Sunday, July 25, 2010

Chocoholics beware . . .

Cocoa beans are dried in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. A London firm has bought up so much cocoa that candy makers are nervous.

THE NEW YORK TIMES has a report that chocolate could get more expensive. Why? It appears that Anthony Ward has cornered the cocoa market.

To some, he is a real-life Willy Wonka. To others, he is a Bond-style villain bent on taking over the world’s supply of chocolate.

In a stroke, a hedge fund manager here named Anthony Ward has all but cornered the market in cocoa. By one estimate, he has bought enough to make more than five billion chocolate bars.

Chocolate lovers here are crying into their Cadbury wrappers — and rival traders are crying foul, saying Mr. Ward is stockpiling cocoa in a bid to drive up already high prices so he can sell later at a big profit. His activities have helped drive cocoa prices on the London market to a 30-year high.

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