FOOD: SMALLER CORN SURPLUS COULD PUSH PRICES HIGHER. “Food prices could rise next year because an unseasonably hot summer likely damaged much of this year’s corn crop. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated Monday that a surplus of 672 million bushels of corn will be left over at the end of next summer. The estimated surplus is down from last month’s forecast and well below levels that are considered healthy. . . . A smaller surplus drove corn prices higher earlier this year. Global demand for corn, soybeans and wheat has outstripped production for the last 10 years. Surpluses, vital to a stable food supply, have shrunk.”