Britain was thus able to concentrate on manufacturing and import its food and raw materials.

ECONOMIST: World trade

Dutch conservative MEP Peter van Dalen said it was time to "stop talking and move to action", claiming that biodiversity is the basis of all the EU's food products and raw materials.

BBC: Biodiversity debate

By and large, British savings were financing mines, railways and frontier expansion in the New World so that it could produce food for British workers and raw materials for British factories.

ECONOMIST: Business books (5)

SOEs in sectors like equipment manufacturing, raw-materials production and food processing.

ECONOMIST: The other China

The premise: Buy up lots of small companies in a fragmented business--such as used cars, funeral homes, office products, food distribution and medical diagnostics--then purchase raw materials in bulk to cut costs.

FORBES: Wrong Address

Companies with heavy exposure to raw materials, particularly in the food and beverage segments, have to balance rising input costs with consumer demand.

FORBES: McDonald's Surmounts The Weak Economy: U.S. And Euro Sales Up 6.5%