ECB Holds Rates at 1%; Shanghai Soars; Oracle-Sun Deal Faces European Probe; Dainippon Agrees to Buy Sepracor; South Korea 2Q GDP Moves 2.6%; OECD Says Global Recession May Be Over; Vale Restarting Idled Iron Ore Mines; Cerberus: No Withdrawals for 3 Years; Gold Nears $1,000 Mark

Commodities prices are surging. World white sugar prices reached record levels on Aug. 10, largely because of booming demand in India where the government has lifted a ban on imports.

Brazilians used to joke that their country was the country of the future – and always would be because a new crisis seemed to crop up every time the economy came close to fulfilling its potential.

Gold traded mostly sideways yesterday. Apart from a $10 jump up towards the end of Comex trading and then an equal slide down early on the Globex, it was a tame day. The yellow metal closed at $912.30/oz., up $3.20. Overnight, gold is trending lower.

At this point, it is good to look for the defensive plays that have been neglected in this upturn and for safe havens for investors taking profits from the recent run.  After looking long and hard, I came to General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS).