coriander, cumin, and pepper goes into lamb chops with crossover spice crust, a warm and teasing foil for the luxurious loin cut. Making plumped ginger-caramel shrimp I learned that brining frozen shrimp for 20 minutes thaws and seasons them at the same time, and that you can melt sugar right over garlic and ginger for an irresistible, savory caramel. Alas, there were disappointments. In tamarind-glazed pork chops, the authors call the glaze a "marinade" but never marinate the meat. And the tamarind mixture slides off the finished chops without penetrating them. It's possible that grilling instead of searing (both techniques are recommended) would glue on the glaze. Sweet roasted butternut squash and greens over bow-tie pasta sounds fantastic. But by the time the squash achieves the requisite degree of char, the escarole is carbonized to cinders. I usually find dinners from doctored cans leave some trace of their origins, but not in refried beans with cinnamon and cloves. The cloves hint at a wider spice palate, and a dollop of butter does its trick of sweetening up the tomatoes. Sides and vegetables strut with strongly defined flavors and practical techniques. An asparagus and scallion salad is quickly roasted and broiled, then dressed up in creamy, mustardy balsamic. Three-pea toss is even more casually elegant than it sounds, finished with sweet mint and salty almonds. With its pungency mellowed and leaves crisped, fried sage gives a woodsy undertone to sweet wine-braised carrots. Green beans with gremolata begin with a smart saute, follow with a sleepy simmer, and end with a wake-up blast of seasoning, all in the same skillet. After the drama of the main course, the table gets less splendid with a scant 10 sweets. Rustic jam shortbread tart hits the right buttons - crumbly, buttery, sweet - but is soggy on the bottom.

Tiller Blades Here's something you didn't read in last Saturday's paper: I felt the earthquake that hit Illinois. I offered my story to the editors here at The Eagle, but they have some kind of rule about reliable sources. It's kind of like them not quoting me a couple of weeks ago when I said that Wichita priest James Conley, just named auxiliary bishop of Denver, would be the first American pope. (Mark my words.) But with the exception of an online comment from Rose Hill, I didn't hear of anybody else coming forward locally to say they experienced the temblor, so far from its epicenter. It's one thing to connect to the earth through the garden; feeling it in the alleged safety of your own bed in the darkness of early morning is quite another. I had woken shortly before 4 a.m. that Friday and was just falling back to sleep a little while later when a wind came up and I heard the chimes ring and felt my bed move. I didn't know what to think. The wind had not been that strong. I discounted Satan and a structural failure as time went on and the movement didn't recur. I fell asleep and didn't think of it again until I heard about the quake at work. And then my nerves got jangled. It was the beginning of a streak of earth-moving days. The third weekend of April brought sunny, hot weather, giving me my first sunburn as I sat with friends on the earth the next day at Bartlett Arboretum, listening to Robin Macy sing her "Songs From the Garden" The earth will always heal the soul? I guess that happens after it tosses you out of bed. I definitely felt my nerves healed under the sun, against solid unmoving earth, surrounded by towering loblolly pines and sweet music. Sunday was even warmer. I put together a lemon tart and wondered whether it was too hot to turn the oven on. I looked out the open windows to see the male neighbors doing their yard work bare-chested. I wondered if some wordless signal had gone out -- it's warm enough to shed the shirts, fellas. I wanted to make this tart because it's topped with lemon curd and strawberries, and I mostly abstain from strawberries during the winter -- they're out of season, they're expensive, it just ain't natural. But now I took a bite of the fruit, and spring exploded in my mouth. Carrots, corn and sugar peas Robin Macy was back singing her songs from the garden, this time on my stereo. On Monday it was time for a visit to Dutch's Greenhouse, where I'd missed out on some popular plants last year because I waited until May. I was relieved this time to snag the Painted Coral calibrachoa that had been sold out last year, but Ron Marcum told me I was too late for the Vista Bubble Gum supertunia (though Dutch's hopes to have more). Ron showed me a new Pink Sugar arctotis (African daisy) that people are snapping up, and I grabbed it out of his hands. This year's consolation prize. The garden center was hopping on this Monday, further proof that "the weekend" has spilled out beyond the traditional measly two days, and who can argue against that? Ron told me that things had been crazy over the "weekend," but the weather was making it crazier, because the 40s were still in the forecast, and vinca, for one thing, doesn't like the 40s. Neither do basil or calladiums or sun coleus. Other popular picks among the new annuals are Flamenco Cha Cha cuphea (not just one dance will do) and Ragin' Cajun ruellia, with red tubular flowers and foliage that's so much different and more rounded than other varieties, Ron said. A returning favorite annual is Diamond Frost euphorbia, the slender white flowers that dart about like shooting stars.

Echinacea Extract The days of large formal flower gardens are gone. Smaller, more intimate gardens are taking their place. It appears even flowers must multi-task these days. No longer can flowers provide just color. They must satisfy the senses of sight, smell and taste. Herbs are plants that have a useful purpose. They are especially suited for gardening in extreme climates. Read on for a list of my favorites.Bulbs Ornamental onion (Allium giganteum) - These tall, showy onions bloom very late in the spring. Their softball size flowers bloom on tall stems adding architectural interest to the garden. They make wonderful cut or dried flowers. Saffron (Crocus sativus) - Different from its spring-blooming cousin, the saffron crocus blooms in the fall. Harvest the rich orange threads inside the beautiful purple flowers to use in rice dishes, breads and cakes. Saffron rolls were a favorite of my grandmother.Teas Bee balm (Monarda didyma) - A member of the mint family, its tubular flowers look like shaggy heads and attract pollinators to the garden. Look for hybrids like 'Coral Reef' as it has shown to be resistant to powdery mildew at the Gardens. Native Americans introduced bee balm to colonial settlers. Chamomile (Chamaemilum nobile) - Small edible daisies add to the charm of this plant. The feathery leaves give off a wonderful fruity scent. For gleaming hair, steep a cup of dried daisies in 2 cups of water and pour over wet hair. A cup of chamomile tea before bed is my best advice for those suffering from insomnia. Wildflowers Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) - Purple coneflowers are true American wildflowers. They produce large daisy-like blooms with eye-catching, spiky cones. These flowers attract butterflies. Birds will feed on the seed heads. My favorite is the narrow-leaved coneflower (Echinacea angusifolia). These coneflowers bear narrow, drooping ray flowers. Their roots are used in herbal extracts and aid in boosting the immune system. Gay feather (Liatris spicata) is the most popular form of Liatris. This plant's striking, feather-like lavender flowers are held high on tall stems. One of the best butterfly plants, it provides nectar for migrating butterflies. Gay feathers are often used as cut flowers. In colonial times, herbal extracts taken from the roots were used as an attempted cure for venereal disease. A Colorado wildflower, its purple blooms grace our foothills each fall. Sunset hyssop (Agastache rupestris) - Planted in the Children's Garden, it flowers in late summer and is one of my favorites. Stunning, tubular flowers are held above delicate leaves that smell like root beer. Hummingbirds will swarm to this plant. A true xeric plant, the sunset hyssop is at home in our western landscapes. Mealy-cup sage (Salvia farinacea) - An annual, it is one of many sages grown for its flowers. Spiky tubular flowers bloom nonstop throughout the season, even surviving several light frosts. Nectar-rich blossoms are appealing to hummingbirds. A bit slow to reach its full splendor, it's well worth the wait. The 'Victoria Blue' variety is always included in my annual plantings. Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) - This flower is planted above our rock wall in the Children's Garden. A very easy-care perennial, the plant is covered in a solid swath of pale pink flowers that bloom sporadically through the first frost. Soapwort is famous for the sudsy wash water made from its roots and stems. Cut it back after it flowers to retain a tidy form. St. John's Wort (Hypericum calycinum) - "Wort" is an old English word meaning plant. This variety, best known as an herbal extract used to relieve depression, is an evergreen sub-shrub named after John the Baptist. Its large yellow, stamen-filled flowers were said to "bleed" on the anniversary of the saint's beheading. When crushed, the flowers turn blood red due to glands near their edge that seep reddish oil. St. John's Wort competes well with shallow-rooted trees. In Colorado, expect it to die back to the ground each fall. If you'd like to see these and many other flowering herbs, stop by the Gardens on Spring Creek. We'd love to show them to you.

Coal Chemical Patriot Coal Corp. reiterated its full-year guidance Monday, saying it continues to expect earnings of 95 cents to $1.30 per share. Patriot said it expects sales volume of 23 million to 25 million tons, excluding its proposed acquisition of Magnum Coal Co. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization are expected to total $115 million to $145 million. Patriot shares fell $2.08, or 2.6 percent, to $76.62 shortly after midday.